Participants kicked off a global relay to promote cross-cultural understanding and good will Monday in Waikiki, pledging to spread the message of aloha in running events around the world this year.
The World Harmony Run, celebrating its 25th anniversary, is organized every two years, with runners in more than 100 countries carrying a torch to call for peaceful resolutions to world problems.
Among those who ran the course around Kapiolani Park on Monday was Mayor Peter Carlisle, who called the event "spectacular."
"Harmony is the order of the day," he said.
About 60 runners completed the 2-mile course, including participants from Europe and across Asia and the Pacific region.
University lecturer Harashita Sunaoshi flew in from Tokyo to participate and said the global relay is a "simple action" that sends a big message. "We can share the moment of oneness," Sunaoshi said.
The relay is organized mostly by volunteers and doesn’t seek donations or push a particular political message. Instead, said World Harmony Run Executive Director Salil Wilson, the run is about sharing a "message of peace and harmony" with people.
Running in the relay is always free, he said.
Wilson said Hawaii was chosen as the kickoff spot for the worldwide relay because "we wanted to get that spirit of aloha and carry it in our hearts … to all the other countries we’re visiting."
Pratishruti Nahorst, 47, came in from the Netherlands to participate in the kickoff and said the race connects all sorts of people. "It’s like a chain … connecting people’s hearts," he said.
The race has received recognition from the United Nations and several world leaders, its torch blessed by Pope John Paul II and carried by the likes of Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali.
Count Alex Tomomitsu, 8, of Honolulu among the torch’s bearers, too. He and his family participated in the race because Alex has expressed an interest in getting into running.
"We thought this was a good opportunity to get involved," said Alex’s dad, Mark Tomomitsu.
How did Alex rate his performance? "Pretty good," he said, twirling a race completion medal around this neck.
His father, who also held the torch, added that "when you’re carrying the torch, the torch just lifts you."
Nanakuli resident Kahle Miller brought her two children, 9-year-old Nicholas and 17-year-old Nicole, to the event as a way to support world peace. She said the run is about sharing love.
"Love of all nations, coming together as one," she said.
For Robins of Providence, R.I., the race in Waikiki was particularly poignant because she participated in the first World Harmony Run 25 years ago in New York.
She said Hawaii is the perfect place to begin a new year — and a new run. "We’re hoping to carry the spirit of aloha with us," she said.
