10K at 10,000ft*

*Almost, Quito is really only about 9,300ft but hey, titles can have a little artistic liberty, right? This morning was the day I had been preparing for almost 2 months now, a 10K race around central Quito with almost 5000 participants; concurrently run in eight other cities throughout Latin America at the same time.

Dimas and I picked up our shirts and electronic chips the day before and headed to the line at about 6:30am this morning. The chip system was new to me but essentially each chip is programmed to go with the number on your shirt and you must pass through 5 checkpoints in order to finish the race with a registered time.

The running part went quite well, I ran the 10K (approx. 6.5 miles) in 45 minutes and 22 seconds. This put me at 492/5021 total participants. However, my original goal was just to finish the whole thing without slowing to a walk and I more than accomplished that. Funny memory, at one point I was running near two other gringos and not a single Ecuadorian was close, like a race within a race; I made it my mission to beat the other gringos and after several kilometers I finally pulled away. Gotta relish the small victories in life☺

During the run there were numerous entertainment areas, music, dancers, stilt walkers, and things I am at a loss to explain. At the finish line in Parque La Carolina there was a huge stage with music and people dancing/waving flags. The whole event was on an impressive scale and seemed part race and part concert with the atmosphere of a huge street festival. Definitely something I was glad to participate in.



(Dimas and I after the race)



(The main stage of the "after-party")


After eating, resting, and showering I decided to see what Carlos was up to. Not too much it turned out so I offered to show him my Cuenca pics as he had never been there and expressed a desire earlier in the week to see them. When I got back to his little station it looked like rain so we both crammed inside his guard booth and I busted out my comp. We ended up going through all my highlight pics; it was great to share my family, friends, and experiences with him. He had a lot of questions about the “strange” things in my pictures☺ We chatted a bit more after picture-time before I had to head back for lunch; I am really fortunate to have met some of the people I have.



(Carlos on a sunny day, aka not today, with the guard station we crammed into behind him; it was cozy!)


Take care.