As Puerto Rico and Mexico both try to recover from the devastation brought on by natural disasters earlier this month, the Latin-American community is banding together to provide aid to the affected countries. From athletes starting campaigns to fundraise, to rival soccer fans teaming up to send supplies to victims, and even to a pup helping rescue people, the unity shown by the community has been heartwarming. Even small gestures are appreciated in times like these, such as that of Enrique Viveros, a Mexico City native living in Corning, NY: he’s going to run a full marathon to raise money, and he’s going to do it without training whatsoever.
According to MyTwinTiers.com, a local blog run by NBC affiliate WETM, Viveros will be participating in the Wineglass Marathon, a yearly tradition in the area that’s having its 36th edition on Sunday, October 1. Viveros said that he’s signing up for the marathon because he’s concerned about the people in his hometown, as well as those going through it in Puerto Rico: “I know I’m going to struggle but I decided to sign up,” Viveros said. “The struggle doesn’t compare to what they are going through.”
Viveros is a recreational runner, who has completed two marathons before and just ran a half-marathon this past weekend. However, those were accomplished with proper training. As he’s going in relatively cold to the Wineglass Marathon, his goal probably won’t be to finish with any sort of personal best time. Rather, as running website Airia notes, the goal of any runner participating in a marathon with no training should be finishing it, not racing other, more prepared runners: “In short, most people can survive 26.2 miles without proper training. However, few – if any – runners can thrive without training.”
Regardless of how he does during the race, Viveros said that 50% of the profits to his GoFundMe campaign will go to the Carlos Slim Foundation in Mexico; the namesake of that organization said that they will match every dollar donated fivefold. The remaining money will go to the Red Cross for Puerto Rico aid.
Wondering how you can help Puerto Rico and Mexico? We’ve collected a list of places where you can donate for Puerto Rico and for Mexico.