Today was sunny and beautiful, even a little toasty at times.

Our first visit today was at the Carpenteria Boys and Girls Club.

Though our young hosts were a bit rambunctious to start, they settled down after a while and began to feel the message behind the run.

We like to visit Boys and Girls Clubs as they offer a very valuable service to our communities.

They help to guide and shape some of the youth whose parents may have to work a bit more than they would like.

They fill a gap that the demands of modern society has created.

Child care used to be much more of a community thing, but slowly that seems to be slipping away from American society.

The Boys and Girls Clubs provide an atmosphere of sports, games, friends and education. Though challenging at times, it is always gratifying for us to visit.

Our running section today was through the varied Californian scenery,...

...sometimes small roads bordered by flowers, sometimes with hills as a backdrop, sometimes through picturesque towns.

The day started off sunny,...

...and ended up with a strong headwind building by the end of the afternoon.

We stopped by at the Boys and Girls Club in Lompoc.

The kids were keen to run with the torch so we took a group at a time on a relay run around the gym. Sometimes slowly.

Sometimes a bit faster.... The children took turns to run with the torch before passing it on to the next runner - teamwork!

Everybody had a chance to hold the torch, including the staff, Allie and Mandy.

Mandy ran the first block with us after the ceremony.

Until tomorrow...

– Atulya and Kokila

Distance: 107 miles

Team Members:
Atulya Lee Berube (San Diego), Mark Collinson (England), Kshetragna Ulanova (Russia), Surya Smolennikova (Russia), Vladimir Salnicov (Moldova), Kokila Chamberlin (England), Drsalu Gruenstaeudl (Austria), Maria Manecke (Germany), Jeromy Cheatham (San Diego), Abhejali Bernardova (Czech Republic), Salil Wilson (Australia), Sukhada Korshunova (Russia)

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