Marathon In Mexico: My First 42Forward Charity Run
The Marathon in Mexico I ran wasn’t an ordinary race, it was the start of something bigger.
42Forward is a simple idea, run a marathon in a local community and give back to it at the end of the run. Everyone wins in the end, this marathon isn’t about placement or time. It’s about proving to yourself that you can do more then you think you can in life, and making a positive change to the places you visit in the world.
Being the first edition of 42Forward, this run will forever stay with me. I proved to myself that a crazy, random idea can turn into something real. I’ve never wanted to be someone who talks about doing things. I’d rather be someone who does them. I’m proud that this became something more then a dream.
In this post I’m going to run through everything, the highs of fulfilling a dream, the lows and hardest points, the preparation physically, mentally and logistically, the “why” I chose Mexico and the Refuge of Hope, and my hopes for 42Forward in the future. Hopefully you’ll come run a marathon somewhere in the world with me someday, I promise your life will change.
Table of Contents
Why Run a Marathon in Mexico?
You can find the reason 42Forward exists on its official page. Why choosing a Marathon in Mexico for the first edition was a decision years in the making, and it’s a story worth sharing.
Mexico and more specifically the town of Bucerías was my first exposure to international travel, I was lucky that as a kid my family and I would go once a year. We would go to visit my grandparents who spent their winters there, we would stay for 10ish days just to get out of the cold of Canada for awhile. It was a nice time, I basically lived in the ocean and my only worry was “is it going to rain and I lose a day on the beach”. Oscar, Francisca, Sagrario, and Mariana Moran, a local family, ran the complex where we stayed.
They became my second family while staying there, and I have fond memories with them all. I learned to cut a coconut with a machete with Oscar, tasted Flan Napolitano—Francisca made it for my birthday one year, and it’s still my all-time favorite dessert—and rode carnival attractions with Mariana and Sagrario that would never pass safety standards in Canada. I loved getting to see the Morans every year, more proof that it isn’t the attractions that make a destination, it’s the people you meet while travelling there.
The Impact of Friendship
The Morans made a huge impact on me, however they made an equal or bigger impact on my mother, these are the driving reasons why I ran a Marathon in Mexico. My mom fell in love with our second family, she found wonderful friends in Oscar and Francisca and absolutely adored the girls, probably due to the fact that she was stuck with an only child boy (sorry Mom). She would bring a full suitcase of souvenirs from Canada for everyone and we would end up flying with an empty suitcase home. My mom was very crafty, one year she made artificial snow out of god knows what and brought it down, just to show the girls what snow was like (minus the cold). She even attempted to learn Spanish at home to communicate easier with the Morans and other locals we met.
My mom would eventually pass away from cancer, the impact that the Morans and Mexico had on her was very evident. It was her wish that my dad and I continued to support the Morans and the country she fell in love with, we honored her wish to the best of our ability. My dad and I would take one last trip to Bucerías before putting the yearly trip on pause. There was a lot going on, and with school getting more important and I was not the kind of student that could afford to miss a week of class. On this trip we essentially said goodbye to our second family, I have obviously since returned but at the time I was not sure if I would ever see them again.
The Choice Was Clear
Mexico exposed me to a different way of life and made me realize that not everyone lives like I do in Canada. It’s where I gained a second family, made incredible childhood memories, and found a way to honor my mom’s memory in a place she loved. Bucerías, Mexico was the obvious choice for the first 42Forward marathon.
Planning a Marathon in Mexico
I wish I could say that I had a step by step coordinated plan for this Marathon in Mexico but honestly I didn’t. All I knew was that I wanted to run a marathon, give back to a charity, and have someone film so I could promote the event and brand. Easy, three actionable steps to accomplish this, the rest is just red tape and fluff. Paralysis by analyses is a real thing and I believe it stops of lot of people from starting. Focus on what you can control and take it one step at a time.
Number 1, run a Marathon in Mexico. By that logic I needed to be physically able to run one. I definitely didn’t train as much as I should have and my time reflected that but as I mentioned before, time in this event doesn’t matter, even if it takes 12 hours the only thing that matters is finishing. Since I was physically able to run one I already checked off a box, good start. Number 2, give back to a charity. There are numerous charities in Bucerías and the surrounding area that all do fantastic work, after a bit of research the “Refuge of hope” was the one that stuck out the most to me.
