On the morning of Thursday, June 20, a lone runner made his way up North Tower Avenue in Centralia holding a flaming torch and running his leg of a 95-mile route of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run from Napavine to Des Moines.
The runner, Arpan DeAngelo, was escorted by a van decked out in Peace Run signage and carrying two other runners patiently waiting for their leg of the relay. The other runners, Salil Wilson and Pran Sukh Marks, told The Chronicle that DeAngelo is 72 years old and they would all be meeting the mayor of Tacoma later on in the day.
They all took a short break for photos on the corner of Maple Street and North Tower Avenue before DeAngelo continued on his run. Each runner would do 4 miles before switching to another until they reached their destination.
The Peace Run was started in 1987 by Sri Chinmoy with the main goal of giving citizens a dynamic way to express their own hopes and dreams for a harmonious world, according to a news release from the organization.
The Peace Run has traversed over 150 nations. This year, the international team of runners is from six different countries and will be on the road for four months.
A team of runners left New York City in April, passing the torch along the over 10,000-mile route. The continuous relay will also run through three provinces of Canada during the four-month journey before arriving back in New York mid-August.
For more information on the run or to get involved with the Peace Run’s mission, visit peacerun.org.
