For a third year in a row, the 5K / 10K “Toma Color” Run painted the town…or more like doused participants, observers and the route in a rainbow, ending with a burst of color over the malecón. Luis Altamirano, one of the five dedicated organizers, detailed this year there were 750 registered participants in the race, which raised $160,000 pesos for local service projects. He added his surprise and pleasure that the number of sponsors well surpassed expectations this year, and the race itself now has its own jingle prepared by local band “Agua de Coco.”
The Toma Color race in Puerto Peñasco is fashioned after the popular “Color Runs” across the globe, in which racers are dusted in color as they make their way from start to finish. Organizers, including Altamirano along with Marissa Hernández, Mariela Contreras, Alba Portugal, and Leti Portugal, have also promoted the Toma Color run as a fundraising opportunity for local causes. In its first year, funds from Toma Color were directed to ongoing efforts to complete the local Dialysis Center (soon to open its doors). Last year, Toma Color organizers chose to take on a project to renovate and install restrooms at the La Montaña CAM school for children with special needs. This year, organizers decided to open up funding possibilities for different groups and sent out a call for proposals, with a judging panel that selected three out of eight projects to move on to the next stage: Palabras de Esperanza Community Center, I love Peñasco, and La Tienda de la Abuelita Thrift Store to support Casa Hogar. The panel, explains Altamirano, will give each project additional time to develop and demonstrate their proposals further before a final determination is made to either select one of the three proposals, or see how to assist each of the three.
Congratulations once again to all who participated in Toma Color, from the organizers to volunteers, sponsors, and of course runners!