The Barcelona Marathon surpasses itself: more feminine and more international than ever.

BarcelonaRain has greeted participants arriving in Barcelona this Sunday for the 46th edition of the Zurich Marathon, which has already become one of the most popular marathons in the world, with 60% of participants from abroad and a new record number of bib numbers sold: 27,000. At the presentation event at the Torre Glòries, the favorites in the men's and women's categories took advantage of the views to take selfies in front of the city they hope to conquer this Sunday. The lineup is top-notch, with names like Vicoty Chepngeno, Selly Chepyego Kaptich, who finished second in Barcelona in 2023; Viola Chepngeno and Linet Masai in the women's category; and Kenyan Samwek Nyamai Mailu, currently among the top ten fastest runners in the world, competing on a Sunday expected to be cold but not rainy. This marathon will also be the Catalan championship and, for the first time in twenty years, a Spanish marathon.

The test begins Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on Passeig de Gràcia, between Plaça Catalunya and Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, finishing at the Arc de Triomf. This year, for the second time, the race will feature a very fast route through the city center, passing iconic sites such as the Sagrada Família, but with some new features due to the construction work in the Montjuïc area. The men's record was set last year by Eritrean-born Swiss Tadesse Abraham, with a time of 2:05:11, and the best women's record is held by Zeineba Yimer (Ethiopia), with a time of 2:19:44. This year's men's race saw the last-minute withdrawal of Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie, who refused to take a doping test.

"We already have the best half marathon in the world, and we don't want to stop improving the marathon," said the Councilor for Sports, David Escudé, at the presentation ceremony. "We've grown by 7,000 bibs in one year; we're close to 30,000 participants, with a route that, unlike others, is entirely within the city. Some marathons are named after cities the race doesn't pass through. In Barcelona, it's entirely within the city. And we've grown in young people and by 5," added Escudé. This figure is higher than the average for the Valencia Marathon, the marathon with the most entries in Spain, where the average is 21% female. But lower than the New York Marathon, where the figure rises to 36% female. For the Catalan event, this is still a significant increase, since in the first popular marathon held in Spain, in Palafrugell in 1978, only three women participated, all three of them Catalan.

This year, the Zurich Marató Barcelona will also feature seven female pacemakers out of a total of 35 pacemakers, the highest number in the history of this event. In addition, this year sees the launch of the DONAnt Pas initiative, a project to raise awareness and promote the running female beyond its own test. "In terms of events, we are working hard to give it more visibility and, thus, offer role models to the new generations. D'ant Pas is another example, and we are convinced that this is the path we must follow to position our city as a benchmark for running "female," stated David Escudé. This initiative has included training with the support of Pro AM Training - the triathlon club that has designed the training plans for the Barcelona half marathon and marathon for 2025 -, talks and a strengthened training schedule for the future. ~BK_SLT explained that, this 2025, at the Zurich Marató Barcelona "we are going for it all. Having achieved the historical record of participation, closing registrations three months before the race, we are going for the circuit records in both categories: male and female. After making some small adjustments to last year's innovative circuit, we are convinced that, if the weather conditions cooperate, the large cast of elite athletes we have will put on a very good show this Sunday."