FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Barcelona, A Marathon in Growth
In 2010 it was the twelfth faster of the world with a record of 2h07'30"
and next March 6 it can break another record with more than 15.000 runners
in the start
According to the official ranking of the IAAF, the Marathon of Barcelona
was the eighth faster in Europe in 2010 and the twelfth of the world in
winning record thanks to the victory of the Kenyan Jackson Kotut with
2h07'30". Many can be surprised that Barcelona, a city that does not appear
in the map of the most important marathons, has been placed to this level,
but this is not a chance. La Marató de Barcelona is one of the marathons
that has had a major growth in the last years after the change produced in
its organization in 2006 and next March 6, we expect to have more than
15.000 runners in the start.
Born in 1978, la Marató de Barcelona is one of the oldest marathons in
Spain, but its sporting and participation level in its first 27 years did
not correspond with the prestige of the city. Except in 1992, when
Barcelona organized the Olympic Games and was in the international point of
view, the marathon of the city never had more than 4.000 runners. The
design of its circuit, which finished inside the Olympic Stadium of
Montjuïc after a last very hard slope, did not help to obtain good records.
In spite of many attempts to increase the participation and sporting level,
la Marató de Barcelona did not give a quality jump until 2005, when the
City Hall decided to take the initiative to make it grow, given the
difficulties of the organizers, the Association Marathon Catalunya. For
this, they took a painful decision: the cancelation of the race this year
to have time to prepare a new organization, stimulated by a Promoter
Committee composed by four institutions and entities: Barcelona's City
Hall, the Platform Marató a Barcelona, the Catalan Federation of Athletics
and Turisme Barcelona. Under the general coordination of Institut Barcelona
Esports, the executive organization was transferred to the company RPM
Racing, with wide experience in the organization of sporting events in
Spain, which associated with ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), organizers of
the Tour de France, rally Dakar and Marathon of Paris.
An ideal circuit in an attractive city to do tourism
One of the main objectives of the new organization was to catch foreign
runners, for that, they designed a very urban circuit that went through the
places of touristic interest as Camp Nou, Sagrada Familia, Torre Agbar,
Forum, the old Villa Olímpica of 1992, the Arch of Triumph, the emblematic
Ramblas and the Avenue Reina Maria Cristina, entry door to the Park of
Montjuïc, where the start and the arrival of the race is situated. From the
debut of the new organization, the participation in the marathon of
Barcelona has trebled. From 4.636 runners of 2006 we have passed to 12.211
of 2010, a 50% of them foreigners.
The rapidity of the circuit, which from 2006 only has suffered small
punctual modifications, became evident in 2010, when Jackson Kotut won with
a time of 2h07'30" and broke the record established in 1998 by the Moroccan
Abdeslam Serrokh (2h09'48"), something that also the next five classified
achieved. The race has also benefited from the major implication of the
citizens, as this is demonstrated by the fact that approximately 100.000
persons saw the race in the street in 2010.
For its 33 edition, to be celebrated next March 6, we expect a
participation of more than 15.000 runners, since last January 23 the record
of 12.211 participants registered in 2010 was surpassed.
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