Our first stop today was in Monroe, MI where we met pro-tem Mayor Jeremy Molenda outside the City Hall.

His wished well on our journey and even carried the torch for awhile!

Today we took part in the Heritage Day Parade in Southgate.

We had the opportunity to talk with many of the other parade participants and offer them the torch to hold as we all gathered before the parade started.

We were very honored that they placed us right at the front of the parade.

Many of the parade onlookers also held the torch for a moment as we passed by.

Seven miles outside Toledo we had a police escort to the Farmer’s Market.

Along the route we were joined by Joel and his father who saw us running with the police escort and immediately stopped his car to run with us.

Next we went to the Saturday Farmers market in Toledo.

We had a display table at the market.

One family from Thailand stopped to talk and hold the torch - they were especially happy to hear that a couple of our current team had also taken part in World Harmony Run events in Chiang Mai three years ago.

Atulya did an interview for the local TV station.

A big thank you to our police officer, Greg who escorted us into and out of Toledo. He was very happy to hold the torch.

From the market we ran to the plaque which marks the dedication of Toledo as a Sri Chinmoy Peace City.

On our way out of Toledo we were joined for a few miles by John Lewis.

He actually lives in Florida but is here to visit his mother Marge, who is a long-term friend of the Harmony Run and who also happens to be our dinner host this evening.

Also on the support team was John's son Nathan.

Greg and Julia Pierce saw one of our team run past their house in Pemberville and promptly got in their car and drove along the road to stop and talk to us.

We had a very nice meeting at a beautiful roadside spot surrounded by the fragrance of the clover growing all around. Thank-you so much for your enthusiasm and support.

Further down the road we happened to stop outside Bob Bomlet's house. He saw us parked there and very kindly came out to see if we needed any help.

And finally that evening we got to spend more time with John, Marge and their family.

Marge and Steve's grandchildren.

Marge and her husband Steve are keen gardeners and it certainly showed.

It was a pleasure to spend the evening with you in your beautiful and serene garden and home - thank-you for inviting us and for feeding the team so sumptuously once again.

Thank you to the Hilton Garden Inn in Perrysburg for offering such a luxurious room to the women's team.

Our gratitude to the Holiday Inn French Quarter also in Perrysburg for taking great care of the men's team.

A special thank you to our fearless Ohio coordinator, Pam Summons, for giving us a eventful start to the state of Ohio.

– Kokila, Mark and Atulya

Distance: 55 miles

Team Members:
Atulya Berube (San Diego), Drsalu Gruenstaeudel (Austria), Vladimir Salnacov (Moldova), Mark Collinson (England), Kokila Chamberlain (England), Surya Smolennikova (Russia), Kshetragna Ulanova (Russia), Dima Grygorievski (Ukraine), Sukhada Korshunova (Russia)

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