20,000 runners hit the streets of Mexico this weekend for Nike‘s We Run event in the Federal District.
The 2012 edition of We Run México DF saw 20,000 runners take the streets of the Federal District to race the 10K.
Olympic athlete and Pan American champion Juan Luis Barrios, along with three=time Young Olympics champion Matilde Álvarez Sierra cheered runners at the finish line.
Manuel Lechuga and María Itzel joined runners at the starting line, along with a group of celebrities that included Jean Duverger, Jimena Sánchez, Amanda Rosas, Galia Katz, Fernanda Aragonés, Agustin Otegui, Lambda García and Carlona Moran. They all challenged themselves to run the race, along with footballers Emilio Orrantia andLalo Herrera, and athletes Karina Pérez, Marisol Romero, Germán Silva and Julio César Romero.
For We Run DF, Nike created a special challenge called “Join the Game,” inviting runners to live the joy, emotion and passion of 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, as if it was a game. Runners were invited to tell their stories using the hashtag #WERUNMEXICO on Twitter and also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nikecorre. Runners could access and share, in real time, their times, phrases and pictures with friends and families.
Winners of the We Run México DF were:
Women:
- Karina Pérez Delgado, 36´17”
- Maritza Arenas Lavana 36´36”
- Melisaide Pazaret 37´54”
Men:
- Julio Cesar Pérez 31´10”
- Erick Pérez Huerta 31´13”
- Arturo Malaquias Delgado 31´45”
Nike also wanted to emphasize the importance of sports in the early stages of life. For this first time in this year’s We Run series, the three Mexico races are including races for children. In Mexico City, 500 athletes between 8 and 12 years old experienced a 3K. The children participated in the Kids Run Club, where they trained and prepared for the run.
Winners in this category were:
Boys:
- Franco Manuel Garcia Falfan – 10´39
- Aldo Casas Aguilera – 10´51”
- Francisco Javier Cabrera Pérez – 11´05”
Girls:
- Mariana Martínez Rangel – 12´20
- Sayuri Ximena López de Santiago 12´24”
- Alejandra Sánchez Sánchez 17´06’
As part of the 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 México DF 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.