Refuge of Hope
The Refuge of Hope is a non profit in Bucerías that supports local woman, children, and families. The Refuge of Hope provides a safe, welcoming space where children can eat, learn, and simply be kids. It gives parents the freedom to focus on work, knowing their children are cared for and safe. There was a story before this program was available where both parents of a family worked on a construction site, the kids had no option but to hang out at the construction site all day, which obviously isn’t safe. Refuge of Hope also supports single and vulnerable woman through various support programs. Everything really resonated with me, it felt like the right choice.
A videographer
Number 3 and the last piece of the Marathon in Mexico puzzle, someone to film everything so that this can become something real. This one turned out to be the hardest, it was a lot of googling different contacts, messaging them but never hearing back. Messaging people on freelance sites but never finding a good fit, or finding a good fit but they were on the other side of Mexico, flying people around was not in the budget. After a lot of trial and error I finally got in touch with Paul Desmond, surprising it took so long to be honest, he literally lives in Bucerías.
I have nothing but good things to say about working with Paul — extremely talented, easy to work with, and willing to go out of his way for someone he just met, all around stand up guy. He runs a successful Youtube channel in Bucerías, in a weird twist of fate he knew all about Refuge of Hope because he had already done a video on the organization and one of the founders, he was the perfect fit.
In my mind I had everything in place, the run, the charity, the videographer. There was obviously more to do but I didn’t think about that as I booked my flights to Mexico, one thing at a time. With the click of a mouse this became real whether I was ready or not.
Travelling to Run a Marathon in Mexico
I booked the tickets and made a loose plan for the Marathon in Mexico, so all I could do was keep running until my departure date. I contacted Karen, one of the founders of Refuge of Hope and told her what I intended to do. She sounded a little confused at first but it wasn’t long before she was on board. I was in steady contact with Paul, I sent him my rough idea for the marathon route and he immediately shut it down, he said the road I had picked was way too busy. After arriving in Mexico and seeing that road for myself he was totally right, a road full of cars, blind corners and no shoulders, I would have gotten ran over for sure. Thanks for the bullet dodge Paul.
The plan was always to start in Sayulita, a little beach town north of Bucerías, I wanted the marathon to end at the front doors of Refuge of Hope. Instead of going south on the main highway (my not so good idea), Paul suggested heading west on a less busy highway then south to Bucerías along the coast. I studied my new route and it was straight forward enough, the best part was by my calculations I would have more then enough kilometers to make it a full marathon without doubling back. Math was never my strong suit.
The date finally came and next thing I knew I was on a bus leaving the Puerto Vallarta airport and heading to Bucerías, of course standing on the front steps of the bus as it barreled down the highway as every seat plus the aisle was full, welcome to Mexico.
The Night Before my Marathon in Mexico
I arrived at my hostel in the late afternoon, my Marathon in Mexico was tomorrow morning and going to Refuge of Hope would happen in a few days. Right now there wasn’t anything to do except enjoy the sunset with a beer from the beach, I probably (definitely) should have been carb loading but I would learn that the hard way. As I watched the sun go down over the pacific ocean it really hit me where I was and why I was there, I smiled to myself and knew that whatever happened tomorrow I can still say that I lived my dream wide awake.
Starting my Marathon in Mexico
I stepped out of my hostel at 5:30 in the morning, it was warm but bearable, Paul wanted to start the Marathon in Mexico early to beat traffic and heat. I was wearing my signature plaid shirt and had pockets full of electrolytes as I stood on the sidewalk, about to meet Paul in person for the first time, essentially getting into a strangers car. That’s ok to do right? Paul pulled up, easily spotting the only guy within 300km wearing a cotton plaid shirt, and I hopped in his car. While he was more or less a stranger when I jumped in, it didn’t take long before I realized I was in the best company for the adventure ahead. Paul is funny yet professional, super easy to talk to. We talked a lot about what life was like in Bucerías, and the logistics of actually filming a marathon.
