The Lanzarote natives José Carlos Hernández and Aroa Merino were proclaimed this Sunday as winners of the 'Lanzarote Wine Run 2016', also known as the 'Wine Race', which took place through the spectacular landscape of La Geria, framed within the 'VIII Lanzarote Wine Run & Traditional Cuisine Festival', an enogastronomic and sporting event organized by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the Yaiza City Council, the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin 'Vinos de Lanzarote' and Saborea Lanzarote.
Hernández - Olympic in the London 2012 Marathon - added his fourth title in this race by using a time of 1 hour, 21 minutes and 47 seconds to cover the 23.2 kilometers of the long race; distance that Aroa Merino -Canarian record holder for half marathon and marathon- covered in 1 hour, 28 minutes and 45 seconds, which earned her her sixth title in the race and second place in the general classification in this year's edition.
Majid Belouati (9:09 behind the first classified) and Aitor Navarro (10:36 behind) completed the podium in the men's category, while in the women's category Susan McDonald (1:44:48) and María Pilar Sosa (1:52:10) finished in second and third position. The short race of 12.9 kilometers had Henrik Joergensen (45:15) as the winner in the men's category, followed by León Martín Drajer (27 seconds behind) and Luis Rodríguez (3:43 behind). In the women's category, Laura Jane Mulcahy (54:43) won, followed by Rosi Fontes (56:15) and Ana María Hernández (58:09).
'Save La Geria'
Both the more than 800 athletes who competed in these two distances and the more than 1,000 people who chose to do the walking mode (also 12.9 kilometers) have contributed to one of the main purposes pursued by this event, which is to raise funds, through a part of the money raised by the inscriptions of all the 'winerunners', for the project 'Save La Geria' which aims to recover farms in this unique wine-growing landscape in the world for its unique beauty.
The awards ceremony, in which, as is traditional, the two winners of the long race received as a prize their body weight in liters of wines Designation of Origin Lanzarote -65 José Carlos and 45 Aroa, as a result of generously rounding up the true weight of both champions on the scale- was attended by the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, who highlighted the "successful nature of this sporting event due to the response from the public and participants, the beauty of the landscape through which it runs, its defense of nature and the environment and, ultimately, its contribution to 'Save La Geria'".
Likewise, the president of the Cabildo highlighted the presence at the event of the 'Wine Run Rioja Alavesa', a race that will celebrate its first edition in October as a result of the agreement of transfer by the Cabildo to this prestigious wine-growing area of the Wine Run brand, and in which San Ginés announced that the island will have a stand to promote the 'Lanzarote Wine Run' which "may be the test that best crystallizes the island's promotion strategy in which we are all part and of which we are all ambassadors: the farmer, the winemaker, the restaurateur, the athlete and the resident".
Parallel to the celebration of the 'Wine Race', from the afternoon of yesterday Saturday until today Sunday, the Uga square hosted the 'Traditional Cuisine Festival' which brought together thousands of people during the weekend who had the opportunity to consume exquisite enogastronomic tastings made from Lanzarote products in the approximately 40 stands installed by restaurants, wineries, cheese factories and other catering establishments.
