An entire night of rain seemed to mean an uncomfortable race for the 5,858 athletes who gathered in Central Park to celebrate the 33rd edition of Marabana. But according to many runners, the rain made the run really pleasant, especially considering the heat of recent months.
Representatives from 66 countries (1,449 from abroad)flooded the streets of Havana, to run a route of 42, 21, or ten kilometers. The United States topped the list of nations with the most participants (400), followed by Mexico, Colombia, France, and Spain.
The 6:30am start in Central Park began with thousands of whistles sounding in honor of the 115th anniversary of Felix "El Andarín" Carvajal’s participation in the Olympic Games of San Luis 1904, the 70th of his death, and Havana’s 500th.
In the maximum challenge, 42 km, Alien Reyes, from Granma, was crowned for the first time, with a time of 2:37.22, surpassing by 21 seconds the wining time in 2018. The podium was completed by Alexeis Machado (Granma, 2:42.50) and Yoel Ricardo (Granma, 2:45.00). For the third consecutive year, Santiago’s Yudileyvis Castillo dominated the race in the women's category with a time of 2:53.05, 46 seconds better than in the 37th edition. The silver medal went to Mayan Liuris Figueredo (3:05.05) and the bronze to Italy’s Gabriele Toffoli (3:09.42).
Commenting on the difficulty of the race Alien Reyes stated, "The wind was very strong, I could hardly run, but I met my goal of being able to represent my country in Madrid in the future."
Yudileyvis Castillo was so excited about winning on the eve of Havana’s anniversary, that she could “hardly sleep." She reported feeling great throughout the run, despite the inclement weather, adding that staying calm was key to her success.
Yuleidys La O, from Holguin, won the men’s half marathon with a time of 1:09.25, while Dairán Suárez, from Matanzas, (1:10.39), and Mayan Francisco Estevez (1:10.45) took second and third place, respectively. In the women’s division, French runner Normand Elodie won the only title that escaped Cuba, with a time of 1:19.08. The silver went to Guantanamo’s Arletis Thaureaux (1:20.30) and the bronze to Havana's Yumileydis Mestre (1:21.03).
Cuba reigned in the 10 kilometers, with Maher Salah (33.43 minutes), Víctor Herrera (34.38) and Eddy Santiesteban (35.05) taking a spot on the podium. Among the women, the winners were Daily Cooper (37.25), María Calderón (38.25) and Lisneidys López (40.41).
