Barcelona Half Marathon
The first international race of the year will be held on the 12th February 2017 which is very popular is the Barcelona Half Marathon which starts close to the Arc de Triomphe and ends close to there as well.
This is an international event and a number of entries are reserved for 14000 runners and last year there were 12473 runners. This race does have a maximum time 2:45 hours for the competitors to complete the race.
There will be a total of 7 pacemakers to allow the runners to know approximately in what time they will complete if they keep up with the relevant pacemaker. The record for the Boston Marathon is held by Samual Wanjita in 59’26’’.
Barcelona Marathon (Zurich Marato de Barcelona)
Barcelona Marathon is fast becoming one of the classics in Europe and the international calendar. It is run over 42,195km and the marathon started in 1977. This race is well attended and generally has over 15K participants and last year there were 20K.
This year the event will take place on the 12th of March 2017 and the route will start at the Fira Barcelona Monument. This event starts in the morning and the time limit for this marathon is 6 hours. There will be 7 pacemakers to help the runners with their timing and those runners that would like chip timing it will be available.
Last year a female Catalan Gagant took part in the race to celebrate her 30th anniversary.
Cursa Bombers 10K run
This is a very popular race that is organised by Nike and it originally started as a competition between the firemen of different stations. The time was changed last year from April to October so no dates have been set for next year.
The competition between the firemen is done in relays and each fireman runs 2,5km but they are wearing their full uniform which weighs 20km.
This event is very well organised and has earned the IAAF’s recognition of a bronze medal as one of the best international athletics events.
This year there were over 20K runners and 400 firemen entered the event.
La Cursa de la Merce 10k run
This is also a very popular event and it normally takes place a weekend before the Le Merce Festival. The Le Merce festival is the biggest street party that is held in Barcelona.
This year the event had 17K participants and what makes this an extraordinary event is that there is also a 2km section for disabled participants
The Family Run
There is a family run organised by various sponsors which are well attended by the residents of Barcelona. The field is limited to 3K participants and it caters for all ages. The race takes place at the Arc de Triomphe.
The race even caters for parents with strollers and after that, the adults can choose which distance they would like to run and the children run different distances depending on their ages and capabilities
Cycle Racing
Barcelona also organises the international cycling event known as the Volta a Catalysis which international cyclists that race around Catalunya. This event is 104 years old and is the third oldest stage bike race in the world.
It is only preceded by the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. The 7th and final stage of the race always end in Barcelona.
This year include famous riders such as Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde.
The Barcelona around the world yacht race
Barcelona organises the around the world yacht race which is a two man sailed yacht. This will be the fourth year that Barcelona has organised this event and the last event there were 8 teams competing. This event is to create a higher awareness of sustainable industrial development and bring ocean sailing to a wider audience.
Formula 1 Barcelona
The Formula 1 Barcelona circuit is 21km from the city centre but it easy to get there via bus or train. Buying the tickets for this event is all done online and the event is very well organised.
This is a 3-day event from the practice rounds to the final event and this year some 47K people used the train service.
This is one of the main events for Barcelona because it brings tourists from all over the world to see this event.
MotoGP
Moto GP is another extremely important event for Barcelona city and just like the Formula 1, it is held at the same circuit.
The event is organised in the same way whereby you can buy tickets online and all the transport is also by bus or train.
- CEO of Events Marketing Group, an events agency based in Barcelona
- Event organiser since 2011
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