The 6th edition of the Justice Race for Accessibility and Inclusion continues to prove that street running is a massive sport that transcends generations, cultures and, of course, physical fitness. More than 900 registered, 36 of them people with disabilities, started in the 13 categories separated by distance, between 5 and 10 km, and gender.
Held on the Justice Day (December 8th), the race promoted the socialization and integration of amateur, professional and disabled athletes, such as Dailson Moraes, who did the 5km on a hand cycle, a bicycle on which the rider lies down and the crank is moved with his hands; or 24-year-old Jéssica Priscila, from the city of Porangatu, who won the 5km race for women, which was open to the community; sprinter José Maria Almeida, from the city of Macapá, who won the overall race a week after missing out on the Half Marathon of the state of Tocantins; and Simone Lopes, who is in remission from a breast cancer.
Simone Lopes, 40, has had no sign of the disease for five years. She says she started practicing walking and Pilates after her chemotherapy sessions, to get over the pain caused by the treatment. She switched to street running with her son, Júlio César, a 23-year-old former soccer player who made the transition from the pitch to the marathon after an injury.
“He used to call me and I didn't feel like it. He loves all kinds of sport and does everything he can to take me along, so that I don't get stuck, because it's important to do physical exercise for those going through this, because chemotherapy kills you physically,” she said. Her son took part in the race with his mother.
At the age of 43, sprinter José Maria Almeida, who lives in the city of Macapá (AP), won the general category with a time of 32min29sec, an average of 18.51 km/h, in the second race held in the state of Tocantins this month. On December 1st he came second in the Half Marathon of the state of Tocantins. In between races, the Amper Elinsa Group athlete toured two neighboring states and returned to Tocantins to get over his momentary frustration.
“I ran a half marathon in the state of Maranhão, then the one in the state of Tocantins, unfortunately, due to a mistake, I wasn't the overall champion, so I went to to the city of Goiânia to see my mother and came back here to run this race, which I think is very good, with a demanding course, but closed, which guarantees safety and the athlete is protected. Fortunately, I had a good race. The course was uphill, which is what I like to do. The organization is congratulated”.
Dailson Silva de Moraes took part for the first time as a PCD. Riding his hand cycle, he left satisfied with completing the course and motivated to train for new challenges. “Every kilometer is challenging, especially for my category, which is PCD. I have low mobility and use a wheelchair powered by my upper limbs. As I don't have much muscle strength left, it's a big challenge and, although I've trained before, the event here has awaked me on, I want to train more and take part in something bigger.”
Marden Gomes Marinho (51), a civil server from the Federal Court on loan to the Electoral Court, took part for the second year running in the PCD category, for internal public. Marinho used an ordinary wheelchair. He completed the 5km after pushing his wheelchair for 42min42sec.
Physical educator Eva Meneses, 43, came fourth among the women competing in the 5km (community) race, with a time of 22min20sec, and she was pleased with her result. “To come 4th overall takes a lot of time; it's a job we have to do every day and even more so on a difficult course, but it's very good. And I already knew it, so I really enjoyed the race.” In this category, Eliza Nunes was third with a time of 21:27 and Elivanir Paula (40) was second with 20:35. The champion is Jessica Santos (24) with a time of 20 minutes.
Álvaro Lotufo Manzano, 56, a public Prosecutor who has been running, cycling and doing triathlons for several years, is one of the participants who has taken part in all six editions of the Justice Race. “I ran well, without feeling any pain, and I managed to reach my goal,” he said after crossing the finish line in third place in his category (50+), for the internal public, after covering the 5km in 25:04.
Wellignton Gomes, 25, is another who managed to beat his personal target. “I'm 25 years old, I come from the state of Pará and today in this race my goal was to run sub 26. I managed to do it in 25 minutes and the feeling is one of happiness and overcoming, because running is an event in which you test your own limits.”
Márcia Mesquita, Director of People Management at the Court of Justice, believes that the race exceeded expectations in terms of tranquility and conditions for the athletes and also in terms of what is expected from the social view of the Judiciary.
“We want society to realize that we are not machines and that the institution does not only look at our productivity, but also at human issues such as quality of life,” she explained.
According to the Director, the aim of the race, with all the partner bodies and the participation of society, is to strengthen quality of life activities. “We seek actions related to the quality of life of civil servers, encouraging self-care and developing physical activities that seek to improve the quality of life of civil servers. And this is a consequence of practicing sport, because the civil server looks better, feels better, works with more information, improves their health and reduces sick leave, all of this nature.”
