Jaca's pride

This is a matter of personal and civic pride. 

On Saturday in our little city of  about 12,800 people, 1,300 had registered to take part in a 5k-in the city.

This was a charity event for something called Duchenne, which is a rare kind of muscular distrophy.

https://jacetaniaexpress.com/ni-la-lluvia-pudo-con-quique-gravalos-la-lucha-contra-duchenne-llena-las-calles-de-jaca/?fbclid=IwAR2Yhn2yywNuKyS87GfqySOaJToReMWhQ46s_LXK21D3E3SROuzpBN9y_8g 

 

The above is a link to a local digital newspaper, of course it's in Spanish.

Some of the photos in this post are copied from Jacetania Express; if this is wrong, please tell me so.

Anyway, I've been running since the start of this year; I needed exercise and found that I enjoyed it-within the limits of my age and (in)experience. Posters advertising the event started to appear in shop windows in the summer-I was tempted and eventually enrolled, paid my fee of 10€ and started trying out the circuit, to see if I could manage it.

I asked my friends and several said they would take part, but walking, so my personal challenge was solitary.

Before

Before the start

My friends cheered me when I passed them on the return route

There were many people at the starting point. The municipal band was there, some in uniform and some in shorts. 

Many local businesses had contributed to the event, and we were lucky with the weather-the storm that had threatened didn't happen and it was neither too hot nor too cold.

The starting gate

There were chaotic masses at the starting gate. When the off sounded, the runners wove through the wheelchairs and walkers. There's a video of the start: it's my only appearance-at one point I spotted myself threading my way to the front. I've never run with other people-my jogging has been solitary, so doing it with a mass of varied ages and skills was interesting. In the end, you have to set your own pace, and of course, mine was way slower than the athletes. I made it though. Right to the end. I crossed the finish line alone and nobody took a photo of me, which was disappointing. The race started just after midday and at the finish my watch said 12.40. I'm proud of myself for completing the course, and I'm proud of my city for promoting this togetherness and community spirit.

I think these are the runners who crossed the line first and Quique Grávalos, the man who started the whole thing.

The mayor of Jaca crosses the line

I wish someone had taken a photo of me like this!

The first wheelchair to cross the finish line

I was there to take their photo

Well done, Jaca!