The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, known as the world's largest international peace torch relay, will reach Cortez on the morning of May 27 as part of its 2026 journey across the U.S.
The event is open to the public, and community members are invited to greet the international team of runners and be part of the celebration. Runners plan to meet with Mayor Dennis Spruell at 11 a.m. at Cortez City Hall, 123 Roger Smith Ave., as they make their way through Cortez.
The Peace Run began in 1987 and has passed through more than 150 countries. More than 7 million people have held the torch since the start of the relay, according to information from Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. This year's relay across the U.S. is a five-month journey that will cover about 10,000 miles through all 50 states, and started on April 16 in New York City. The route was also selected to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S.
Peace Run Executive Director Salil Wilson, from Australia, is one of the runners on the relay. Wilson told The Journal on Wednesday that the group of 11 runners are currently running near Tulsa, Oklahoma.
They are from the U.S., Nepal, Australia, England, Romania and New Zealand, she said.
Wilson described the Peace Run as a “way to give people a chance to express their own hopes and dreams for a more peaceful world.”
“We’ve been running for a little over a month now, and you know, just to see the goodness of America, the good-hearted people that we've come into contact with, and their aspirations for a better world, a better community ... it sort of stays with you and it stays in your heart,” Wilson said. “I've got a tremendous amount of optimism and hope for America, even though we sometimes get caught up in all the things that aren't so good – that are in the news and all that – but the real America, that's what's touching as we run six miles an hour from one place to the next.”
In total, the group runs between 80 and 100 miles per day, but since it’s a relay, runners only run about six to 10 miles before switching with the next team member.
Though the group is only running continuously through the 48 contiguous U.S. states, they will also fly to Alaska and Hawaii to run through those states before the end of this year’s Peace Run.
“You don’t necessarily get all the sights, but you get the richness of the experience to meet the people and have sort of an immersion into the communities that you wouldn’t get as a tourist,” Wilson said.
The initiative was created by Sri Chinmoy, an athlete, philosopher, artist and humanitarian. The group added that over the years, the Peace Run has earned support from numerous world leaders and other well-known individuals, including Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Teresa and many more.
“The Peace Run’s educational presentations emphasize self-esteem, kindness and the understanding that peace begins within each individual,” the group shared. “The torch itself symbolizes the ‘ever rising spirit of America,’ reflecting the nation’s enduring hope and aspiration for a brighter future.”
More information about the Peace Run and its route can be found online at www.peacerun.org.
bduran@the-journal.com
