Edward Dela Cruz poses for a photo with his wife Anastasia, right, their son Alexander, and Anastasia’s best friend, Tanya Grachov, after completing the Luzhniki Half Marathon on Sunday in Moscow, Russia. Dela Cruz, his wife and son are in Moscow to visit his in-laws.
EDWARD Dela Cruz Jr., president of Run Saipan, participated in the Luzhniki Half Marathon on Sunday while vacationing with his family in Moscow, Russia.
Dela Cruz completed the 21-km course with an unofficial time of 02:27:29.
He is used to the tropical climate, but the heat in Moscow was a major challenge from Dela Cruz.
“The biggest factor for me was just the sun,” he said. “I had never ran a long-distance race in pure heat before, so I got dehydrated faster than I thought. But it was still the best race I ever went to so far. The Russians know how to organize an exciting race.”
Asked if it was different from his previous races, he replied, “It definitely was. It was in a foreign country where no one really speaks English. It was my first half marathon not running in the Mario costume. And it was my first long distance race in pure daylight and heat.”
It was also his first race outside the United States and his first major city race.
It was a unique race, Dela Cruz said. “It was basically the best tour package you can get into. The race was dedicated to the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium and the course was made to showcase all the major landmarks.”
He got to see the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Defense building, the Andreyevsky and Krimsky bridges, the buildings of the former chocolate factory Red October, the Christ the Savior Cathedral, St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin.
“And everyone was so fast,” Dela Cruz said. “The average time for this half marathon in the men’s division was like 1 hour and 35 minutes. And that’s faster than everyone else in Saipan.”
