10,000 meters

Today was a good day. I woke up at 9:38 and was supposed to be at the race at 10. I roused Danielle and Leo and we quickly ate some toast. Danielle and I jogged around town looking for the start of our race. Nobody in this town knew that there was a running race going on. The previous day we asked at the tourism office and the athletic store. Just blank stares. There was a flyer posted on the wall of the National Park headquarters advertising the race. As we approached the alleged start of the race, there were no signs, no closed roads, and nobody out running. There was an empty swimming pool at the "sports club" near the road where we were looking for our race. Everyone was inside the club. The race was in memory of a man who was kidnapped and killed by the dictatorship in Argentina. He was a 25 year old man that would run to promote freedom in his country. The name of the race is Carrera de Miguel. Miguel and many other people that wanted freedom disappeared during this dictatorship. This was the 3rd year that the race had been held to remember this victim.
After the finish line was inflated and the cones marking the turnaround were in place the gun sounded, well the lady waved her flag and we all took off. It was a fun run. Just under 800 meters in elevation. Lots of serious Argentineans, a few women, and a visually impaired guy were all running this morning. As you crossed the finish line, you were handed a raffle ticket. During the raffle Danielle won a used Donna Summer CD. Some other people won boxes of chocolate. (Bariloche is the Argentinean capital of chocolate.)
Danielle won her age group. I ran a 39:15. However, before you get excited, my Garmin says that the run was only 9.34km. After the race, I saw a kid that looked to be about 16 years old. His shoes had giant holes in them. So I gave him my shoes. He needed them more than I did. I wont be running until I get to Boulder where I can buy another pair. Turns out this kid was pretty fast. He won his age group and gave me his medal. It was a great experience. Mothers of some of the people that were killed by the regime showed up to talk to the runners. This is a picture of our new friends, Koby from Israel, Michael from Washington D.C., us and the mothers.
The entire morning was very emotional for me. According to some new German research, it might be because I was high. Thanks Trish.