As a man carrying a large torch once held by Pope Francis and Paul McCartney veered toward Cortez City Hall, residents and local government officials burst into applause, cheering as he triumphantly ascended the steps. The sweat-soaked runner smiled and joined the rest of his team in greeting Mayor Dennis Spruell.
A 10,000-mile relay run across all 50 states that commenced April 16 in New York has landed this team of international runners in Cortez. The Sri Chinmoy Oneness Home Peace Run began in 1987, so far passing through more than 150 nations and territories, bringing with it a torch promoting world peace.
“The way peace works is it’s something we transmit to each other,” Devashishu Torpy, coordinator for the European peace run, said.
This year’s route through the U.S. honors the country’s 250th anniversary and what the runners say is the kindness and compassion within its people.
“It’s been the most rewarding and inspiring experience,” said Torpy, who is also a first-time U.S. team participant. “I’ll be running along with the torch and just meet people on the street and they’ll just start talking to you. I’m really overwhelmed by friendliness of people here.”
Harita Davies, a New Zealander on the team, agreed, praising the character and resilience of the small places tucked inside the U.S., like Cortez.
“In a lot of ways we have an advantage being in a smaller place because we see how people have to set aside their differences and come together and work as a community, and that’s what our message is all about,” Davies said. “We are seeing that here.”
The team presented Cortez with a certificate of appreciation containing a poem by the run’s founder reading, “O dreamers of peace, come. Let us walk together. O lovers of peace, come. Let us run together. O servers of peace, come. Let us grow together.”
“Cortez has no problem with being the town that started world peace,” Spruell said to a couple of laughs.
The team thanked the city for its welcoming front and supportive residents, spotlighting Thai Cortez, which sponsored the team a free meal and whose staff ran a portion of the morning’s run. Members of the team also praised Cow Horse Coffee, which sponsored its beverage order.
“The America that you might see on the news is not the America that exists,” Executive Director Salil Wilson from Australia said in a speech to Cortez government officials. “Between the goodness, the kindness, the generosity that we have the good fortune to bask in – it’s really been remarkable and you all deserve credit for that because you create America.”
The runners are now headed to Bluff, Utah, commencing their journey toward the West Coast, but for many, Cortez has made a lasting impact. Sweta Pradhan, a runner from Nepal, was astounded by the pueblo dwellings surrounding Cortez which she said looked like a “land castle.”
“When we go back home we’ll be able to share that such places exist,” Pradhan said.
She added that the kind heartedness of Cortez residents will not be forgotten.
“We are carrying the love and peace that we are receiving from this beautiful city back to our home,” Pradhan said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
