Nike‘s We Run series hit Colombia over the weekend.
For the first time ever in its urban races, Nike brought a record of 12,000 runners through the streets of Bogotá.
Runners paced themselves against scenic backdrop of Bogota´s most iconic areas, such as La Autopista, la Avenida 68, Simón Bolívar Park, and the traditional urban area of El Polo. The field departed at 8 am and hit the finish line for the 10K at the entrance of Simón Bolívar Park.
This year’s race had 20 percent more registrants than last year’s and sold out in just three weeks, showing the impressive energy this race generates among runners in Colombia.
In preparation for this race, Nike organized a challenge on Sept. 30 for runners of the Universidad Nacional — 4,000 students from 40 different universities competed in a 5k race.
At Sunday’s race, Gerard Giraldo won the male general category, completing the 10K in 32 min. 21 sec. In the women’s general category, Sandra Marcela Rosas was the first woman to hit the finish line, completing the competition in 39 min. 19 sec.
“This race was truly a running party and we are very pleased to see the enthusiasm and growing participation, especially among young runners who joined this race for the first time,” said Ricardo Montañez, Nike Colombia Marketing Director.
This year’s Nike We Run Bogotá was part of the Nike We Run race series taking 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 City 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.