It was about a 20 minute drive to Sayulita, once we arrived Paul got a couple of action shots of me and some B roll. Once Paul was satisfied with the footage we got it was officially time to start, and just like that I was running a Marathon in Mexico. Paul was unable to find a driver so he would be driving and filming me today (not at the same time), the plan was that he would drive ahead and film me running down the road towards him, then get some footage of me running away from him. Certain sections of road along the coast he would pull over and send his drone into the sky for some aerial shots, the guy’s a pro who knows what he’s doing.
The First Half
Right up until the end of the first half of my Marathon in Mexico things were actually going fantastic. I felt great, the scenery on the outskirts of Sayulita was beautiful, and the sun hadn’t made a full appearance. As I ran down the road, Paul would appear on the side of the road in front of me, I would pass him and then magically later he would appear in front of me again, for some reason I never saw him pass me. Early on I started cracking into my energy chews when I realized I made my first mistake, I didn’t actually eat breakfast, a huge no-no when doing anything physical but especially running a marathon. It wouldn’t be the only mistake I made.
As I approached the end of the first half, the nice tree lined road I was running on turned into a straight line of pavement with no shade in sight. That along with essentially eating all my energy chews for breakfast meant I was in for a brutal back half of this marathon. I realized what was coming to me and acknowledged how hard it would be but honestly there was never a time where I thought to myself “oh god, I’m not going to finish this” Stubborn or determined, I’m not sure. It’s a fine line between the two.
Finishing my Marathon in Mexico
The back half of my Marathon in Mexico pushed me to my limits, I was walking up hills, stopping for water, I even bought some bananas from a vendor along the road. The clock kept ticking as I rested, I knew there was only one way to stop it. My big mistakes were not eating breakfast and not carb loading the day before, my body had no fuel in the tank to burn. It’s a weird feeling running out of energy, you’re breathing hard but not gasping for air, you can still do things just not very fast, like a governor on an engine. Then you eat a banana or anything really and your body can almost instantly run again. Thinking ahead would have prevented this problem entirely.
Paul was an absolute beauty during the hard parts, bringing me coconut water on breaks and letting me sit on his tailgate with the trunk open for shade. However he was also pushing me to keep moving, he knew as bad as it was now, it would only get worse as the day got hotter. With fuel in my body and a fierce determination not to get heat stroke, I pushed forward, one foot after the other, until I crossed into my final 5K.
The Last 5k
The last 5k of my Marathon in Mexico were absolutely brutal, some of the worst I’ve experienced. The lack of proper meals, the growing heat and humidity, and the sheer exhaustion all weighed down on me, however the worst part was how I had to run the last 5k. As I mentioned before, math was never my strong suit. I had assumed I would reach the marathon distance before even arriving in Bucerías, but I quickly realized I would have to run laps around town to get there. I would have just ran straight past Bucerías until I reached the distance but continuing past the town is nothing but incline, no chance.
So with my distances mangled we could no longer end the marathon at Refuge of Hope, we still filmed the ending there but the marathon officially ended in the town. We found one flat, longish, road with a sliver of shade on one side. To finish this marathon, I had to run up and down this road until I reached the full distance—it was pure torture. I ran one length of the road, figured out exactly how far it was, and knew how much remained. I trudged up and down, miserably counting each meter left. I’ll take not knowing distances and accidently running further or the torment of knowing and slowly counting down anyday.
It was terrible, plain and simple. However meter by meter I got closer to my goal until finally I did it, I officially ran a Marathon in Mexico, no one can take that from me.
The Donation from my Marathon in Mexico
After the Marathon in Mexico I grabbed a quick bite from the local market, then swiftly walked to my hostel where I promptly passed out. The next day I would go out to buy the items. With the support of friends and family, my Marathon in Mexico raised just over $1,000 for my donation—more than enough to cover 42 items in Bucerías. The remaining funds will go toward the next 42Forward marathon. I was hoping to buy the items from local vendors to support them as well but Paul recommended going to real stores, Refuge of Hope would appreciate the higher quality.
This day was actually a blast, I spent over an hour walking store aisles trying to grab a mix of food, toys, and books, it felt great every time something landed in my cart. By the end of my shopping trip, I had loaded myself down with as many supplies as I could carry. Since the actual donation wasn’t until the next day, I had nowhere to store them. Luckily for me I hit every backpackers dream and had an empty dorm room in my hostel to myself, with the huge room all mine space was not an issue.
