Today was another sunny day with great running! I was running today with Salil and Damon on a road segment that was within 10 miles southwest of Portland. As I was finishing off my last few miles, I was enthusiastically greeted by a father and daughter in a red pickup truck. I briefly shared with them what we were doing as they slowed down their truck to follow in step with me. They wished me good luck and happily drove off. A minute or two later, I saw them again; this time they took a picture as they were passing me in their truck and our ways finally parted.

I continued running thinking about how running with a torch can make people joyful. Coincidentally, a few hundred yards later I raised my head and saw a road sign which read “Harmony Ln. [Lane]”. As I was about to finish my mileage for the day, I met two nice young chaps, members of a road cleaning crew, who happily held the torch and wished us good luck with the Run. Such simple encounters on the road always create a feeling of joy and meaningfulness as the Run continues to challenge the road ahead.

Slava (Moldova)

A Visit with Nike

These unexpected encounters always give us joy and demonstrate the harmony which flows naturally from some people. We also had a planned encounter with some very nice people at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton today. Dennis Reeder, a long time employee at Nike who works in the footwear testing department at the Mia Hamm building, welcomed our whole team as we came through Beaverton on our way to Portland today. The headquarters is designed like a huge campus with many beautiful buildings and landscape designs. There is a nice trail system for running and walking as well as a rubberized track made from recycled running shoes. Dennis gave us a tour of some of the buildings, most of which are named after great athletes who are associated with Nike and its products.

Dennis told us that the Nike Mission statement is: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Added on to that is a quote from Bill Bowerman, the legendary coach and product designer who was the founder of Nike. He said, “If you have a body then you are an athlete.”

In this vein, we the athletes who represent the World Harmony Run are also trying to bring inspiration to everyone we come in contact with or those who just hear of us or read about us. Sri Chinmoy , the founder of the World Harmony Run, also feels that our bodies were meant to move and grow with inspiration and aspiration through disciplines such as athletics of any kind. Running is a simple and natural way to keep the body fit, but there are so many other ways to stay healthy and harmonious in body, mind and spirit. Nike represents numerous sports disciplines, all of which offer very healthy ways for people to stay healthy, happy and harmonious.

We are very grateful to Dennis and others at the Nike Headquarters for offering their time to share some of the inspiration which they try to spread through their products and services. There is much that we did not know about Nike that we began to learn today. I now have much more confidence in the fact that even though it is a very successful worldwide corporation, many of the people there seem to care about the people they serve and the products they sell. They have a website that offers much information about their products and philosophy.

We are also very grateful to the Bridgeport Value Inn of Tigard for their kind offering of four rooms for the night. We can never adequately express how much these offerings mean to us and how much they help us as we travel along the road of sharing harmony with many, many people on our way.

Arpan and Team Harmony

Leaving Beautiful Oregon

Thank you Oregon! Many people have told me that Oregon is a beautiful state, but I like seeing things with my own eyes. After have spent 9 days in Oregon I can agree with them wholeheartedly. Oregon is really beautiful!

Our running route was also gorgeous. It has blessed us with great scenery such as the mountains and rivers, the Redwood Forest, the sand dunes, the Pacific Ocean and stunning coastline, nice cool weather for running, and great people all along the way.

As soon as we entered the state we were welcomed by the wonderful people in Nyssa. The next day we were offered a room by Ann Turley in Lakeview at Hunters Hot Springs Resort. It was also in Oregon where we met up with our wonderful friends Bill Pearl (former Mr. Universe many times over and Best Built Man of the Century), and his extremely kind and lovely wife, Judy Pearl who also works out avidly and helps to run Bill Pearl Enterprises. They offered us a wonderful breakfast and gave us lots of inspiration and encouragement. Their great hearts and indominatible spirits shine through their simple and humble way of life.

Many thanks to James and Jeff from Gold Beach who were very generous and friendly to us offering rooms at their hotel, Breakers, and running with some of our team through town. They later commented: “Meeting you all was the highlight of our job! Good times at the beach, cooking marshmallows and singing together. Getting to know people from all over the country and the world and bringing out the unity amongst us in the common traits of running and kindness of different cultures is the most amazing thing!”

Dewey Powers was another generous heart in Gold Beach who offered us very delicious meals to our large team of 16 at the time at his restaurant called Spinners. He has also helped many young people in other countries such as Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Russia and others to visit America.

Our last two days in Oregon were so relaxed and enjoyable as we ran along the spectacular Pacific coastline and enjoyed two nights in a wonderful house on the beach thanks to our friend Bandegini and her mom, Joyce Rollison. They were our most self-giving hosts in Yachats. To sleep twice in the same place gives us more free time and rest than we usually get. They also cooked us delicious meals which was very thoughtful of them. Bandegini even ran some miles with our women’s team as we carried the torch into a beautiful dense forested area heading inland.

I want to thank those who have told me how beautiful Oregon is, and now that I have seen it and felt it with my own heart, I want to say ‘Thank You’ again to Oregon for its natural and human beauty. We also are so grateful to Ahelee who arranged so many wonderful ceremonies with hundreds of children and adults in various towns mainly through the Boys and Girls Clubs. These types of encounters really bring out the beauty and harmony of the people and help us to go on with hope and gratitude in our hearts.

Linda (Hungary)

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