The BA half marathon: a beautiful airy race

It’s official! I have finally achieved stardom. Mine and my husband Alistair’s name appeared in Tuesday’s Clarín, a national Argentine newspaper, for completing the Buenos Aires half marathon 2015. Hah! My name is almost certainly unlikely to appear in the papers in England, particularly in association with a race.

This was our first race abroad, and the first one in the southern hemisphere. Despite having to get up at 5am, it was worth the effort, not only in terms of taking part but experiencing a part of Argentine culture.

Buenos Aires 21k, 2015

Buenos Aires, or Argentina rather, is no different to England, in the sense that running is “una moda, un boom,” as was reported in Clarin’s half marathon supplement. At 6.30am parking spots near the Palermo parks were becoming far and few between. Queues for the porta loos were steadily building as the participants came streaming in. This was business, there was even a mini practice running track.

A record 22,586 people had registered for the race from 57 different countries. 7.30am, the sun was coming out and we were off. It was perfect running weather. I was worried it might have been a bit of a bottleneck in the beginning with the amount of people but we soon found our stride. It helped that the streets of BA are wide.

Clarin supplement

The route through some of the major streets, including Avenida del Libertador and Avenida 9 de Julio, and plazas of BA was pretty spectacular. It was quite a different sight, seeing these roads free of traffic. Running on the motorway (closed off, I’m glad to say) was quite a feat, with police manning the areas looking down on the shanty towns in Retiro.

There were rumours of a few hills (not sure where in a city as flat as a pancake), but apart from a couple of minor inclines, it was probably the flattest race I had run. Not that it was obvious from my time.

From start to finish, the whole event was very well organised, with several drinks stations along the way, as well as fruit. The atmosphere was great, with plenty of volunteers keeping our spirits up and the odd blast of music along the way.

Results are in

However, there were two things that struck me. Firstly. There was a noticeable lack of charities. In England, there would be charity stands at the start line and several people wearing charity vests or in fancy dress. Here, I did see a few people running along pushing wheelchairs but there was a visible absence of running for a cause, other than for a personal challenge of course.

Secondly, it was an early start but there were far fewer members of the public out on the side lines to motivate the runners. Nonetheless, during and after, I’m very glad to have been part of such a great day, least of all the added bonus of mine and Alistair’s name appearing in the paper. Roll on 2016…

A sodden Buenos Aires: storms, floods and misery

I have just given my cleaner packets of biscuits as part of a collection for victims who have been badly affected by the floods in Buenos Aires province. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything else we owned that could be of use under such tragic circumstances.

I’ve only just realised the enormity of this disaster, having read heart-breaking newspaper reports and seen pictures of people being forced to evacuate their homes.

A week under water, courtesy of Clarin

The front page story in Wednesday’s Clarin, a national Argentine newspaper, reported that six municipalities in the province were under water and that more than 20,000 people had been affected. Yesterday, there were pictures of the river overflowing in Quilmes, the area where we live.

Carrying on the fight 

Sadly, many of the shanty towns, known as villas, are also in Quilmes. A resident from the villa whose job it is to “help” people park their cars for a small fee told me that his area had been flooded, but that they would carry on fighting.

We have gotten off extremely lightly in the face of such desperate situations. Our small front lawn, where the grass has worn away, has turned into a mini pond but thankfully our swimming pool has not overflowed.

I know I should be used to it, coming from England, particularly having just come back from a wet and cold summer. Still, I don’t think I’ve ever seen lightening during mid-morning or heard thunder so deafening loud that our house almost shook with fear.

The storms seem to have been caused by the Sudestada (Southeast blow), a climatic phenomenon that commonly affects the River Plate and the surrounding area. A sudden rotation of cold southern winds create cooler temperatures, heavy rainfall and choppy seas – usually between July and October.

That said, the people I have spoken to have been surprised by how long it has rained. A couple of days, yes, but constant rain for a week on end like this is considered unusual.

An absent government response 

Yet, perhaps what is less surprising is the government’s handling of the situation. Scioli, governor of the Buenos Aires province and also the front-runner of the upcoming presidential elections, helpfully went to Italy during the floods. 

Despite Buenos Aires being an area prone to flooding, in 2014 spending on preventing flooding had fallen to its lowest level since the creation of the funds in 2010.

The rain may have finally stopped, but the politics of the flooding has just started.