Buenos Aires Marathon

The RunnerBox founder and co-owner, Staci Dietzel is on her way to running a marathon on each of the seven continents. She's completed North America, Europe, Asia and now South America. Learn more about how to checked her latest continent off the list with her Buenos Aires race report.

I chose Buenos Aires, Argentina as my marathon for the continent of South America in my quest to complete a marathon on each of the 7 continents. With Hurricane Matthew headed up the coast, there were several times I did not think I was going to make the trip. I packed and unpacked my bags more than once. Eventually I did make the long trip down and found my way to my hotel Friday in Belgrado, a quiet neighborhood on the edge of Buenos Aires. I was traveling alone for this one. I went to the expo on Friday afternoon shortly after I arrived. It was relatively small and I took about an hour to pick up my packet and look through all the vendors. It was a nice 1.5 mile walk back to Belgrano. October is spring in Argentina, and the weather was pleasant in the 60-70s. Saturday I took a city tour, which gave me a nice overview of the area. We toured sections of the marathon route, learned history of the city, and I chose a few places I knew I'd like to re-visit after the race. I grabbed dinner at a local cafe and headed back to my hotel. I really wished I took that extra year of Spanish as my comprehension was not too bad but my Spanish speaking was embarrassing.

Race morning came quickly. I decided to cab to the start as I wasn't certain on directions. As I was getting ready I realized I was missing a few things. My breakfast that I usually bring, and my sports bra. Too late to do anything about it now. My stomach already was feeling off, but was glad I at least had my MedZone chafe cream as this was going to be interesting.

It was a beautiful morning, cool in the low 60s, with a high in the mid 70s that day. The race had a very organized start, and it was spectacular to see the sun rising over the trees as we began to run. The start and finish was at Pres Av Figueroa Alcorta, a wooded area on the edge of the city with plenty of space to spread out. The course was said to be fast and flat, and I was looking forward to seeing the sites along the way. It runs along the tourist district of San Telmo, historic and financial districts, cathedrals, the Government House, the neighborhood of Palermo, the soccer stadium, lakes and forest, and more. I felt quite good for the first half. The race took us through some beautiful areas of Buenos Aires. The second half was a bit more painful as my stomach was starting to rebel. The on course hydration wasn't sitting right with me, and I was having trouble keeping it down. The stomach pain did detract from the irritation of the not-made-for-running bra I was wearing, though, so that's a plus. Although not a particularly pleasant second half, and a very positive split, I finished with a respectable time. I felt a lot better after some water and an Alfajor, my new favorite Argentinian food. After the walk back to the hotel and a shower, I spent the rest of the day wandering through Recoleta, where they had a huge local fair, their famous beautiful cemetery, and cathedrals. By the time I got back it was dark and I had 40 miles on my tracker. A good day.

I had the next 2 days to wander different neighborhoods before heading home. Wonderful, warm people and an interesting history and culture. Great marathon too.