IV Carrera popular de la Cruz Roja ( Red Cross ). Almería

[Antonio247]

Last Sunday, 23rd April 2006, day of the book, was the race of the Red Cross in Almería. The start was at “El Palmeral” ( the palm trees ) in the sea front. When my friend Felipe and I arrived there at 10:15, we could see that the red colour was all around there since most runners were wearing the red T-shirt that they were given when entering or picking up their race number. This is the fourth edition of this popular race which aims to integrate immigrants with the local people. So, there were some black people, mainly children taking part in the competition as well as other people from Almería.

The entry was free. After picking up our race numbers and T-shirts, we walked around and took some photos. The day was a bit cloudy and windy but later the sun started to shine. We met some friends who usually take part in local races such as Diego, who started six years ago and at 56 he did Almería half in one hour 30 minutes. He´s quite short and thin I must say in order not to discourage anyone. I also met Luis, who is going to take part at Madrid marathon next Sunday. He´s got a Forerunner and after the race, he told me that the course was 6.47 km. I also met José Antonio García Verdegay, who is one of our best local runners. Actually, he won the race. He used to have a sports shop but they closed it last March.

The race started at 11 o´clock. I thought about the forumites who were taking part at London marathon. For me, it was a piece of cake compared to what they had to go through the whole morning. We went along the sea front as far as La Rambla. I started with Felipe, who has taken part in some half marathons. His PB is about 1 hour 55 minutes. He´s a teacher of English at a secondary school in Almería as well. There were around 300 runners at the start. Everybody started very fast. I noticed that we were going under five minutes, which is too fast for my level but I felt all right. However, when we were going up the Rambla, after picking up my first bottle of water, I decided to slow down a little bit and Felipe went on a little further ahead. We went up La Rambla for around one kilometre and a half, a little less than at the half marathon, and went down. I could see some runners still going up, which made me feel confident. When we were reaching the lower part of the Rambla, I was reached by Paco and his girlfriend, Puri. Paco is a cousin of José Antonio G. Verdegay´s. He´s very interested in learning English since he works for an agricultural company which deals with other foreign companies. When we were at the sea front, just one kilometre from the finish, I decided to go on a little bit faster leaving them behind. There were some people in the sea front cheering us, saying “¡Ánimo!”, which means “Cheer up!”, “Come on!” “Go it”. When I reached the finish, I was given a medal and in the tent I could choose a cn of Coke or Aquarius and a cheese or salami sandwich. I chose a can of Aquarius and a cheese sandwich. I arrived in 38 minutes and 10 seconds, two minutes and twenty seconds less than last year. I met Felipe who had arrived a few minutes earlier. He said that in the last kilometre I felt some discomfort. We talked to some friends such as Diego who had done it in 28 minutes as well as Luis.

I´m glad I took part in this race because we had a good time, the atmosphere is great and the distance can be done without much preparation. Now, we are eager for the next race on Sunday 30th May at 9:30 pm in Roquetas. It will be a bit longer, 10 kms.