Run, Lima, Run!

Last night, thousands of limeños (Lima residents) took to the streets of Miraflores, all because Nike told them to.  That's right- Lima had a Nike 10k- at night, no less.  My roommate Yessica was very excited to run her first organized race, and I accompanied her down to Parque Kennedy.  The police had blocked off several streets in Miraflores for the race, and this was causing even more traffic problems than usual. 

The irony of a running event in Lima, for me, is the pollution.  When I walk down the street here, the exhaust fumes can make me gasp and choke (Now I will stop complaining about smog checks in California!)  The noxious fumes I inhale on a daily basis are really pretty worrisome, and the last thing I want to do here is run.  Along the coast, where part of the race last night went, it's a little better- there are fewer cars and the ocean might have a purifying effect on the air.  I tried to find Yessica on the coast portion of the race right in front of the fancy mall called Larcomar- built into the side of a cliff.  I couldn't find Yessica (there were so many people and everyone was wearing the same shirt), but above is a random pic of some of the runners.

Yessica was psyched after the race- great job!  It was about 9:30 by the time everyone had finished, and runners spread out to the nearby restaurants/bars.  We went to a Cuban place and had a snack/drink.  Kaylin (our other roommate) came to meet up with us, as well as another Fulbright guy (Gabriel) and his girlfriend.  A fun night all in all.