On the heels of Charro Days and Fiestas Mexicanas, sister cities Brownsville and Matamoros prepare to display another sign of friendship and unity with the first-ever Bi-National 10K and 5K Run.
The run will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 24.
Entry fee is $10 or 150 pesos for all routes.
The 5K Brownsville route will begin at the UTRGV Main Building and end at the Gateway International Bridge.
On the Matamoros side, the 5K will start at the Gateway International Bridge and finish at the Presidencia Municipal, located at Calle Sexta between González and Morelos S/N Zona Centro.
The 10K Brownsville-Matamoros route will also begin at the UTRGV Main Building but ends at the Presidencia Municipal.
All runners competing in the 10K must bring proper international travel documentation to leave/return to the U.S.
In a news conference earlier today, representatives from Brownsville and Matamoros spoke about the importance of the run, which will benefit the TeletonUSA Foundation.
UTRGV President Guy Bailey took the opportunity to announce the university’s plans of establishing a recruiting office in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
“We hope to have that set up in the next few months,” Bailey said. “This will solidify the relationship we have.”
In an interview after the conference, the UTRGV president told The Rider the university has worked with the U.S. Consulate for months.
“We’re working with the U.S. Consulate and they have identified some potential space,” he said. “We have many students who come across the border and we’re looking for ways to serve those students better.”
During the news conference, Matamoros Mayor Jesús de la Garza Díaz del Guante said one of the main purposes of the run is to strengthen the bond between Brownsville and Matamoros.
“It’s something we’ve been fighting for, [Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez] and I, to recognize, like [Bailey] mentioned a couple of moments ago, that this is one region,” de la Garza said in Spanish. “This is a situation that unites us in health, education, the environment, the arts, the culture and, above all else, our blood.”
Martinez explained how Fernando Landeros Verdugo, last year’s Mr. Amigo and the founder and president of the Teletón Mexico Foundation and the TeletonUSA Foundation, played a big factor in the project.
The Brownsville mayor said Landeros Verdugo and he have been in contact in the last year and as a result, they have been able to launch the project.
Landeros Verdugo created the Children’s Rehabilitation Institute of TeletonUSA “system of children’s rehabilitative hospitals in Latin America and the United States, which is the largest private pediatric healthcare network in the world,” according to its website.
“What I’m trying to do out of this is to show the world what two countries can do, what two cities can do,” Martinez said.
Mexican Consul Juan Carlos Cue Vega and Jose A. Gutierrez, the consul for Political and Economic Affairs, were also present in today’s event.
During the conference, Ramiro Gonzalez, the Government Affairs liaison for the City of Brownsville, showed attendees the official Bi-National 10K and 5K Run medal.
The medal has the Teletón logo and “Carrera Binacional” engraved while its straps design are the Mexican and U.S. flags.
Each participant will receive a medal and T-shirt.
Aside from the City of Brownsville, Matamoros, TeletonUSA Foundation and UTRGV, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corp., Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, Consulado de Mexico-Brownsville, Mr. Amigo Association, Port of Brownsville, Texas Southmost College and U.S. Consulate-Matamoros are sponsors of the event.
To register for the run, visit teletonusa.org/brun.
