Like the great capitals of the world, on Sunday Caracas will have its own international marathon

(Caracas, February 18, 2011) .- "The positive response of the Caracas community and Latin American athletes exceeded our expectations" was how Enrique Garcia, president & CEO of CAF – Latin American development bank – summed up the CAF Caracas 2011 Marathon, which for the first time brings a 42.195 kilometer marathon, internationally certified by the IAAF, to the Venezuelan capital.

"The holding of this event as part of CAF’s 40th anniversary celebrations is in line with our integrationist mission which motivates us to promote the integration of Caracas, Venezuela, Latin American and Ibero-America," Garcia said.

"The spirit that thousands of runners will show next Sunday is a source of inspiration for CAF and for our people," he added.

With the participation of over 3,500 runners, this race will be the Venezuelan National Championship, Ibero-American Marathon Championship and qualifier for the Pan American Games in Guadalajara in 2011.

The event gathers runners from over 20 countries including elite athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Among Venezuelans, the highlights are Pedro Mora, winner of the Christmas 2010 Marathon in Caracas; Lervis Arias who debuts at the marathon distance; and Larry Sánchez, winner of the 2009 42K Christmas Marathon.

Take precautions, look for alternative routes

For the safety of the runners, the marathon route will be closed during the event. In west Caracas, from 5:00 am with phased reopening until 9:30 am. In the east of the city, the route will be closed from 6:00 am to gradually reopen until 12:30 pm. Paseo Colón will be closed from Saturday 8:00 pm to Sunday 3:00 pm in both directions.

The website maraton.caf.com has a detailed map of closed roads and alternate routes.

Issue of materials

All runners must be present on Saturday February 19 in the Hotel Renaissance La Castellana Caracas between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm to receive their kit and enjoy sharing the experience and expectations of preparing for an athlete’s biggest challenge.

The last items will be issued to the runners: numbers, shirt, cap and chip. The numbers of the 42K marathon runners have a blue background, while the Half Marathon competitors have green.

Fiesta in the capital

The CAF Caracas 2011 Marathon is not just an event for sports enthusiasts but for the entire community; so everyone is invited to cheer the runners on and take part in the animation points.

The idea is to create spaces of encounter and to experience the city from a different perspective, with this in mind meeting points have been set up along the 42.195 km route:

• Km 11: Plaza General Páez Plaza, Av Paez El Paraíso
• Km 19: Paseo Los Ilustres
• Km 24: Plaza Alfredo Sadel, Las Mercedes
• In Avda Rio de Janeiro and Centro Comercial Lider
• Km 36: Av. Luis Roche, Torre CAF
• Km 41: entrance Plaza Venezuela tunnel

The route is long and there are many points to cover so CAF invites local people to take to the streets to support and encourage the runners.

CAF Caracas 2011 Marathon has a Twitter account @maratoncaf2011, a Facebook group maratoncaf2011 and email: maratoncaf@caf.com .

The CAF-Caracas 2011 Marathon is an initiative of CAF – Latin American development bank – organized to celebrate its 40th anniversary, with the aim of stimulating sport as a means of integrated development and strengthening integration. Two routes - 21 km and 42 km – will be run on February 20. For the organization, CAF is working in partnership with the Hipereventos company and has logistical support for security from the Ministry of People's Power for the Interior and Justice, Metropolitan Police, National Police, Civil Defense, Traffic Police, fire departments, and the municipal governments and police of Baruta, Chacao, Libertador and Sucre. Nike and Gatorade are sponsoring the event. For more information visit http://maraton.caf.com