ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Runners with the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run made a return trip through Robertsdale on May 6 as part of a world-wide trek to encourage goodwill, harmony and friendship.

Relay runs have occurred in over 140 nations throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Currently 10 runners from eight different countries are participating in the run, said Arpan DeAngelo of New York during a relay-stop east of Robertsdale last week.

The group passed through Robertsdale along U.S. Highway 90 from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in route to Mobile.

An estimated 50,000 children in over 1,000 cities and towns on the North American route are expected to participate when the Peace Run visits schools and youth organizations.

Runners will offer educational presentations that promote self-esteem and friendship. The team left New York mid-April passing the torch along the over 10,000-mile route. The continuous relay will link Mexico, Canada and the US during its four-month journey covering over 10,000 miles before arriving back in New York mid-August.

The European relay started in Portugal in February and will end in Rome in October after running an estimated 16,000 miles. Runners will also visit the South Pacific in May.

Since the inaugural run in 1987, more than 5-million people have participated. Endorsements have come from many world figures including Pope Francis, President Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Teresa, state governors and city mayors.

Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic Gold-medalist, said, “By carrying the torch, you will be bridging cultural and social barriers, and all the boundaries that separate nation from nation. You will be the living proof of the ancient vision of having a beautiful and harmonious world.”

The Peace Run was inspired by the visionary Sri Chinmoy as a way to give citizens a dynamic way to express their own hopes and dreams for a more harmonious world.

An athlete, philosopher, artist, musician and poet, Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to advancing the ideals of world harmony and said, “If we have perseverance, then that is our first step towards world harmony.”

DeAngelo was part of a group of runners who came through Central Baldwin in May of 2014, making a stop at Elsanor School.