Running, walking, and, above all, enjoying sport. A Coruña hosted this Sunday a new edition of the Central Lechera Asturiana Women’s Race, which brought together 7,000 women around a 6.3-kilometer course. Participants from different generations shared a morning that once again highlights one of the circuit’s main objectives: to promote sport among women and create spaces where they can enjoy physical activity and feel like protagonists.
At 10:00 the start was given from Avenida de Buenos Aires, after the tribute to Paralympic athlete Adiaratou Iglesias, Paralympic champion of the 100 meters and silver in the 400 meters at Tokyo 2020, as well as the world champion of 200 meters in Dubai 2019. The athlete and Inés Rey, the city’s mayor, were in charge of firing the starting pistol before the participants began their route along the sea.
The race ran along Barrié de la Maza Avenue and the Francisco Vázquez seafront until reaching the roundabout at the Torre de Hércules. From there, the participants faced the return leg to the finish line, completing a route that allowed them to enjoy sport next to some of A Coruña’s most emblematic landmarks.
In the competitive section, Andrea Díaz was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 25:05. The absolute-category podium was completed by Noa Mirantes and Nerea Sánchez, who finished second and third; while Noelia Sánchez and Ana Bernárdez were fourth and fifth.
A circuit that has welcomed more than 1.5 million participants
The A Coruña event forms part of Europe’s largest women’s sports event, a circuit that traverses nine Spanish cities and marks 22 years of history. More than 150 events and 1.5 million participants are already part of a story born with the aim of widening women’s presence in sport and encouraging physical activity to be part of their lives.
The image from this Sunday again reflected precisely that diversity. Women who regularly run shared the route with others for whom completing the 6.3 kilometers represented a new challenge; in addition to girls, older women, and participants with disabilities. Different ways of living sport gathered in a single route with a common goal: to continue advancing toward a greater female participation in sporting practice.
Sport, meeting and social commitment
The day also provided visibility for the work of different entities and projects linked to women and to vulnerable groups. Before the tribute to Adiaratou Iglesias, the organization paid tribute to Semilla para el Cambio, an organization that works on employability and economic autonomy for women in vulnerable situations.
The collaboration between the Women’s Race Central Lechera Asturiana and UNHCR has also played a prominent role. Twenty-eight refugee women took part in the event with free race bibs provided by the organization, continuing an initiative previously carried out in cities such as Madrid and Valencia. Moreover, one kilometer of the route was symbolically dedicated to refugees.
To this social aspect was added ACADAR, an entity to which all proceeds from the solidarity bib are allocated. For its part, Auga Dragon Boat and Bolboretas Coruña were present in the post-finish area, bringing rowing closer to the participants and showing new possibilities for continuing to practice sport.
Activity continues after the finish
Crossing the finish line did not mark the end of the morning’s athletic activity. From 11:00 a.m., the five top finishers in the absolute category were recognized and, shortly after, the aerobics and fitness festival began.
The warm-up by Central Lechera Asturiana with Termaria Casa del Agua gave way to various sessions of Latin, Zumba, Ballet Fit and Aerotono, extending physical activity beyond the race itself and turning the finish area into a space to keep moving and enjoy group exercise.
The awards ceremony for the remaining categories completed a day in which A Coruña once again demonstrated sport’s capacity to unite women from different generations, experiences and levels of practice.
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