II Trote en Homenaje a la Patria (Run on Peru's independence day)
Have you ever wondered how running in other countries is like? I have. Fortunately, I was able to run in Thailand when I went back to visit friends and family for the past 2 years (just 10K races).
We were in Peru for vacation (much needed one again) and I looked for a race that would take place while we were in Lima (the capital city of Peru). Peru has a running website but it's in Spanish. I had to thank Google translate for their help so I understood what's going on on the website. I found one event that was listed a "Trote" (later on I knew it meant a fun run) on Friday July 28. That day was perfect for me because we would be back in Lima already after the hiking trip to Machu Picchu.
I checked their facebook page for more information (all in Spanish. Thanks, Faeebook translator) to see where they started and at what time. The starting point was only 15 minutes walk from my hotel (even better) and they started at 7.30am. They said it's going to be approx 14km (or 8.7 miles), which was ok with me. Actually, any distance was fine with me as long as I got to run! The good thing about this event was that it's FREE! no registration required. You just showed up if you wanted to run with them.
I showed up at the meeting point in the morning and waited in line for the free t-shirt (red and white t-shirts to represent Peru). The organizer ran out of the t-shirts before I got to get mine but that's ok. Some people were not very happy tho because they wanted to wear red and white to represent their country. That day was Peru's independence day so it was a holiday for the locals. Many runners of all ages showed up to run for their country. That's pretty cool.
Since they ran out of the t-shirt, I got a flag pin instead. So I pinned it to my running shirt. 10 mins before the starting time, they had a couple of people leading warm up exercises. Races in Thailand also did the same thing. I guess it's common in other countries outside the US?
This was a unique experience that many tourists don't get. Running with the locals to celebrate their independence day. I can't speak Spanish and many people don't speak much English. However, I talked to some local runners and made new friends!! We all connected through running. They were amazed by how I found out about the race since it's pretty local AND I don't speak Spanish. After about 30 minute stop, we headed back to the starting point.
I left the event early because they also gave out prizes and raffles. I did not take the free raffle ticket as I did not even know how to read the numbers in Spanish lol My hubby was waiting for me at the starting point so I did not want him to wait for too long. He was already there for 3 hours.
Overall, I had an AMAZING experience running in Peru. The locals were very nice and hopefully I could go back to run there again one day :)
Sydney
We were in Peru for vacation (much needed one again) and I looked for a race that would take place while we were in Lima (the capital city of Peru). Peru has a running website but it's in Spanish. I had to thank Google translate for their help so I understood what's going on on the website. I found one event that was listed a "Trote" (later on I knew it meant a fun run) on Friday July 28. That day was perfect for me because we would be back in Lima already after the hiking trip to Machu Picchu.
I checked their facebook page for more information (all in Spanish. Thanks, Faeebook translator) to see where they started and at what time. The starting point was only 15 minutes walk from my hotel (even better) and they started at 7.30am. They said it's going to be approx 14km (or 8.7 miles), which was ok with me. Actually, any distance was fine with me as long as I got to run! The good thing about this event was that it's FREE! no registration required. You just showed up if you wanted to run with them.
I showed up at the meeting point in the morning and waited in line for the free t-shirt (red and white t-shirts to represent Peru). The organizer ran out of the t-shirts before I got to get mine but that's ok. Some people were not very happy tho because they wanted to wear red and white to represent their country. That day was Peru's independence day so it was a holiday for the locals. Many runners of all ages showed up to run for their country. That's pretty cool.
Since they ran out of the t-shirt, I got a flag pin instead. So I pinned it to my running shirt. 10 mins before the starting time, they had a couple of people leading warm up exercises. Races in Thailand also did the same thing. I guess it's common in other countries outside the US?
My running cloth to represent Peru XD
They started running at 7.30am. The pace was comfortable to everyone and they also regrouped often. I did not have my GPS watch with me but I guess I probably ran at 12min/mile. Since it was only 8.7 miles, I told my hubby (who was waiting for me at the starting point) that I would be back in 1.5 hours. I was wrong. They stopped and regrouped often. The course was an out-and-back. We ran to Cristo del Pacifico and stopped for water, pictures, singing national anthem (it's the independence day).
This was a unique experience that many tourists don't get. Running with the locals to celebrate their independence day. I can't speak Spanish and many people don't speak much English. However, I talked to some local runners and made new friends!! We all connected through running. They were amazed by how I found out about the race since it's pretty local AND I don't speak Spanish. After about 30 minute stop, we headed back to the starting point.
I left the event early because they also gave out prizes and raffles. I did not take the free raffle ticket as I did not even know how to read the numbers in Spanish lol My hubby was waiting for me at the starting point so I did not want him to wait for too long. He was already there for 3 hours.
Overall, I had an AMAZING experience running in Peru. The locals were very nice and hopefully I could go back to run there again one day :)
Sydney
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