The Jarabacoa Marathon

Possibly the shortest marathon one could ever run, since it is approximately 7 miles as opposed to 26 miles, the Jarabacoa Marathon does not disappoint. Short on distance, but big on scenery and character, the Jarabacoa marathon happens every year just before Easter, and each year Escuela Caribe students and staff, train to run in it.

This year, staff members Miss Adams and Mr. Linehan, along with students Mackenzie, Melanie, Jay, Alex, Cody, Marcel, Miguel and Sam, ran the rocky streets and sun bathed back roads lined with Dominicans eager to cheer them on.  The students practiced twice a week for about 6 weeks leading up to the race, and Marcel was Escuela Caribe's fastest participant.  

For Marcel, one of the most difficult parts about the race was the fact that on the back roads Dominicans offered "encouragement" in the form of dousing racers with buckets of water as they passed.  Since he was "encouraged" early on, he had to run the race in soggy socks and shoes, which literally put a damper on things for him.    

However, for Cody and Alex, the random cups and buckets of water offered by the race fans was more of a highlight.  Having run the race last year, Alex enjoyed it more this year and even won a t-shirt (along with Marcel and Makenzie).  He said that it was more fun with more people from Escuela Caribe running in the marathon this year. 

Cody expressed that at one point, a Dominican toddler clothed in only a smile and armed with a small bucket of water, ran out in the road to partake in the ceremonial dousing of runners. Cody really enjoyed running thru the town, though the race was more difficult than he anticipated, he said it was a "once in a life time experience."

Miguel and Cody agreed that their sprint/stop/weeze/sprint strategy was not necessarily the best approach to the race.  Miguel was slightly perturbed that the cheering Dominicans on the side of the road were not very obedient when he asked them NOT to spill water on him, and he stated with a grin that the race was a one time deal for him as well.

For Sam, the race was long and hard.  He said maybe with some more training he might do it again, but he really enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people.  Mr. Yoder, who disciples Sam, ran the last part of the race with him, and so they finished it together.

 Jay, with all of his energy and exhuberance, also felt that the race was harder than expected.  He felt that the immediate brutal, uphill start right out off the bat was a little extreme, and said that he *maybe* would do the race again if he had a chance. 

While Melanie was running the course, she ran across a couple of little Dominican girls whom she had played with during a previous service project out in the community.  She said that after they greeted her with big hugs, that they grabbed her by the hands and ran alongside her . . . for about 5 minutes.

Makenzie really enjoyed the race and felt that it was not as hard as she imagined.  She said that she could have pushed herself harder, but that the experience in general was very positive.  She also enjoyed the encouragement, real encouragement rather than water dousing encouragement, of the Dominican children along the way.

The students did a great job training for and running the Jarabacoa Marathon, and we are very proud of them.