The path to Porto Alegre, capital city Rio Grande du Sul, was certainly long and travel wasn’t easy. For one thing, to reach this southernmost state of Brazil, bordering Uruguay, I had to cross the Middle East, and then Africa for a 30+ hour journey. In Brazil, the road went via Säo Paulo and then Brasilia.
Arriving finally at the Salgado Filho International Airport, along with other runner-visitors from other Brazilian cities and South American countries, we were fetched from the airport by race organizers and brought directly to the WIN Sports Store, the focal area for pre-marathon arrangements.
There, I met my friend, Paulinho Stone, who just two weeks earlier had agreed to my late, pay-later marathon registration. There were exceptions, he said, without explanations. After exchanging pleasantries, he took care of the registration formalities and gave me my race packet.
Though this was already my second trip to Brazil, it was my first visit to Porto Alegre. Thus, after a quick hotel check-in, I spent some time exploring the city. To record this virgin visit, I did a rare pose- a Marathon Maniac in jeans and sandals, with truly Brazilian company!
Back to the hotel, it was time for the usual race gear assembly. Every item had been worn before, save for the race-issued shirt that was going to be worn beneath the MM vest, a pair of identical bibs to be worn uniquely in the front and back, and a wrist-mounted timing chip.
At 5:30 AM of Sunday, marathon runners were picked up by race-rented vans from designated hotels. The transport was necessary. The marathon start point at the grounds of the upscale Barra Shopping Sul mall was some seven kilometers away from the city.
There, many runners had arrived early. There was ample time for warm-ups, pleasantries, and/or photo opportunities. But at the numerous booths of running clubs and race sponsors huddled many runners. After all, the temperature was 16 degrees Celsius and it was a bit chilly.
As dawn broke and the starting time drew closer, marathon emcees began hyping-up the crowd. This marathon we were told was one of the oldest and best-organized in Brazil- hosted by CORPA or Clube dos Corredores de Porto Alegre- the Running Club of Porto Alegre.
First to take off at exactly 7:00 AM were some 200 female 42K runners, starting 15 minutes earlier than the males. In a city famous for having the most beautiful women in Brazil, such sex segregation was justified, if only to keep the males focused on running and not on anything else.
Then came the turn of the disabled athletes, five of them, with their custom-designed, well-oiled, and modern race equipment. This was to be the first and last time that I would see them that day. I am sure they finished way ahead of everybody!
At 7:15AM came the turn of the 1000+ male 42K runners- mostly seasoned marathoners and members of various running clubs in Brazil and South America. The race cut-off time was 6 hours. But with a plane to catch at 2 PM that same afternoon, a sub-5 finish time was my goal.
The first 10 kilometers of the race looped around the neighborhood of Cristal- the area where the Barra Shopping Sul mall was located. But in the distance, across the great river, we could see the skyline of the city that we headed for later that day.
There were hydration stations along the way- about one every 3K. In at least 3 points were served isotonic drinks and, in one, bananas. As the temperature began to rise from 16 to 29 deg C that morning, I stopped to drink at most stations to avoid cramps and dehydration.
At one point I overtook ‘special marathon’ racers, dressed-up according to the message they wanted to convey- this one about the perils of junk food. I even saw one runner pushing an office chair and acting as if his back was aching- the need for ergonomic office equipment!
The route would take us to tree-lined and gated communities which the rich and famous of Porto Alegre called home. Founded by immigrants from Portugal in the early 1700s, majority of the city’s 4 million population have bloodlines tracing back to Europe.
But the race route also took us to the poorer city neighborhoods where houses were gated for protection in a manner not so much different from home. At one point we passed a sign pointing to a place I knew- a city that Antonio Carlos Jobim’s girl fondly calls home.
Except for a few mildly rolling hills, most of the route was flat and PB- or PR-friendly. On the way I would overtake some of the women runners. But with an earlier head start and with many being true athletes, 156 of the 206 42K women runners would finish ahead of me!
Support from the city’s police force was excellent. Running on two to three lanes of the city’s main highways for most of the way, every intersection was manned by either policemen or race marshals who directed traffic and gave the runners first priority.
Crowd support at the starting and finish areas were likewise fantastic. While there would be sporadic crowds cheering runners along the route, gauchos shouting greetings and encouragement from city apartments' balconies were truly and uniquely friendly.
Along way we would pass by city landmarks including the Mercato Central that I had visited the previous day. Basic knowledge of Portuguese, the foremost language in the Southern Hemisphere, comes handy in this country. My knowledge of Spanish made things a bit easy.
We ran a major loop around key areas of Porto Alegre and as we rounded the second to the last corner to Cristal that day, the sun was becoming unbearably hot and so was the scenery. With leg cramps threatening to spoil the day, I drew inspiration from the beauty and run/walked the rest of the way.
And as I approached the finish arc at around noon that day, nameless but joyful faces in the crowd clapped, cheered, and congratulated me. Bem feito, bem feito, they said. Well done, indeed, as I heard my name mentioned by the race announcers on stage while I dashed to the finish line, finally.
I checked back in at 4:43:44, at just one and a quarter minutes before noon and within my sub-5 time goal. There would be very little time for photo-ops after finishing that day. I had to go back to my hotel in the city hurriedly, wash-up and then proceed to the airport very, very quickly.
Six other members of my running club the Marathon Maniacs raced Porto Alegre that day. One of them, MM#1024 and Palladium (7-star) Maniac Carlos Hideaki Fujinaga, had just logged marathon number 60. Many thanks to Carlos' hospitality, the taxi ride back to the hotel was made swift and easy.
The 28th edition of the Maratona Internacional de Porto Alegre, subtitled Maratona Revezamento Rustica de Porto Alegre, would be my 12th 42-kilometer race in 12 months in 10 different countries. While this Marathon Maniac Iridium (4-star) Level statistic may seem awesome and even classy, many others in the Insane Asylum are way more crazy and thus far more worthy :-) !
Obrigado CORPA for making my first marathon in South America truly memorable and, yes, Alegre.
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