Maratón Internacional Lala, Mexico - Sunday 5 March 2017 ©Alan Brookes
Maratón Internacional Lala, Mexico – Sunday 5 March 2017
The record field of 5200 runners took off at 06.45 from in front of the main Grupo Lala factory in Gomez Palacio writes Alan Brookes. It was a chilly 12C in the high desert country and remained cool until three hours after the start.
Then the sun climbed to high noon and pushed temperatures to the mid-20s as the last runners crossed the festive finish line in front of the Bosque Venustiano Carranza. Runners came from all 31 Mexican states, Colombia, Guatemala and the USA. The race sold out online within 11 days and enjoyed record female participation (31.4% of the field).
While “La Fiesta Lagunera” continued its proud tradition of enthusiastic crowds, first-class organization and strong community support from 29 neighbourhood cheer sites a significant change was the decision to move the post-race area from the magnificent Bosque — a beautiful, irrigated oasis of greenery in the desert and the finest feature of Torreon — to a nearby parking lot. The organisers also ditched the elite field. Subtly, “Maraton Internacional Lala” became “Maraton Lala” and “La Fiesta Lagunera” became “La fiesta de los Laguneros”.
Slower winning times still produced some good local drama. Mexico City’s Ciro Perez Barragan pushed a group of eight through the early stages before taking off on his own. He was caught and passed in the final 2km by “Lagunero” Daniel Ortiz. The women’s race was a thrilling duel between two Laguneras. Marie Isabel Velez and Ana Maria Ortiz ran side by side for 42km before Velez sprinted away over the final 200m to take the tape under the Grito del Triunfo arch.
When the ubiquitous desert dust settles it will be interesting to see what international dairy conglomerate Grupo Lala decides to do for next year’s 30th anniversary edition. This once-proud race staged the fastest marathon in all of Latin America (2:08:17) as recently as 2011.
Source: AIMS
Marathon
Men
1 | Daniel | ORTIZ | MEX | 2:27:13 |
2 | Mauricio De Leon | MARTINEZ | MEX | 2:27:32 |
3 | Ciro Perez | BARRAGAN | MEX | 2:27:52 |
Women
1 | Maria Isabela | VELEZ | MEX | 3:00:06 |
2 | Ana Maria Ortiz | NAVARRETE | MEX | 3:00:16 |
3 | Gladys Paula | HERNANDEZ | MEX | 3:03:09 |