Santiago does have runners, after all!

Today I ran a 10K race in the neighborhood of Ñuñoa and I honestly have never been so jubilantly thrilled in this country. I was giddy and joyful and smiling at everyone after the race. It really made me happy to discover that there are many running groups in Chile and opportunities to meet people. The sunshiny day and blue skies helped. I could also attribute my newfound happiness to the fact that I've been sleeping well, partying less, and running regularly again. I was so ready to take a semester off running competitively, yet that has turned out to be my saving grace in a foreign country. Que irónico. I also have been staying in touch with my family pretty well, and with everyone so far away it feels wonderful to hear from my brothers, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins via Skype.


The race itself seems like a blur now. I got up at 8 and left after quickly eating my cereal. I carefully packed my keys, 15 mil ($30) in case of emergency, my chilean identity card, and the bip! card used for the metro and bus into my tiny running shorts pocket. I also brought my ipod and handwarmers. It was 34°F outside in the morning but I knew it would get warm so I was wearing a long sleeved Drifit underneath the sleeveless Corrida Ñuñoa 10k shirt. There is a point to this: I didn't want to put my clothes in a locker and wait in a terribly long line to get it back after the race, but I didn't want to be too warm during the race from wearing too much stuff. (I discarded the handwarmer packets before the race, during which it was in the 70s.)


The only problem with this arrangement was that I had to kind of reach into my shorts to get any of my cards or stuff, which made for some amused stares, but who cares? It was worth the effort to avoid long lines. Even though I had to wear long sleeves and under armour leggings when I would really have preferred shorts and a sports bra. Incidentally, no one does that here- we're not in Brazil. Shirts are required at most gyms, and while I did see some women wearing bun shorts (I am so glad that's acceptable!), no one bares their stomach here, and even the men were all wearing shirts. The code of behavior for men and women is completely different, but apparently not for apparel. I had the route directions written on my hand because there were a bunch of turns. I needn't have worried about directions because it was a BIG RACE! the streets were closed off and Carabineros, the Chilean police, oversaw the traffic for us.

The first 5k went by really quickly, I was probably running at a 7 to 720 minute/mile pace for the first 3 miles. Then I realized I had three more miles to go, slowed way down, and finished in about 47:00 factoring in delay at the crowded starting line. Basically that means I'm not really in shape, because if that had been a hard 8 workout back at CMC I wouldn't have completed 8 miles in 60 minutes. But it's okay! I finished to loud music and cheering people and the female announcer yelling "¡Vamos, chiquillos, vamos! ¡Apurate! ¡Vamos! ¡Miran las mujeres, se pasaron, una aplausa para las mujeres en la carrera de diez kilómetros!" How can you not just smile when you see some silly dude wearing a clown nose sprinting towards the finish line about ten minutes after you're done, or a little 3 year old holding his dad's hand wearing a 10k number? Or the whooping, yelling kid who flashed a peace sign at everyone when finishing? Or the 60+ year old woman who finished maybe a couple minutes behind me? Spirited runners, regardless of their speed, are the most fun to watch. And hell, I hope I can still do that when I'm 60.

At the end of the race I greeted my friends Dan (who passed me as I slowed down at the end of the 5k) and Carolyn. They were waiting in the silly long line to pick up their stuff (silly) so I headed for the bus and made a runner friend! He had obviously finished the race too and was wearing a Santiago marathon shirt. He asked me how my race went (good), then I noticed the running group logo on his shirt and asked about it. There is a free Adidas running group that meets at 9 on Saturdays and Sundays on the corner of Amerigo Vespucio and Avenida Vitacura, and I was invited. I wonder to what extent the group is actually affiliated with Adidas. Apparently they have beginning, intermediate and advanced routes, so I'm trying to get people to go with me. I am eager to see where they run in the city and meet new Chilean friends. This guy was also one of few male Chilean strangers who treated me normally, without flirtation, and I really appreciated it (others include my host dad, professors, Ricardo the UChile law student who introduces us IES foreigners to Chilean culture, and one old waiter who cautioned me to be careful of robbers). Perhaps next Saturday I will go check out the running group, and see how it goes. A marathoner who spoke English also directed me to santiagorunners.cl and fedachi.cl for information on future races. ¡There are many! I'm beginning to understand why the Spanish language has so many punctuation marks. It makes the language vibrant. I still haven't figured out the << >> quotation marks though.

After the race I was still happy so I smiled all the way to Starbucks, where the barista informed me that I always get a mocha alto (tall) when I go there. ¡Que fome! (How boring/lame!) At his suggestion I had a caramel macchiato which I did not like as much but it's okay because I would have been satisfied and happy with any coffee beverage read: made with verdadero espresso. I also had some friends coming to the house that afternoon for a group project so I got two pieces of multilayered torta, cookies, and milk. (I like hostessing.) I was also very happy to hear that my race story and positive mood had inspired Laura-as she put it, not me- to go on her first run of her entire trip here. We worked at my house for a while, then I directed Nichell to the McDonald's and went back to Starbucks to write a paper. I need to stop being so American. I had so much stuff to do when she came in to greet me. Though I was distracted from my work, we had one of those conversations that sometimes you need to have even if you've got stuff to do for the next day.

Speaking of which, I really must get back to that paper, but I will do my best in the next few months to have more days like this and pass along my contagious happiness. At the very least, this is proof that I was in a good mood here.