Blazing over the slippery, rock-studded trail in scarlet running shoes last Sunday, Fernando “Dory” Mejia Gonzalez captured his fourth consecutive title as overall champion of Ajijic’s annual Chupinaya mountain race.
The fleet-footed Tapatio runner bolted out of the starting gate to lead the pack from start to finish during the 13.8-kilometer “For Savages Only” challenge. He finished with a time of 1 hour, 29 minutes, about 11 minutes off the mark of his 2017 run that set a record for the race’s national competitors.
Silvia Ortega Galindo of Guadalajara came in at 1:47:08 as top female runner.
A field of 500 contestants took on the rough-and-tumble course that peaks at 2,400 meters above sea level on the summit of the town’s neighboring mountain range.
Chupinaya founder Ricardo Gonzalez Gonzalez took another stab at the long race after a 12-year hiatus, competing this year in the 60-plus veteran’s category.
Maurico Andalon Perez, age 17, aced the Chupinaya recreational run, clocking 33:28 minutes over the 6.5-kilometer trail. Sandra Arroyo Rodríguez placed first in the female division with a time of 42:39 minutes.