Yesterday afternoon, I successfully completed my third 5K this year. This one was called the 5k Criollo by the Foundation Criollos 13 in Caguas. It was a fundraiser to support patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) of Puerto Rico, INC.

The race began near the town square in Caguas, , where there was a quick warm up session and few group pictures of all the runners. We all walked a few blocks over to where we all set off running and walking down to a very long avenue in Caguas where most of the race took place. After, we ran to the Yldefonso Sola Morales baseball stadium. 

This race was a little stressful because there were a few times when we were running that the street wasn’t closed, so there were cars in the next lane. That was terrifying for me! At other points there were cops stopping the traffic, which gave me a little peace of mind, but I did see one car just continue driving even while the road was closed for cars. 

I didn’t run the entire race, but I was able to keep a pretty good pace and I had help from a woman in my running group I met right before the race. I tried to keep up with her and her dog but I couldn’t do it for the whole race. 

When I saw the stadium, I was so happy I made it, but we didn’t just have to get to the stadium; we had to run around half the field to get to the finish line. When I got to the finish line, Freddy was there to congratulate me and hand me my medal. 

I enjoyed this 5k because I met and talked to a few of the other members of Freddy’s Runners. They were all very nice to me and that was one of my goals for joining, meeting new people. Also, I improved my time; this time I completed the 5k in 38:33 minutes. I came in 64th overall and beat my previous record of 39:23. I know 50 seconds is not a lot, but it was still less. 

This was my third and last 5k of 2024 and I’m very proud of completing it. I still don’t know what my first race of 2025 will be, but I’m looking forward to it. I have new running shoes to start breaking in this week so I’ll be ready in January.

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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu

I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write. I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer. I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book. Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.

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