After seven years living here, I finally ran a race in Puerto Rico! And what a Caribbean-style race it was. Shall we shut down the bridge AND the airport exit for the Teodoro 10K?
TEODORO 10K: PRE-RACE CHAOS
Okay, if you’re new to Puerto Rico, the first thing you need to know is that the people here are comfortable with a certain level of disorder. You know, an elastic approach to time, an allergy to orderly single-file lines, things like that. I’m not saying it’s bad; I’m just saying that’s the culture. Admittedly it kinda drives me up a wall sometimes as an uptight mid-Atlantic girl, but that’s a me thing. I’ve largely gotten used to it. When in proverbial Rome, you know?
Which is why it did not wholly surprise me that the pre-race experience was a little chaotic. Firstly, I signed up for an email to be informed when registration opened and then… never got an email. I wound up circling back of my own accord later for my bib. Fine, whatever.
This next part still boggles my mind, though…
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CHANGED THE START TIME???
I DID receive an email about bib pickup, which was at the Mall of San Juan. This part was in fact well-organized, with a stanchioned off queue and multiple people manning the bib distribution table. There was a small expo attached as well, although I found it odd that the exhibitor booths were largely BEFORE you got to pickup.
Me being me, though, I later started doubting my grasp of the start line; I had it figured out on a map, but what if there were details I was missing? The official website wasn’t a ton of help, so I did an internet search on the off chance there was more info on reddit or something.
Well. I discovered the Teodoro 10K Instagram page, and it was PACKED with information the website did NOT include. Most importantly: the week before the race, they had CHANGED THE START TIME. The website still listed a 5pm start, but Instagram said it was now 6pm.
Which was fine with me, except that if I hadn’t just happened to stumble onto said Insta profile I would have had NO IDEA. Never received a single email about it. In fact, aside from the bib pickup info, I never got an informational race day email at all. That’s so crazy to me! Although it does make me wonder if maybe it was on purpose to guard against people showing up late? Who knows.
THE JOURNEY THERE
There was more – apparently they were encouraging people to park at satellite locations and bus in? – but I decided to stick to my original plan and hope it worked out.
And this we did! We left our place around 3:15pm. Normally to get to the Mall of San Juan we’d take the bridge, but, uh, that was closed. Long way around it was!
You know what else was closed? The exit to the airport! Our race course was apparently near enough to warrant this. Glad I didn’t have a flight to catch. Incidentally, there were ZERO road signs indicating any closures. 😅
We encountered a bit of traffic, especially as we got closer to the mall, but we were in the garage and parked by 4:15pm.
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE RACE FROM ABOVE
The plan was for Pat to chill at a bar or something while I ran, and we were definitely not the only people to have that idea. The mall was teeming with runners in Teodoro 10K race shirts. We took a lap to kill some time, then went up to the third floor to do recon from on high. From up there you could see the post-race party area, as well as runners trickling toward the start line.
Being an anxious animal, I decided to head over before 5pm juuuust in case they had changed the race BACK to the original time. They hadn’t, of course, but I’m still glad I left early as it enabled me to use a real mall bathroom before I left without too much of a line.
From there I wandered out of the mall and across the road to the staging area. There was no directional signage, but the flow of runners was steady enough that you could kinda follow the herd. From the mall to the start it was probably around ten minutes’ walk.
THE TEODORO 10K STAGING AREA
The staging area itself was a mad scene. There were tons of people (8,000 ran!) packed into the warmup area, which was also the location of the porta potties. A little further on you could find your entrance to the corrals.
Corrals were divided by bib color but, unsurprisingly, not enforced. There were even pacers! I was in the second wave with a pink bib, but it didn’t much matter as I saw bibs of every color around me. Note that the corral area was in the sun, so if you run this race don’t forget to apply your sunscreen!
There was a water station set up on the opposite road, and while I’m not sure this was sanctioned people were jumping the barrier to grab some. Everyone seemed fine with this, including the water stop volunteers? Like I said – when in Rome. So I grabbed a cup of water before the start too. It was warm but I don’t see how that could be helped in 80 degree weather.
There were some pre-race megaphone announcements I couldn’t really hear (and my Spanish is likely not good enough to survive a journey through a weak megaphone as it is, alas), plus a few songs including the national anthem. The wheelchair participants rolled off first, and then with shocking punctuality the race was on!
RUNNING THE PUENTE TEODORO MOSCOSO
We stepped onto the bridge almost immediately, trotting under the toll booths and onto the Teodoro. While the corrals themselves were packed by the time the race started, I found the crowd thinned pretty quickly, and I had the space I needed to choose my own pace within half a mile at most.
Unlike many bridge runs, I am happy to note that the Puente Teodoro Moscoso does NOT have a major incline. We encountered some gentle elevation, but nothing major, and it was balanced by some lovely downhill portions.
