San Silvestre races across Almeria

MANY Spanish towns and cities hold the San Silvestre race each year, and Almeria is no exception.

The race first came to Spain in 1964, in Madrid. The Madrid form of the race has two versions, both held on New Year’s Eve. One version is a fun run for amateur athletes who are often in fancy dress, while the other is for more serious athletes. In 2012 the Madrid race achieved a record number of participants, 40,000. Wikipedia states that it is based on the Saint Silvester Road Race, a Brazilian race that has been held since 1925.

In Albox the ninth edition of the race was held on Sunday December 28 attracting hundreds of runners in fancy dress. The entry fee was a kilogram of imperishable food for the needy. In Huercal Overa more than 300 runners took part with Jamal Dayane taking the title of fastest male and Maria Jose Martinez taking the fastest female prize.

In Almeria City more than 2,000 runners raced through the streets from 7pm with Jose Juan Perez and Virginia Vilchez taking top male and female spots respectively. The boys and girls winners were Paco Escudero and Maria Perez. The fancy dress theme in the capital for 2014 was circus dress and many of the runners got involved. Funds raised during the registrations went to charity. Councillor for Sports in Almeria City, Juanjo Alonso commented: “Above all we must mention the solidarity of the runners because of the amount of money that will go to the Duchenne-Spain Association.”