Runners share message of unity

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal Staff Writer | Monday, July 10, 2006

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RAPID CITY -- Francesco Murianni missed seeing Italy win its fourth World Cup because he was carrying the torch for the World Harmony Run into Rapid City.

"What's the score?" a sweating Murianni asked his teammates as he and Chicagoan Erik Amrhien approached the YMCA.

Murianni, an Italian, is a member of a 10-man international team currently running an 11,000-mile relay spreading their message of world harmony.

"Our feeling is that world harmony begins in the heart of each person and from there it spreads to the family, the community and the world at large," runner Salil Wilson, of Sydney, Australia, said. "We just give people the chance to express their own hopes and dreams for a more harmonious world."

The World Harmony run is a global event organized by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon team. The run was founded by Sri Chinmoy, an athlete, philosopher, artist, musician and poet.

Worldwide, runners in 80 countries, on six continents, will run more than 35,000 miles this year.

The run and its predecessor events have been held eight times since 1987.

The United States run started in New York City on April 11 and then looped through the southern United States to Seattle. It is scheduled to end in New York on Aug. 13.

The runners and their torch left Spearfish on Sunday morning. The torch is carried between 90 and 100 miles daily.

Running in teams of two, the participants average 10 miles daily.

Runners are all volunteers. In addition to the United States, the team includes men from Italy, Romania, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Moldavia. Five runners committed to the entire four months of the run.

Some of the men left their jobs or took vacation time to join the run, Wilson said.

"For them, it's a great way to see America," he said.

The run is not a fundraiser, Wilson emphasized.

"It's just to share the message and inspiration," he said. "It really is phenomenal how much goodness there is across America and the world."

One of the things that keeps the runners going is knowing that up ahead there are more good people they haven't met, Wilson said.

Relay teams are sustained by in-kind donations of lodging and food. In Rapid City, rooms were provided by the Imperial Inn and they were treated to supper at Millstone Family Restaurant.

At each stop, the relay team makes an effort to meet people, especially children.

"Along the way, we've met unbelievable people and made great friends," Wilson said.

"We've found that there are good people everywhere. There are good people in all the countries. There is a lot more that unites us as human beings than divides us."

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com