Mina Sharma: Devotees were out in force on Sunday 8th September at The Great North Run, the largest half marathon in the world, sharing the Holy Name with 57,000 runners – including Sir Mo Farah.
Joined by UK GBC HG Praghosa Das, around thirty devotees took part in the harinam during the race, which was also held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON UK.
The devotees have been part of the famous run (between Newcastle Upon Tyne and South Shields) since 2013 when HG Prema Sankirtan Das from ISKCON Newcastle and a few devotees decided to share the Holy Names at the race six years ago.
Speaking about the experience, HG Caitanya Vallabha Das said:
“The response from the runners was fantastic! Some waved, some danced, some clapped their hands, some did a pranam gesture, some smiled and laughed, some did a double-take, not quite believing what they were seeing and hearing, many did a ‘high-five’ and some even chanted Hare Krishna too!
“The runners however, were not the only ones to show their appreciation. The security and the Police personally thanked us for what we were doing, they could understand that we were their to benefit the people. Many of the onlookers from the crowd also thanked us and filmed us on their mobile phones!
“The weather was wonderful and another great yajna was performed again to help spread the Holy Name to every town and village, in keeping with the prophecy of Lord Caitanya! We thoroughly encourage other devotees around the world to find out about other similar events and in that way, take advantage of the opportunity to share the Holy Names on a wide scale!”