Running down toward Savannah from South Carolina was quite scenic.

Instead of the usual secondary highways with trucks and cars frantically whizzing past us, part of my team’s running route was a shady, rural route going south outside the busy traffic of Charleston. At one point our road stopped and we had to make a turn.

There was no sign and this turn did not show up on the map. But I had my iPhone with GPS navigation software on it which has saved us many times during the run so far when the maps failed to offer all the detail we needed.

For some reason, for the first time so far, the GPS was not receiving a signal at this point. So we had no sign, no signal, and no map to help us make the proper decision. At this very moment, just as we were pulling over to wait for the runner and decide what to do, a woman stopped next to us in her car. She had seen our runner down the road and asked what we were doing.

We explained a bit about our event and she seemed genuinely interested. She gave us all the information we needed about where our route was and what was ahead. She then offered us a small contribution. She then told us her name is ‘Joy’. Moved almost to tears, we mentioned that Harmony and Joy go together so it seems quite serendipitous that she came at just the right time when we were lost.

Unfortunately we did not have a camera at the time to take a photo of her with the torch, but stories like this do not need photos to get their most sublime message across.

A runner some where this way came!

That evening Olive Garden in Savannah, offered us a very nice gift card that helped to have wonderfully satisfying meal. Thank you so much for your generosity.

The Quality Inn Midtown offered a weary legs an excellent respite. They responded to our fax the very next day with their kind offer. We are so grateful!

– Arpan

Distance: 95 miles

Team Members:
Arpan DeAngelo (New York), Atulya Lee Berube (San Diego), Yuyudhan Hoppe (Minnesota), Gabriel (Canada), Mark Collison (England), Kshetragna (Russia), Surya (Russia), Drsalu (Austria), Vladimir (Moldova), Kokila Chamberlin (Wales)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!