Four of our CCB parents, Adriana Fonseca (CCB Class of 2001), Richard Castaño, Andrés Córdoba (CCB Class of 2000) and Juan Manuel Velasco completed the beautifully grueling 100 km trail in Villa La Angostura, Argentina that runs across the hilly terrains of The Andes, cold forests, heavy winds, camping and a highest elevation point at 1861 meters above sea level before finishing in Chile. A three day tour de force that tests the limits of a person’s body, mind and spirit.
“It is a race that changes your life. Not only because of the three days of competition, but also because of the day to day training, it is more than a year with this constant illusion and effort. You learn that happiness is found in the journey, not in the destination. Additionally you learn that whatever you want you can do, you just have to dream it and work towards that dream”, said Juan Manuel Velasco, father of Cristobal Velasco Zuluaga (4th grade).
For this delegation of “Papás Colombo” the training for “El Cruce”, a race that is organized by Columbia with the main objective of having runners cross the Andes linking Argentina and Chile, had been consistent for an entire year. Weight training, functional exercises, and logging long distance trail runs, on a schedule that clocked at 12 to 14 hours a week, was their bread and butter. All the training was performed under the supervision of “Viva Al Máximo”, a specialized training centre in Cali.
But by far, the focus of the preparation was to toughen the mind and to strengthen the will needed to run in a competition that has over 2500 competitors, spanning from 30+ countries, in search of the ultimate trail running experience south of the Equator.
“It is unusual in this day and age for 24-26 year olds to be taking on challenges of this nature, and on this occasion we went with 14 young people, including several CCB Alumni and for them it has been a fantastic life experience that has made them better people today” said Juan Manuel.
The truth is that this amazing feat has a positive impact on their children, our students, as well. It sets a real life example of what discipline can achieve. And it gives them an accomplishment to aspire to according to Juan Manuel Velasco.
“Our children feel proud and motivated, for them their parents are heroes and they dream like us of doing it together one day, I think it is an example for them of discipline, passion and perseverance”.
Congratulations to this group of inspiring CCB Community Athletes!
