Quito Half Marathon Cache

On 21 November 2010 Quito hosted the sixth annual Half Marathon. The 21 kilometer race began at the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring) on the north side of Quito and followed a route past the airport, through Cotocollao, past the El Condado Mall, and out the highway that takes you to the Equator Monument at Mitad del Mundo. The race began a little after 6 a.m. under overcast skies but with no rain. My wife, sumajhuarmi, ran the race today. I'm proud of her! This was the longest race she's done and she did well. I drove out along the route, stopping a couple of times to park and cheer her own as she came by. Over 3000 people ran today. When I arrived at Mitad del Mundo I walked about 500 feet from the finish line in order to hide Quito 21 kilometer HALF MARATHON (GC2JK08). There was lots of trash along the road and at this point, lots of muggle race-watchers. I finally found a place in front of the Dios es Fiel church. I sat down and watched the runners go by and waited for sumajhuarmi to show. I waited about half an hour. During that time I was able to hide the cache gently and unobserved, even with all the people around me. Finally I saw her coming up the hill. You see most of the race was on a downhill grade but the last two kilometers was up hill. She was beat. I must have looked funny running along beside her in jeans and carrying my thermos but I didn't it with her to the finish line. She crossed the line with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and five seconds. Not bad for her category. Again, I'm proud of her and this cache is to commemorate her race!