Race recap

On Sunday, I fulfilled a longtime personal goal: run a half-marathon. Check that one off the life list!

Crossing the finish line (photo courtesy of #1 marathon supporter Brad)

I ran the Pacasmayo half-marathon, which takes place in and around a small beach town on Peru's northern coast. The race, now in its sixth year, was started by a Peace Corps volunteer to promote tourism and economic development in the community. Despite the fact that that volunteer is now long gone, the municipality still organizes the annual marathon - an inspiring example of a truly sustainable PC project. Anyway, due to the race's links to Peace Corps, and the fact that lots of us gringos like to run, the race continues to attract a good number of PCV participants each year.

PCV runners the morning of the race - ready for the 5k, 10k, half-, and full marathon

We all got up bright and early on race day to make sure we were ready to run: eating some breakfast, drinking lots of water, taping blistered feet, listening to some pre-race jams, and, in some cases, taking anti-diarrhea medicine in the hopes of making it through the race (the standard Peace Corps "Peru belly" won't take the day off just because you're trying to run a marathon). At 7:00 we headed down to the starting area, and kept ourselves busy until start time with some warm-ups and photo-shoots.

Pacasmayo 19ers: Ali, me, Kaeli, Nydelis, and Brad

Gia and Zach are excited to run!

The race itself was hard. You'd think that an oceanside marathon would be one of the flattest courses you can find, but you could not be more wrong. Apparently Pacasmayo is supposed to be one of the most difficult races in South America, because it's pure hills! The only part that's semi-flat is the last three miles, but those are on a sand-and-rock pathway that's apt to turn your ankle at every step. Not ideal, but I made it! One nice aspect of the course was getting to pass back through the starting area (a.k.a. cheering section) ten miles in - all the volunteers who'd already finished their 5 and 10k races were there waiting to cheer us on, which was a great energy booster.

10 miles down, 3 miles to go

My legs were definitely tired from all the steep climbs, but I still crossed the finish line in a little under two hours and fourteen minutes. I was exhausted and sore, but feeling great to have accomplished my goal.

PCV half-marathoners: me, Kaeli, Rachel, and Amanda

With the race under our belts, we spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and enjoying Pacasmayo's picturesque boardwalk and beach - not a bad way to celebrate 4th of July!

One last cultural side note about running in Peru: here the word "maratón" does not necessarily mean the international standard marathon of 26.2 miles. I learned this the hard way over the past couple weeks, when I'd tell Peruvians that I was going to Pacasmayo to run a "medio-maratón" and be met with slightly confused smiles. Apparently Peruvians use maratón as a synonym for any length of running race, so it's important to specify which distance of "marathon" you are running. My eventual qualifier of a 21k maratón always got a wide-eyed "oooohh" of awe that I would possibly be running that far - this particular intercultural divide was definitely a little self-esteem booster :)