Maraton Reebok 10K

Last Sunday marked quite a few firsts for me.  My first 10K, my first race in Buenos Aires, and my first competitive run since Gretchen was born.  Recently, I remarked to my friend Adena that I needed some inspiration to give me a workout goal, something like a local competitive race.  Low and behold, she emails me the following week and said that she had signed up for the Reerun 10K Reebok run in Palermo, and she hoped that I would join her.  I could back out like a chump, or join her and make good on my statement.  So, with 10 days until racetime, I signed up to join in a 10K. 

In all honesty, I have only participated in two races in my life, and it was the same race (the Philadelphia 10-mile run) two years in a row.  I have been running recently, so the thought of running continuously for 6.25 miles wasn't completely out of the question.  The more complicated part was figuring out what we needed to do to sign up and participate.  The coordination of this type of event is generally not the strong suit of the local culture - organization, availability of information and managing large groups of people have the potential to go very poorly.  I am happy to report that this event was managed quite well from start to finish, I was impressed. 

The race website was easy to navigate and clearly listed all information regarding the race.  I was able to pay the $120 peso entry fee online, with a credit card (abnormal for here) and was emailed a contract and a list of documents I would need to pick up my race kit.  The only item I was not accustomed to providing was a doctor's note stating that I was healthy enough to participate.  Though it was mildly annoying to get this note from a doctor, I can imagine that it is a good idea to require this sort of certification for a race of this size.

Mid-Race Photo-Op

Adena and I picked up our race packets, showed our doctors notes and photo IDs and we were ready to run.  As a side note, it seems as though all races are referred to as "maratons" here, which is an interesting phenomenon.  It send me into panic mode when I saw that I had entered the "Maraton Reebok", because there is a HUGE difference between running 10 kilometers and a ~42 kilometer marathon.  I have absolutely no interest in the latter.  Anyways, the day of the race, we took a taxi to the corner of Alem and Sarmiento streets and waited for 9:00am.  The organization had a coat check to keep our jackets and bags during the race and there were a ton of vendors selling water bottle belts, hats and all sorts of other racing paraphernalia. We made the mistake of arriving "on time" at 8:00am, which means we were some of the first people on scene, so we were asked to sign a number of petitions, were interviewed in some sort of pro-Buenos Aires video and had lots of time to stand around and people-watch. 

 The race was at it's capacity of 10,000 runners, which was quite a sight to see considering that all participants were required to wear the issued neon orange race shirt.  Daddy and Gretchen, and Adena's husband Paul and her son Trey  came out to cheer us on - it was great to see their smiling faces as we ran by.  This was especially important during this race for me, because although I know it was a 10K, I still am not completely accustomed to thinking in kilometers...it took me until "mile marker" 4 to realize that they were actually kilometer markers.  Considering that a kilometer is just a little over half of a mile, this was a decent blow to me ego. 

All things considered, I came in 4,079th place - better than I would have expected. It was lots of fun and a really great way to continue pushing my running goals.
 
It was a great time, and I really enjoyed the route which went around Palermo Lake and past the Hippodromo (the horse racetrack).  The weather cooperated nicely and it was a great way to feel like we were really getting out and enjoying the city.  I will definitely look to participate in other local races, a great calendar of events is located on the Club de Corredores website.  Thanks to Adena for the companionship and the motivation!