Two of Spain's most important popular races take place this weekend in Jaén and Valencia. The organizers of both 10-kilometer races have encountered a problem that was not unexpected as they had expected it before Christmas, but which has caught thousands of runners by surprise. Both races were affected by the Red Sea crisis in order to receive the T-shirts distributed to participants on time. The Night of San Antón, celebrated on Saturday (8:00 p.m.), received the 12,000 T-shirts on Wednesday, but is still waiting for the medals for those who cross the finish line and some backpacks. The Valencia Ibercaja 10km race, scheduled for Sunday (9:30 a.m.), has not had the same luck and will have to send its gift to those registered when the container with the 14,000 items of clothing arrives at its destination.
The entire planet's economy is being transformed by the blockage at the entrance to the Suez Canal, through which 12% of world trade flows. This huge traffic jam was caused by attacks and threats from Houthi rebels from Yemen, with the intention of impeding the flow of trade at this important point of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The night of San Antón is hardly saved. The race, which is very popular because the audience lights the runners with torches, has had the T-shirts since this Wednesday and hopes to also have the medals and backpacks in time. This shipment has already arrived at the port of Valencia and, according to the organization's forecasts, will depart this Thursday from Barcelona, where several vans are being prepared to transport the goods to Jaén.
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“We are saved, but the order should have arrived at the end of December and we are on January 10, three days before the race,” says Aarón de la Cuadra, technical director of the night of San Antón, a race that will take place on Saturday renowned athletes such as Mo Katir, the vice world champion in the 5,000 m, who just finished second on the last day of 2023 in the San Silvestre Vallecana. The Muleño will meet the Kenyan Edward Zakayo and well-known compatriots such as Fernando Carro, Dani Arce, Sergio Paniagua and the brand new Spanish marathon record holder Tariku Novales. In the women's category, the Ethiopians Tigist Gezahan and Alemaz Samuel are considered favorites, who will meet the Spaniards Carla Gallardo, Carolina Robles, Naima Ait Alibou, Fátima Ouhaddou and Majida Mayouf, who, like Tariku, also broke the record for the marathon in Spain in December.
The 10km race in Valencia, on the other hand, did not arrive on time. “It didn't surprise us, we've known about it since November. “This problem is a consequence of Hamas' attacks on Israel, a conflict that has escalated until the Houthis decided to attack and threaten commercial ships,” said Álex Aparicio, the organizer of the race, which had to appease runners this week who did I don't understand that this is the result of a larger cause. A conflict that is affecting trade around the world and that has led some shipping companies to decide to reroute their routes and take them around the entire African continent, doubling the Cape of Good Hope to reach Europe as quickly as possible to reach.
Aparicio has prepared an alternative plan that consists of distributing the T-shirts immediately upon arrival, days after the race, in different parts of Valencia, the province and several Spanish cities. “We bought the shirts from Mizuno (a company based in Osaka, Japan) and they were supposed to arrive at the end of November, but with thousands of cargo ships anchored in the Indian Ocean, at the gates of the Red Sea, it was impossible. We are a small part of this problem. Our shipment consists of 300 boxes that fit into one of the 500 containers on this ship.”
The 10K Valencia and Mizuno issued a statement asking for forgiveness, understanding and patience. However, Aparicio is focused on sports. At the start is one of the best road runners in the world, Jacob Kiplimo. The Ugandan has the world record in the half marathon and 15 kilometers and also wants to reach the 10 kilometers achieved by Rhonex Kipruto (26:24 minutes) in Valencia in the same test in 2020. But in addition, the organization assures that the Kenyan Agnes Yebet Ngetich wants to take the world record from Yalemzerf Yehualaw (29:14 minutes, achieved in Castellón in 2022), and Abdessamad Oukhelpen and Águeda Marqués will try to get closer to the national records of Toni Abadía (27:48 minutes) and Paula Herrero (31:23 minutes). “The show must go on,” jokes Aparicio.
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