The Barcelona Marathon arrives with a new route and a record number of participants.
32,000 runners will fill the city streets this Sunday
BarcelonaThe Barcelona Marathon reaches its 48th edition in excellent form, as demonstrated by a new record number of registered runners for the race that will fill the city streets this Sunday, March 15th. All 32,000 available bib numbers have been sold out for a race that features a new route designed, among other things, to improve times. As has become the norm in recent years, the marathon will pass near some of the city's major tourist attractions. The start will remain on Passeig de Gràcia at 8:30 a.m., between Gran Via and Plaça Catalunya, and the finish line will be on Passeig de Lluís Companys. The 42 km of the new route will cross the city throughout Sunday morning, causing a series of road closures, parking restrictions, and disruptions to public transportation.
Last year the race was won by Tesfaye Deriba and Sharon Chelimo. The Ethiopian athlete lowered the 2024 record by 48 seconds (2:04:13), and the Kenyan athlete, with a time of 2:19:33, set a new course record, running 11 seconds faster. To encourage runners to improve their times, the organizers will have 35 pacers, distributed across seven different paces (2:45, 3:00, 3:15, 3:30, 3:45, 4:00, and 4:30), to help them manage their goals. As has become customary in recent years, the race will determine the Catalan Marathon Champion.
This will be the most attended marathon in the race's history: it will far surpass the 27,000 registered runners of the last edition and set a new all-time participation record. Until just a year ago, the race's all-time high was 20,000 runners, a figure reached in the 2016 and 2017 editions. This sustained growth consolidates Barcelona's position as one of the five most popular marathons in Europe. For those participating, race bibs can be collected on Thursday, March 12, from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and on Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Expo Sports, located in Hall 7 of Fira Barcelona, in Plaça Marquès de Foronda.