Day 5: Dublin, Ireland to Wales

The luck of the Irish was with us all throughout the Ireland route as the sun continued to shine and the rain stayed at bay. The reporter from the Irish Times (an American expat) kept mentioning our great luck, but we know it was partially due to the good karma the Run was generating. After a bank holiday a day earlier, Irish commerce was back in full swing on Tuesday. Traffic jams and hairpin turns made for an interesting ride to the exchange point—and an even more interesting run for Laurel Dudley and Rudy van Prooyen from Team Yellow, who wove in and out of the stationary vehicles on the road to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in downtown Dublin.

Exchange Pt. 43 - St. Patricks, Dublin. Team reads The Message.

The pilot cars had a tough time keeping up with the nimble runners, but everyone made it to St. Patrick’s Cathedral Park on time and in good humor. Photographers from Irish national newspapers stood at the gate to the park to catch a shot of Laurel and Rudy as they jogged toward the inflatable arch. Team Yellow decided to run in pairs today owing to their shortened legs, emphasizing the solidarity among the group and the friendships that have been quickly forged.

Stretching and warming up for his and Heiko’s daily leg couldn’t keep Paul Rogan from becoming the U.K.’s newest celebrity as he spoke with reporters and posed for photos at St. Patrick’s. Laurel and Rudy came into the park with hands raised in the air, passing on the baton to Paul and Heiko, who read the speech with Jin Zidell and Laurel. After Paul and Heiko took off, the members of Team Gray (Shiri, David, Emmanuel and Mary) arrived, looking fairly chipper despite running the night shift for the past few days. They even had enough energy to educate a group of American backpackers who happened to be strolling through St. Patrick’s Cathedral Park. Shiri, David and Jin articulated the cause and goal of the Run, urging the backpackers to get informed and involved. What great ambassadors! Then it was on to the ferry in Dublin port, headed to Wales, where we reunited with Teams Yellow and Orange (Brynn, Sean, Sunil and Lansing) and relaxed as our ship made its way across the pristine Irish Sea.

Team spreading the info to Dubliners

Disembarkation from the Jonathan Swift ferry was exhilarating as Teams Gray, Yellow and Orange joined up with Team Blue (Richard, Taeko, Melissa and Victor). If only Team Green (Simon, Dot, Jason and Laura) had been there, the Blue Planet Run team would have been complete! Right outside the Port of Holyhead (pronounced – Holly-head), or Porthladd Caergybi in Welsh, was what some might call the most united exchange point in Europe so far.

Laural runs a stretch on Conway Beach, Wales

The runners faced each other in two lines and performed the speech in perfect unison, with Jin by their side. Then Victor from Team Blue took off down the middle, slapping his teammates’ hands in a triumphant beginning to the British portion of the route.

As Team Green carries the baton farther east, we say goodnight with the hope that the message has touched the people of Ireland and Wales (and some Americans), and will continue to touch the hearts and minds of everyone we encounter along the route.

Victor leaving Holyhead for first leg in Wales