Donation Day
This was it, the day had finally come, what started as an idea with no plan actually turned into something great. Paul picked me up again, we loaded up his car with the donation and drove to Refuge of Hope across town. Unfortunately Karen the founder that I had been messaging was away for business, however Horace and the other volunteers I met were extremely excited and happy to help me. Paul filmed me as I brought in bags of supplies, then the staff gathered all the kids in the back yard where a translator explained to them what I was doing and why I was doing it. Then I handed out a donation to every kid.
I suppose I should have seen it coming, but I ended up giving a speech for the kids that needed translating. With a little foresight, I would have prepared something in advance. Also I didn’t realize I would actually hand out a donation to every child, if I knew that I would have bought a lot more toys, I felt bad for the kids who got the boring items like toothpaste and cooking oil. Nevertheless the kids seemed to appreciate everything, a little girl came up and hugged my leg, she almost got a tear out of me, almost. We took one final shot of all the kids and I waving goodbye to the camera, and that was it. The donation was complete.
The Last Evening of my Marathon in Mexico
After the donation the kids went back to their usual routine, playing games and eating ice cream, just what a kid should do. I got a tour of the facility from Horace, Refuge of Hope and everyone involved truly does some terrific work. What they have accomplished—and continue to accomplish—for the community is truly remarkable. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice of charity. After the tour we said our goodbyes to Horace and the rest of the kids and staff. I felt a little sad leaving, Paul dropped me off at my hostel and I said my goodbyes to him, as mentioned an absolute rock solid guy, I can’t thank him enough for bringing this dream to life.
After the craziness of the past few days I finally had some time to relax, however it wouldn’t last long. I had reached out to Mariana, I let her know that I was back in Bucerías and that I would love to see her and her family if they were available. It turns out that they were and I found myself waiting outside my hostel for a ride yet again, this time it would be Mariana taking me to her family home. A van pulled up and I saw a familiar face I hadn’t seen in years, we gave each other a huge hug and tried to catch up years in a matter of minutes. Before long we were parked in front of the house.
A Warm Welcome
Tough to put into words how I felt seeing the Morans again after all this time, I could tell they felt the same way. We got caught up with what was new in our lives, they asked about all of my family, I asked what had changed in Bucerías since I last visited. Francisca made a Mexican dish that resembled 7/11 taquitos but obviously infinitely better. It was an incredible evening, I honestly can’t think of a better way to end my trip, everything really came full circle.
My Marathon in Mexico, What Would I Change And Marathon Tips
Honestly considering how my Marathon in Mexico came to be there isn’t a lot I would change, things worked out pretty well for the most part. However nothing can be perfect it’s first go around, this is what I will plan to do differently next time.
- EAT BREAKFAST so dumb of me to skip that
- Properly carb load the night before, this ties in with the not eating breakfast, just a dumb mistake
- Switch the plaid, I’ll keep the signature plaid shirt of course but hopefully I can find one in a material that isn’t cotton
- Tailor donations to the charities better, I’m sure they appreciated everything I brought but with that many kids I should have got more toys.
Final thoughts on my Marathon in Mexico
This experience helped confirm a lot of beliefs I already had, one of the biggest obstacles in reaching our goals is ourselves, anything is achievable when you break it down step by step, and a small act of kindness really does change the world. It sounds cliche I know but it’s honestly true. 42Forward will continue, I will 100% run a marathon like this again in a new part of the world, I do hope that it grows and someday there will be others running with me. In the places I want to do this a few dollars can change someone’s day and $1000 can literally change their life. Imagine 25 people running and we donate over 1000 items, do that over and over and you’re literally changing the world.
That’s my dream and it starts with you, I promise that you can do a marathon literally right now. Are you going to set any speed records? No, but you will have that feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of achieving something you didn’t think you could do. Once you have that your mindset shifts, impossible tasks don’t seem as impossible and your dreams and goals don’t look as far away. But it has to start with you. Join me on the next 42Forward marathon and change your life.
