Based on the event’s success in previous years, on Saturday, February 14 the Samara Recreational Race Samarun II was held, with the goals of promoting sports in the community, supporting the CREAR association and maintaining beach cleanups in the area.
This year, there was nostalgia in the air as participants’ shirts had “In Memory of Nelson” printed on the back, honoring Nelson Lobo Arias, who died after falling from a ladder last October.
Nelson was the owner of the supermarket Iguana Verde and was well-regarded for his contributions and support for the community.
Members of the organizational committee, including Andrea Keith and Rebecca Andersen, reported that 165 runners participated.
After midday, spectators could see a parade of runners beaming in their green shirts, alone or accompanied at the starting line by family members, friends and pets. They were seen warming up while anxiously waiting for 4 p.m., the race’s start time.
Cesar Luis Miravete won first place in the men’s 10k race with a time of 42 minutes 35 seconds. Hector Luis Zuñiga came in second at 43:06, and third place went to Juan Pablo Vellegas Calvo at 44:38.
For the 10k women’s category, first place was shared by Ginet Espinoza Castrillo, with a time of 48:30, and Kattia Campos Jimenez, who ran 11.2k in 56:05 (it was considered a tie because the latter ran 1.2 km extra due to a detour). Second place went to Elizabeth Cundill with a 51:12 time and Isel Segura came in third place at 54:17.
For the 5k men’s race, the top finishers were Siviany Obregon Hernandez (20:53), Jose David Grijalba Guadamuz (21:30), and Juido Pesch (21:50).
For the 5k women’s race, prizes went to Anabelle Alvarez Campos (26:49), Victoria Aragon (27:04) and Ileana Arias (27:54).
Winners were given prizes including cash, nights at a hotel, dinners, massages and a tee shirt and shorts donated by the National Women’s Team.
Andrea Keith, CREAR’s director and also a member of the organizing committee, reported that the total amount raised was ¢1,847,000 ($3,440), which will be used to paint the community center where CREAR is based (www.asociacioncrear.org) and to implement beach cleanups in Playa Samara.
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