Havana/The January sun played with the salty breeze of the Malecón. A group of men and women adjusted their sneakers and sweaters with the phrase “Run 4 vibes” before starting to run. Last Saturday, more than 300 people, most of them clients of private gyms, gathered at the Fountain of Youth in El Vedado for a tour that, although informal, felt like a collective celebration of movement and health. 
The idea was simple, almost elementary: go for a run together, leave behind domestic obligations and daily problems for a while to exchange training experiences and return, for a few hours, the body to the mastery of the basic physical gesture, that of putting one foot in front of the other. Initially, the organizers requested permission to travel along the Malecón but the authorities denied that possibility and the procession had to move through other parallel streets.
Some of the participants of that day brought their pets, there were young people and older adults, people who knew each other from the weight rooms and others who came for the first time attracted by the aesthetics of the initiative and by the hashtag that moved on social networks in the previous days.
The community fitness Cuban, one that has gained space on the Island thanks also to the influence of social networks, found in Run 4 vibes a reflection of the global trends of recreational sports that come from places like Florida, where many communities of residents maintain clubs of running and local races as part of their social and wellbeing life. 
In communities like Miami and Key Biscayne, there are clubs that race several times a month
In communities like Miami and Key Biscayne, there are clubs that run several times a month, integrating coastal routes, urban parks and free participation circuits that combine exercise, music and a community atmosphere. The idea of a running club that meets on Saturday or Sunday is not new, but it has been enthusiastically adopted by groups seeking both a moment of recreation and a commitment to collective health. 
That first experience in Havana ended at the José Martí Sports Park, popularly known as the Martí, a place that, despite its dilapidated state, was a good closing, facing the sea, after the race. There, after completing the route to the rhythm of laughter, strong breathing and gestures of mutual support, the participants did physical exercises: sit-ups, squats and small improvised races.
However, the joy of those who found in Run 4 vibes a different way of occupying public space faded with the news that this Saturday’s call had been cancelled. Coaches and organizers, cited by the Police, received a clear warning: this type of initiative can only be carried out in coordination with the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder). For many, it was a splash of cold water.
“I don’t understand how something so healthy can be blocked,” he tells 14ymedio one of the runners who was ready to repeat the experience. Another person, still encouraged by the previous route, argued that the cancellation could be related to the coincidence of the weekend with official events in memory of the 32 Cubans killed in Venezuela during the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
Be that as it may, the frustration is capital and in the chat groups that include numerous participants, many see the Police warning as an excess of administrative zeal, while others point to the authorities’ fear of any activity in public spaces that brings together a certain number of people and that may become difficult to control.
The cancellation has not prevented many participants from sharing photographs from last Saturday with pride on social networks: images of groups crossing the avenue in front of the Malecón, of shoes lined up and of dogs accompanying the runners. Because Run 4 vibes is not just running and sweating; It is a shared vibration, a possibility of experiencing the city from the pleasure of movement and company. And although there is no race this week, many are already counting the days until it returns, if it returns.
