Peace Run returns to Sanders County

Roughly 30 years ago, Sanders County runners participated in an international run to promote world peace. Last Saturday, the 23rd international Peace Run came through the area once again, spreading hope and encouraging world peace, harmony and friendship. The flaming torch travelled 90 miles from Murray, Idaho, to Dixon, Montana, while friends connected hands throughout the journey.

Runner aficionado Sarah Naegeli collaborated with Peace Run to organize the event. She was joined by Teresa Nelson, Sarah Stover and family members Shana, Hattie and Marley Neesvig, who all participated in the event. The crew's length began 3 miles up Prospect Creek and finished at Little Bear in Thompson Falls.

Along with the local runners, Peace Run team representatives from New Zealand, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Mongolia, Hawaii and Boston joined in, some running and some following with a vehicle just in case someone needed a lift along the way.

The entire global-wide Peace Run team consists of members from seven different countries and will spend four months running 11,000 miles through more than 100 nations to complete the occasion. Along the way, team members meet with schools and youth organizations encouraging youngsters to lead peaceful and compassionate lives.

The Peace Run, formerly known as The World Harmony Run, cycles its way back through the county every few years. The last time the run took place in Sanders County was in 2012, and it made its debut in 1988.

The event originated in 1987 when Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007), a spiritual leader who taught meditation and prayer to find God and inner peace, founded the event. "There shall come a time when all children of the world will enjoy one thing: Peace-dream," Chinmony had commented. "The Peace Run is our way of saying that world peace must begin within the heart of each of us, and that only by transcending the barriers that divide us from our better selves as well as from others, will our world be a true Oneness-Home."

The 2018 Peace Run began in New York City on April 10 when Olympian Carl Lewis lit the torch at the global launch. The run will finish in New York City on August 15. The route followed the east coast to Atlanta then continued west to Santa Fe, to Tijuana, Mexico, up the west coast to San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver British Columbia, Helena, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, through Canada on the Canadian/U.S. border, to Halifax and back to the U.S. in New York.

In total, Peace Run has visited more than 150 nations, ran almost 400,000 miles and warmed the lives of millions of people since its introduction. To view photos from the event, or for more information visit peacerun.org.