The Zurich Marató Barcelona 2024 will have 20,000 runners to try for the first time its new route

–The 45th edition of Barcelona’s Marathon registers the third-highest number of participants in its history.

-This will also be the edition with a record number of international runners, who will make up 57% of the total.

-1 out of every 4 participants will be women (25% of the total) and more than 6,500 of those registered will be Catalans.

-It is recommended to use public transport, especially the metro, to get around the city center.

Next Sunday 10th of March 20,000 runners will run the Zurich Marató Barcelona 2024’s new, more central, monumental, flat and faster course, with only 33 turns. The organizers have reached the sold out two weeks before the race after reaching the registration target set for this 45th edition. This number is the third best in the history of Barcelona’s Marathon, the best of this decade, and also the highest of the last five editions. It is very close to the race record, achieved in 2016, with 20,385 race bibs sold.

In addition, for this year’s 2024, 57% of the participants will be international, setting the record for foreign participation in this great running festival of Barcelona. France and the United Kingdom are the two main countries of origin among 107 different nationalities. Although there will also be 6,693 Catalan runners. In the same way, the Zurich Marató Barcelona repeats one more year as one of the marathons with more female participation in the world, 25%, that is to say, one out of every four participants will be a woman.

“A historic edition of the Zurich Marató Barcelona is here! This Sunday, more than 20,000 marathon runners will run a new, faster, more urban, more central and more monumental route, which we hope will allow many people to meet their goals and challenges, but, above all, to enjoy this great event. A celebration for the whole city that will also have a record of international participation: 57%. Another reason to celebrate is that 1 out of every 4 participants will be women, reaching the historic figure of 5,000 women runners. Everyone who wants to experience the excitement and cheer on the participants will have a very easy way to get there on foot or by public transport to any point of the more than 42 kilometres of the circuit, we are waiting for you!”, explains David Escudé, Barcelona City Council’s Sports Councillor.

Mauro Llorens, Director of the Zurich Marató Barcelona, adds that “we have worked for many months with the city’s institutions, but we believe that it has been worth it to have this great circuit. A very central, lively and fast course where all the runners will be able to enjoy the wonderful city of Barcelona and feel the warmth of the public. In the sporting field, a total of 34 international athletes, with a predominance of athletes from the African continent, are coming to Barcelona to achieve great marks and records with the new route. But, above all, our wish is for the city to experience a great celebration of sport, designed both for the runners and for the citizens. This 45th edition will be a special day in the history of the Zurich Marató Barcelona“.

THE FASTEST CIRCUIT OF THE ZURICH MARATÓ BARCELONA
For this 45th edition, the new course will be the fastest and most central in the history of the race. It will be the ninth change of course since the birth of Barcelona’s Marathon in 1980, and it will pass by up to 15 different monuments of the city, such as Casa Batlló, Sagrada Familia, Universitat de Barcelona, Monument a Colom, Parc de la Ciutadella, Port Olímpic or Arc de Triomf, amongst others. The cumulative positive difference in altitude has been reduced by more than 30 metres. Also, six curves have been eliminated with respect to the old course, leaving the new route with only 33.

Thus, the Zurich Marató Barcelona 2024 will be one of the marathons with less turns in the world, and it will have the lowest point at 8 metres and the highest point at 50 metres above sea level. In addition, for the first time, the runners will run down Avenida Paralelo: the last two kilometres of the old circuit, which were the hardest, will now be two of the fastest of the entire course.

The city will be immersed in this sporting event and, as a result, some mobility problems are foreseen. In this regard, citizens are advised to plan their journeys and to prioritise the use of public transport, especially the metro, to get around the city center.

A NEW ROUTE, IDEAL FOR CONTINUING TO BREAK RECORDS
Over the last four years, the Zurich Marató Barcelona has broken the men’s and women’s records of the circuit edition after edition, making the Barcelona Marathon one of the fastest in Spain and Europe. While the best female time in the race is currently held by the Ethiopian Zeineba Yimer Worku (02:19:44h), the best time in the men’s circuit is held by the athlete from Bahrain, Marius Kimutai (02:05:06h). Both records were achieved with the previous course, more circular and peripheral, which has been in force for more than twenty editions.

In this scenario, 23 elite men and 10 elite women will try to break records again in Barcelona. In the men’s field, the Ethiopian Abebe Negewo, with a best time of 02:04:51h at the Valencia Marathon 2019, is the favorite to beat Kimutai’s time. His competitors will be the also Ethiopian Fikre Bekele Tefera, winner of the Linz Marathon 2022 in Austria (02:06:16h) and Kenyan Edmon Kipngetich, winner of the Ljubljana Marathon 2023 in Slovenia (02:06:47h).

In the women’s field, the favourite to beat Zeineba Yimer’s record is her compatriot, the also Ethiopian Degitu Azimeraw, second in the London 2021 Marathon (02:17:58h). Azimeraw’s main opponents will be her compatriot Zinas Senbeta, winner of the 2023 Ljubljana Marathon (02:21:05h) and Kenyan Aurelia Kiptui, second in the 2023 Nairobi Marathon in her country (02:26:49h).

BARCELONA, CATALONIA’S MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2024 AND THE FASTEST GROWING MARATHON IN SPAIN IN 2023
On the other hand, the 45th Zurich Marató Barcelona will also be the 46th Catalan Marathon Championships. This year, the Catalan Marathon Championships will take place again in the framework of the Barcelona Marathon after 15 years. The last time the Barcelona Marathon hosted this championship was on 1 March 2009, where Roger Roca and Anna Rosa won the gold medal in the Catalan category.

It should also be noted that in 2023 Barcelona regained 2nd place in the ranking of the best marathons in Spain. In fact, the Zurich Marató Barcelona was the marathon that grew the most last year in Spain, with 5,443 more participants than in 2022 out of a total of 15,000, according to the report on marathons in Spain in 2023 prepared by Maratones España. And for 2024, Barcelona’s Marathon has once again increased to 5,000 runners.