Montevideo Debuts on the Marathon Circuit · Global Voices
Guillermo Vidal

Photo published on Twitter by Santiago Runners
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Montevideo launched its first marathon with the participation of nearly 2,000 athletes, placing it on the international circuit for this race at the regional level. Organized by the Montevideo Town Hall and the Athletic Confederation of Uruguay the race was attended by athletes from around the country and other nations, who departed from the Legislative Palace on three courses to the Parque Rodo promenade.
The competition included a regulation course of 26.2 miles and two alternative courses for beginning and amateur athletes; the 13.2 mile Half Marathon and the 4.24 mile Participatory course.
The departure from the Legislative Palace staircase took place on Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 7:00 a.m. The extensive marathon route caused traffic and public transportation detours, which were planned for in advance by the event organizers.
The Montevideo Marathon had 1,947 participants; 690 women and 1,257 men which broke down in the following way: 512 athletes in the 26.2 mile marathon, 732 runners participated in the 13.2 mile race, and 703 in the 4.24 mile. Among the athletes there were 3 who are blind and 4 in wheel chairs.
In this first edition 1,900 Uruguayan runners registered with 10 Argentinians, 8 Brazilians, 7 Chileans, 7 Americans, 4 Mexicans, 2 Cubans, 2 Spaniards, 1 Venezuelan, 1 Canadian, 1 Chinese, 1 Colombian, 1 Ecuadorian, 1 Dominican, and 1 Italian. The winner was Agelmis Rojas of Cuba with a time of 2:19.33. Following him in second and third place for men were Uruguayans Martin Cuestas with 2:39.41 and Angel Portela with 2:33.23. In the women's rankings first place went to Uruguayan Laura Bazallo with 3:06.34, second to Uruguayan Laura Del Puerto with the same time, and third to Uruguayan Nelly Portillo with 3:15.59.
The group of Chilean runners Runchile(@Runchileweb) show their medal:
La medalla de Finisher de la Maratón de Montevideo!!! pic.twitter.com/Dp5XHhXz2c
— Runchile (@Runchileweb) Mayo 11, 2014
The Montevideo Marathon Finisher medal!!!
The marathon constituted a new milestone for Uruguayan athletics and included the only competition missing from the circuit of the capital city's races.
The Athletic Confederation of Uruguay showed its approval with the realization of the marathon through a comment its president, Pablo Sanmartino, made to El Pais digital, calling it “a dream to have a marathon in the city of Montevideo on the calendar.”
The Montevideo Marathon had some unexpected competitors as is referenced by journalist Seba Amaya(@sebaamaya) on Twitter:
Acá está el gaucho que se corrió los 42,195K de la Maratón de Montevideo con alpargatas de suela de goma pic.twitter.com/ZSDbkvJEdt
— Seba Amaya (@sebaamaya) Mayo 12, 2014
Here is the gaucho who ran the 26.2 mile Montevideo Marathon with rubber-soled espadrilles
There were also humorous comments such as that of Diego Gonzalez (@diegodelacurva):
Si hubiera corrido la maratón de Montevideo estaría llegando en este preciso momento.
— Diego Gonzalez (@diegodelacurva) Mayo 11, 2014
If I had ran the Montevideo marathon I would be finishing right now.
Among the marathon participants was a group belonging to the Uruguay Diabetes Foundation FDU (@DiabetesUruguay), as its comment on Twitter shows:
Integrantes del DIABETEAM que participaron de la Maraton Montevideo 42k : Alejandro Duera, Gisele Mosegui y… http://t.co/H9QPV4gp6B
— FDU (@DiabetesUruguay) Mayo 15, 2014
Members of the DIABETEAM who participated in the 26.2 mile Montevideo Marathon; Alejandro Duera, Gisele Mosegui and…
Video of the group of runners from Aguilas Running: