The United States, with 274 runners, leads the foreign delegations registered to date in Marabana, the Cuban capital’s marathon that will hold its 33rd edition on November 10.
With this figure, which can still grow because registrations will remain open until shortly before the event, the American delegation almost equals the number for 2018, when 278 U.S. runners competed. This, despite the new sanctions and travel restrictions established by the Trump administration against the island.
After the United States comes Mexico with 136 representatives; France with 45 athletes, Colombia with 42, and Spain and Puerto Rico with 28 each, according to the general director of Marabana, Carlos Gattorno.
So far a total of 902 foreigners from 59 nations have confirmed their participation, 300 more than those registered until the same date the previous year, said Gattorno, cited by the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
The majority of the foreigners are over 45 years of age and the half marathon will concentrate their most numerous representation, with 418. Meanwhile, 325 have been registered for the marathon, as well as 134 for the 10-kilometer race and 22 for the 5 kilometers.
For its part, Cuba has more than 4,000 classified runners, distributed between the different distances and categories of the Marabana, which this time is dedicated to the 500 years of the foundation of the Cuban capital and will have as its starting point and finish line the Parque Central, in Havana’s central Paseo del Prado.
In addition, this edition of the race will also honor the famous Cuban runner Félix “el Andarín” Carvajal on the 115th anniversary of his participation in the Olympic Games in Saint Louis, the United States, and on the 70th of his death.
In 2018 more than 5,000 runners, 1,400 of them foreigners, participated in the Marabana. On that occasion, the race became famous because of the presence of American actor and musician Will Smith, who celebrated his 50th birthday running the Havana half marathon, accompanied by a film crew.
