In addition to this weekend’s other global events, 5,000 runners hit the streets of Guadalajara for Nike‘s We Run race.
In Guadalajara´s 4th edition of We Run, 5,000 runners took the streets of the city to complete the 10K and test themselves as real athletes.
At the departure arch, Pan American Champion Juan Luis Barrios cheered runners, and offered words of motivation, along with Guadalajara football star Erick “El Cubo” Torres and Nascar driver Antonio Pérez. Football players Juan Pablo Vigon, Edson Rivera and Giovanni Casillas, radio anchor Mauro Hernandez and sports journalist Marco Cancino were also on hand to send the runners off.
With a time of 36 mins. and 20 secs., Madaà Pérez won the women’s category. Juan Luis Barrios led the men, reaching the finish line in 31 mins. and 28 secs.
For the trio of We Run races in Mexico, Nike created a special challenge called “Join the Game,” inviting runners to live the joy, emotion and passion around running as if they were children. The race offered inspirational experiences and messages to runners, encouraging them to push their limits, run faster and feel free running. Runners could tell their stories on Twitter using the hashtag #WERUNMEXICO and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/nikecorre, where, in real time, they accessed and shared their times, phrases and pictures with friends and families.
Nike also wanted to emphasize the importance of sports, particularly in the early stages of life. Mexico’s races included a special platform for youth ages 8 and 12 years. In Guadalajara, 500 young athletes ran a 2K. They could jointhe Kids Run Club, which provided training. With a time of 7 mins. and 48 secs., Ricardo AndrĂ© Escalante won the boys category, while JazmĂn Monserrat Núñez finished first among the girls, reaching the finish line in 8 mins. and 21 secs.
As part of this effort, Nike donated $500,000 to the Ayuda y Solidaridad de la Calle Foundation, which works with underprivileged kids, using Nike provided training and sports sessions for motivation, fun and recreation.
Nike’s commitment also focused on the environment. Nike, along with Powerade and Coca-Cola, collected and recycled all wastes generated in the competition.
Nike We Run Guadalajara was part of Nike’s We Run race series that takes place in 32 cities worldwide involving a total of 395,500 runners. The Nike We Run race series seeks to inspire, support and connect runners all around the world through the innovative Nike+ technology.
The We Run 10K series began three years ago as an evolution of Nike’s Human Race, a global 10K held in dozens of cities around the world on a single day in 2008. That blockbuster race evolved into the We Run 10K series in 2009, and has since expanded its reach and impact. It is now Nike’s single largest race series.
The 2012 We Run series kicked off in Riga, Latvia on Aug. 26, and will conclude in Santiago, Chile on Dec. 15.