Aventura Nosara kicked off Saturday May 19 morning under a grey sky that threatened to unload on the runners. Despite the weather 91 runners crowded the start line shortly after 7am for Nosara’s first ever charity race.
The event consisted of two races running simultaneously, the main event was a 12.3km run, there was also a 5.3km walk or run. Both courses started and ended in in Playa Guiones.
Brenda Burnside, who owns a gym in Playa Guiones said she liked the idea of a run as a charity event, “It’s a good idea to have this, and it’s for a great cause”, she said.
Although the money is still being counted organizer Marco Johanning confirmed that they definitely made money. “All the local support and local sponsors really made it work, events like this don’t usually make money in their first year,” he said.
That’s good news for the Nosara security, firefighting and recycling associations, who will share the profits three ways.
Although there was a lot of local business support for the event and the race prize (50 000 colones) was won by a local, Hector Zúñiga Noguera from Garza beach, there wasn’t a lot of local participation overall. Noguera said this is because the sport lacks popularity in Nosara.
Johanning and the other organizers, who are already planning next year’s event, said they hope to increase local participation. “Hopefully we can build on the foundation from this year’s success to develop the event and the sport here in Nosara,” said Johanning. |
