dont think there is any lack of rivalries here.
you can expect these teams to pour their heart and soul into their races,
as they pour heart and soul into everything they do.
of course the odds on favorite in latin america has to be mexico.
they have been a player on the big stage since the first team championships in 2020.
when a team led by the rarimuri came on strong late in the competition.
back then the backyard in mexico was only centered around a few races in chihuahua.
times have changed
now there are 16 backyards scattered around mexico
and the sport is still growing.
team mexico is led by the lion of mexico; rodolfo ramirez leonides, who has a 75 hour backyard to his credit.
mexico is ranked 8th going into the competition,
and pins their hopes on a deep and determined field of runners who have the ability to provide a big assist,
or if leonides has an off day to carry the team.
team mexico is loaded with big names with a lot of experience; juan contreras, julio orlando becerrill garcia, reyes satevo, marco antonio zaragoza campillo, pedro parra….
but the key to the team championships is depth,
team mexico has every member with at least 40 yards to their credit…
and they have the rarimuri tradition!
if the heart of the team comes thru with personal best type races,
mexico could be in the main competition to the very end.
down in south america the power looks to be in brazil.
the backyard runners in brazil have exploded over the past two years
pushing the brazilian record ever higher
david mello de almeida’s 50 yards leads team brazil, with lenilson silva dos santos and alexsandros pereira alves as strong candidates to provide a big assist.
on paper brazil is still a little ways behind mexico,
but only the pre-race projections are done on paper.
and brazil is nearly as deep as mexico.
don’t overlook the brazillians!
the other competitors from latin america include;
experienced teams from argentina, ecuador, venezuela, and bolivia, who have had backyards for some years now, but have not produced the large numbers.
who knows what will happen on race day…
bolivia’s biggest race has always been held on a course at 3,000 meters elevation (9,000 feet)
who knows what they might do if their race is held down in the soupy air of lower elevations.
colombia, uruguay, guatemala, and paraguay are all newcomers to this competition.
who knows what magic might happen in their backyard?
a lack of big-race experience is a disadvantage,
but this is the backyard.
latin and south america used to just be places on the map to me.
their image in my mind was so incomplete.
now i look at these names,
and a smile immediately comes to my face.
i think of the passion and joy that they bring to the backyard family,
and i hope to see every one of them have great success next weekend.
i know they are going to have fun!
