Running through Chile

A "cultural heritage marathon" through the port city.  (Image from here).

I ran the 10K portion of the first ever Valparaíso Marathon Sunday, which featured 10,000 participants running through the city and on the docks of the container port, one of the biggest ports in South America.  We ran past two huge container ships, their loading and unloading process paused for a few minutes to allow us to run past.  The dock employees lined up on either side of the race route and cheered us on.  Normally the docks are closed to the public, so it was a treat to see a part of the city that we don't usually get to see.

Being part of a running club here has been a great way to meet people, and also to get to know the country.  In addition to the loading docks and avenues of Valparaíso, we've run races across desert-like hill country in Puchuncaví, and around the lagoon and forests of Curauma.  And our weekly training grounds along the Pacific coast in Viña del Mar feature cool ocean spray and great views.

The only downside I've found is that having a conversation with someone while running is hard enough in English, and nearly impossible (for me) in Spanish.  And there was that one race in which I misunderstood the instructions at the starting line and ran the wrong way.  Luckily my teammates have been very patient with me.

- Dan