Peace Torch relay team will pass through Viroqua on Monday, July 20

July 16, 2026

By Prakhara Harter, Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run

The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, history’s largest peace torch relay, will be running 74 miles from La Crosse to Richland Center on Highway 14 this Monday, July 20, passing the Peace Torch along the way. They are expected to run through Viroqua in the afternoon.

The international team from 7 different countries are on a 4-month journey through all 50 states in honor of the 250th Anniversary of America. They share a message that peace begins with the individual. Along the route they meet with schools, youth organizations and groups to give local citizens an opportunity to express their hopes and dreams for peace.  

A team of runners left New York City on April 16th and will pass the Torch along the over 10,000-mile route.  The continuous relay will run through all 50 states in honor of the 250^th Anniversary of America during the 4-month journey before arriving back in New York in August.  The team will run in Alaska and Hawaii in September. 

The European Peace Run will begin in Helsinki, Finland on May 18^th and will make presentations in 13 countries. 

For nearly 40 years the Peace Run has traversed over 160 nations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia as a symbol of humanity’s universal aspiration for a more peaceful world.

Since the inaugural Run in 1987, more than 7-million people have participated. Commendations have come from many world figures including Pope Francis, President Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Saint Mother Teresa, Olympians, state governors, city mayors and celebrities across the world.

Carl Lewis, 9-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 visionary Sri Chinmoy 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, “How can we have peace?  Not by talking about peace, but by walking along the road of peace.”