Los Angeles

Indigenous Woman Will Run LA Marathon in Traditional Clothing and Huaraches

Maria is 46 years old, she is the mother of six children and she says she started running to demand the rights of women

Sunday will be the 34th Marathon of Los Angeles, and this year will have a different touch, since a woman of Mayan origin will run in a very special way.

The annual Southern California event will feature more than 25,000 runners from the United States and 63 other countries that will compete in the streets of Los Angeles. Among the participants is the Guatemalan María del Carmen Tun Cho, a woman of Mayan origin who runs with huaraches and traditional clothing.

Tun Cho does not train in the best scenarios in the world, nor in the best conditions, but wherever she does it, she does it with great humility and dedication because she is used to obstacles.

Maria is 46 years old, she is the mother of six children and she says she started running to demand the rights of women, and that struggle led her to compete in several parts of her country. Last year she ran in Spain.

The brave woman says that she competes to carry the message of equality for the female sex, but that she would also like to win, although she knows that her poor diet puts her at a disadvantage with other runners.

"What I eat is nothing more than beans, tomatoes, chili," said María.

During a conversation with NBC 4 sister station Telemundo 52, María accepted two things: the first, to send a message in her language "q'eqchi" to all the women and, the second, to test her speed with Telemundo 52's sports presenter, Saúl Rodríguez.

Maria's trip to Los Angeles was achieved thanks to the collaboration of some Guatemalans in this city who wanted to reward their work.

María said that this trip was the second time she got on a plane and that she felt a little afraid of that experience.

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