Good foreign presence expected at Marabana 2022

Havana, June 24 (JIT) - Marabana, the main Cuban running event, has already registered 141 runners from 27 countries for 2022.

Seen in this way, the event promises a good turnout of foreign competitors, according to Carlos Gattorno, head of the National Commission of Marabana Maracuba Races and Walks (CNCC).

"Today we cannot give an approximate number of participants, since we are five months away from the start, but having more than a hundred participants registered is a good omen," he told JIT.

"Since we became the Commission, we have prioritized the step to a higher organizational phase of what was the Marabana-Maracuba Project and this response from friends from Cuba is proof of that," he added.

"We seek and are achieving a progressive recovery of the celebration of in-person races based on the experience we accumulated before the arrival of covid-19," considered the leader of the organization of marathons and walks on the Island from the Cuban sports movement.

"This has been possible because of the support received from Marabana's friends since the CNCC came into effect last March," he said.

"Four months ago our international contracts were reactivated, as they were previously contemplated for situations such as the one we faced in the pandemic," Gattorno said to explain why the response of runners from other nations.

"Internally, the progressive reactivation of the capital's insurance system deserves special recognition, with the security provided by the fact that more than 90 percent of our population has a complete vaccination schedule against covid-19," he said.

"To this we add that in two years of work in pandemic, the communication between the walkers and the CNCC management was expanded, today well fluid through the networks," he confirmed.

The closest race to be organized by the CNCC will be the Olympic Day Race, this June 25, starting at 9:00 am. 

"Registration will start at 8:00 a.m. at 13 de Marzo Park, next to the Museum of the Revolution," Gattorno concluded.