Puerto Rico uses a mix of imperial and metric measurements, and the Teodoro 10K had kilometer mile markers. By my estimation, it was about two miles one way to the bridge, then about a kilometer of turnaround near the airport, and then another two miles back across the bridge again. (See? We mix it up here! ¿Estás ready para Spanglish?) A few DJs were scattered around blasting music, and there were photographers here and there capturing the moment.
At the 6K mark we were back where we started – but this was a 10K, so we weren’t done yet! For the last 4K we enjoyed an out-and-back portion a little bit into a local neighborhood. Spectator crowds had been thin to nonexistent for most of the bridge portion of the race, which was understandable, but there was a bit of an audience for this part.
And then we hit the finish! There were LOTS of spectators there, all cheering and screaming with abandon. If you want to feel special crossing the finish line, the Teodoro 10K is for you!
AND HOW WAS MY TEODORO 10K?
So that was the course. How was it for me personally, you ask? Whelp, I’d say it was… fine. I’d had some lowkey aspirations of getting a new 10K PR for the “I PR’d in PR!” headline; tragically, it was not to be. Pat had been sick the previous week, and while I luckily had not gotten it I think the effort my immune system put into fighting it off ran me down a little. As soon as I started the race I knew it probably wasn’t happening. I just didn’t have the oomph.
Ah well! Coulda been worse; I could’ve gotten sick too and had to skip the race entirely. I accepted my fate and pivoted to plan B, which was to shoot for under an hour. Ultimately I wound up finishing in just under 58 minutes, so mission accomplished. Considering the heat, I think that’s pretty solid. In fact, I’d love to take a second stab at it next year – I suspect that PR just might be in me!
REWARDING OUR EFFORTS
We finished the race roundabouts where we started, near the toll booth onto the bridge. There was a DJ set up entertaining the crowd just past the medal distribution area, followed by a series of snacks and drinks. I grabbed some water, a recovery drink of some sort, and some granola bars. They also had fruit, but what’s the point of taking a banana if I can’t give it to Erika?
From there, the field trickled back to the post-race area. The Teodoro 10K crew goes all out for the post-race party – it’s practically a mini festival! There are musical acts and booths and drinks, including a free beer for race participants. All runners are issued two wristbands per bib for you and a friend. (The website said if you registered after a certain date you didn’t get a wristband. I missed the cutoff but got mine anyway without asking, so who knows.)
I was sweaty and gross and hungry, so this year I was boring and went home without partying. There’s always time for a quick shot for Medal Monday, though!
SHOULD YOU RUN THE TEODORO 10K?
The Teodoro 10K has much to recommend it! I would absolutely encourage anyone who’s interested to pick up a bib, potentially as part of a greater visit to Puerto Rico if you don’t already live here. You don’t even have to run if you don’t want to, as the course time limit is a full 2.5 hours. Walkers welcome!
You’ll also enjoy beautiful views, a welcoming atmosphere, and undemanding course. The medal might be a bit underwhelming for those who prefer to run for big bling, but the huge post-race party and musical acts should make up for that. I also love that the race is in the evening, which keeps me from stressing about sleeping through my alarm!
BUT DO KEEP IN MIND…
A few caveats, though: as I described above, pre-race info dissemination was not great. Definitely keep an eye on the official Instagram page, and if you have a question, ask early; response is spotty. That being said, race day itself was very well organized, and isn’t that what ultimately counts?
Oh, and while speaking Spanish is by no means a prerequisite for participation, it’s the default race language. Almost everyone in San Juan speaks English, but you may find yourself needing to ask your neighbor for a translation if your Spanish is rusty. People are nice and will help you as long as you’re polite.
The other important note is that this is Puerto Rico in May and you’re gonna be hot. I don’t care what time you run the race; it’s gonna be hot and that’s all there is to it. If you’re not comfortable running in an eternal summer, this might not be the race for you.
Myself, I wound up loving it – and now that I’ve been through the wringer once and have a better grasp of the logistics, I wouldn’t hesitate to sign up again. I hope you feel similarly confident after reading this post!
THANKS TO CONSTANTLY VARIED GEAR FOR MY CARIBBEAN-APPROPRIATE RACE KIT
Didja notice my marvelously apropos race outfit? My friends at Constantly Varied Gear were kind enough to send me their Pirate’s Booty sports bra and leggings gratis! I can’t think of anything that could better encapsulate the intersection of my love of Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean and my real life here in the Caribbean. Thanks CVG for hooking me up!
Interested in grabbing a set for yourself? Read my Constantly Varied Gear product reviews so you can make an informed decision, and then use my link (if you want!) for a 15% off discount on your purchase:
https://www.constantlyvariedgear.com/JENN58722
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
I would love to come to PR to visit you and run this race!
YES DO IT