Saint Sylvester Race

The Saint Silvestre race or sansilvestre is the name by which the different popular athletic races are known that are held annually on December 31 (the of Saint Sylvester according to Catholic saints) in different places around the world. Occasionally, some of these races are held in the days leading up to December 31.

History

Hundreds of races are held annually around the world on the last day of the year, such as the Corrida de São Silvestre in Porto (Portugal), the BOclassic in Bolzano (Italy), or the San Silvestre Vallecana in Madrid (Spain). Thousands have run in Guatemala since 1957 with the peculiarity that there are prizes for costumes. It is also carried out in Colombia and different cities in Mexico.

Brazil

The first San Silvestre race to be held was that of São Paulo in 1925 (in Portuguese, Corrida de São Silvestre). It was the initiative of the journalist from the newspaper A Gazeta, Cásper Líbero, who created a night race inspired by another that was held in Paris, during New Year's Eve, in which the participants carried torches. The first International Race of Saint Sylvester of São Paulo began at 11:40 p.m. on December 31, 1925 and ended in the early morning of January 1, 1926. Today, this Brazilian race is still considered the most popular internationally.

Spain

In Spain, more than 200 San Silvestre races are held every December 31. The first to be held was the Galdácano New Year's Eve Circuit in 1961. This race, however, did not continue until 1973. In 1964, the Galician sports promoter Antonio Sabugueiro created the San Silvestre Vallecana in Madrid—originally called the Vallecas Grand Prix—, which has become the largest of all the New Year's Eve races held in Spain, with 40,000 participants.

Argentina

In Buenos Aires, running began for the first time in 2010, with a route through the center of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires covering a total distance of 8 km.

Colombia

In Barranquilla the international San Silvestre race in the Chiquinquirá neighborhood is celebrated. It was founded by Rafael Guzmán and has been celebrated every December 31 since 1971.

Since 1986, in Chía (Cundinamarca), the International Race has been held, where athletes from the municipality itself, national and international compete at different distances around the city, with different specialized tests for the youngest to the most experienced. In its 35th edition, a tribute is paid to the athlete and trainer Myriam Pulido Pulido, considered by the people of Chiense as the first lady of athletics in the municipality.

Pasto, Nariño

Since 1980, at the initiative of a group of fans of competitive and recreational athletics, they decided to say goodbye to the old year by holding an athletic race that they named the “San Silvestre Pastusa” Athletic Race.

It was initially run around the Parque Infantil, then for several years, along Avenida de Los Estudiantes.

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica the San Silvestre race is held. It is known as the last race of the year, more than 4,000 people gather to make the final count where they end their athletic year and prepare to receive the new year with the goals of marathons and races for the following year. The San Silvestre in Costa Rica was started in previous years by the precursor of street racing in Costa Rica El Negro Armenteros, who organized this event in an artisanal way to call it something, however, as the years went by and the commercialization and professionalism of the organization of sporting events, the GSXG company established this event as one of the most attended events in the country. Other organizations have also created other versions in different parts of the country, such as the San Silvestre Brumosa, which takes place in the province of Cartago, about 40 km from San José, the capital of the country, the San Silvestre Trail and the San Silvestre Latam. Virtual, which is carried out with people from all over Latin America and emerged as a response to the SARS-COV2 pandemic in 2020. The latter has the participation of more than 3,000 people internationally virtually.

Mexico

In Mexico there are also several San Silvestre, such as the one that has been carried out in the Federal District since 1994 in the so-called Gandhi circuit and which runs through the surroundings of the Chapultepec Forest and the National Museum of Anthropology and History. In addition, it is also traditionally run in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Delicias Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Mérida, Guanajuato Capital, León Guanajuato since 1974, Monclova and Saltillo.