Day 24 - Minsk Belarus

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June 24

For the duration of the Blue Planet Run, one runner travels 10 miles and then passes the baton to another runner. This happens 24 hours a day until the run ends on September 4. Most of these baton exchanges are simple affairs on roadsides but become more high profile in large cities. Today we had such an exchange in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

We were all eager to see how our first big exchange in Belarus would be received. None of the runners speak Russian, and we were all worried that Russians, known for their reserved demeanor, would not be receptive to the Blue Planet Run message.

It turns out that the people of Belarus are just like people everywhere in the world — curious and interested in meeting new people. Melissa Moon chatted with the locals about the Run, and Lansing Brewer slapped stickers on kids and bikes and posed for photos.

Heiko Weiner, Laurel Dudley, Rudy van Prooyen and Paul Rogan (above) decided to run into the exchange point as a team. The locals cheered as they ran into the plaza, and a staffer read the message in Russian.

This exchange point proved that, although many preconceptions exist about groups of people all over the world, human beings nearly always feel compassion toward those less fortunate than themselves and inevitably want to help.

Laurel passes a church in Minsk

Komarovisky Market, Minsk

Photos by Chris Emerick