Runners from Toluca and the capital will participate in a mountain race in Oaxaca.

The Club de Exploraciones de México’s Toluca and Central Sections running team is preparing to participate in the Trail Mixteca Oaxaqueña. Eight competitors will run 12, 22, and even 36 kilometers in the mountains of southwestern Mexico.

This Sunday, the Cemac runners will climb Nevado de Toluca before traveling to San Mateo Tlapiltepec, located in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, the birthplace of Ricardo Mejía, known as “The King of the Mountains,” a Mexican athlete who has been a world champion in this sport on several occasions.

The mountain race in Oaxaca is up to 36 kilometers long.

Mireille Vizuet López, a member of the Cemac Toluca-Central team, explained that the eight participants in this demanding race are graduates of the mountain running course that was offered simultaneously in the capital of Mexico and Mexico City.

The mountain runner indicated that the Trail Mixteca Oaxaqueña will take place on June 7, just a few days after completing her mountain running course, which ends this Sunday at the summit of Nevado de Toluca.

Vizuet López will run 36 kilometers and estimates she can complete the distance in about six hours. Her passion for mountain running is more like therapy than a time trial. Her physical preparation is rigorous to reach the finish line in the best possible way, which is why she has already worked on distance, elevation, and altitude.

The athlete pointed out that the Oaxacan Mixteca Trail is a very complex race. It’s characterized by being very dry, extremely hot, and sometimes rainy. In other words, it’s an unpredictable course where anything can happen in a few hours. She emphasized that the San Mateo Tlapiltepec mountain is a desert, rocky, and very technical area, and therefore requires great care when planning a race strategy, nutrition, and hydration.

Running in the mountains is more complicated.

Unlike a track race or a city marathon, running in the mountains is more complicated. In this type of rugged terrain, there are more risks—uneven ground, branches, trees, falls, hostile environments, and injuries—but the landscapes are indescribable and there’s less pollution. Although the danger of losing the route and ending up somewhere other than the goal is always present, in these competitions, it’s necessary to learn to be self-sufficient to reach the finish line, commented Mireille Vizuet López.

The runner emphasized that the Oaxacan Mixteca Trail will have varying degrees of elevation gain. The 12-kilometer race will have a gradient of 600 meters, the 22-kilometer race is estimated at 900 meters, and the longest race, 36 kilometers, will have a gradient of 1,700 meters. She acknowledged that this is undoubtedly a competition that requires a great deal of physical preparation.

Source: lajornadaestadodemexico