Juarez City.- The second edition of the pedestrian race “Vamos a ver por Ellos” gathered around 1,200 people yesterday who ran in favor of the inclusion of people with visual disabilities.
By bicycle, stroller, wheelchair or simply walking, 400 participants covered a 3-kilometer circuit on Avenida Campos Elíseos in the recreational race, and the rest participated in the 9-kilometer one.
For 12-year-old Scarlett Nicohle Ortiz Constantino, her visual impairment was not an impediment to participating in the race: to do so, a relative accompanied her during the 3-kilometer journey to the finish line.
“I have already participated in other races and I find it very cool because I get physically active, do it because it is super fun and inclusive,” said Scarlett, who also used a cane for the race.
The edition corresponds to the third race of the 2023 Pedestrian Athletic Circuit, mentioned Carlos Ibarra, director and founder of the Vamos a Ver por Ellos program.
“The idea is to contribute to the physical activation and physical culture of our city, and of course to make visible the issue of visual impairment, which is very important,” said Ibarra.
He added that this year they doubled the number of participants in the inclusive race, and they hope that runners will also increase in the next edition.
“This organization is an organization that has people with visual disabilities, children, youth and adults, and the idea of the mission is for people to learn tasks that they do not learn elsewhere, such as reading and writing in Braille, using a computer and manage a cane to move from one place to another, among other things,” explained Ibarra.
Kenia Contreras, 25, who suffers from motor disabilities, also joined the recreational race, in which she participated with her wheelchair.
“It seems perfect to me that these races are held to give more visibility to types of disabilities, because sometimes they think that it is only when you are in a wheelchair, but there are others that are not noticeable,” said Contreras.
Children, youth, adults and even pets took to the streets to promote physical activity and in support of the organization Vamos a Ver por Ellos.
Participants in the 3-kilometer course were awarded a participation medal, and some runners received a ball.
David Serna, coordinator of foot races in Ciudad Juárez, said that seven female and male categories competed for the 9-kilometer circuit, and the secondary and high school categories competed for the 3-kilometer one.
“Vamos a Ver por Ellos” was organized in conjunction with the Municipal Institute of Sports and Physical Culture of Juárez (Imdej), and took place at 8:00 in the morning.
