The Zurich Barcelona Marathon ( Catalan: ''Marató Barcelona''), formerly the Marathon Catalunya and later the Marató de Catalunya, is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of usually held in March in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and first held in 1978 in Palafrugell, Catalonia. The marathon is categorized as a Silver Label Road Race by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

History

The marathon was first started by a Catalan chemist, Ramón Oliu, after he had run the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. Because there were no marathons in Catalonia at the time, Oliu decided to organize the first one in 1978. He held it in Palafrugell because he was unable to obtain a permit to hold it in Barcelona, and he named the race "Catalunya 78". This race also has the distinction of being the first popular marathon in Spain, as the Madrid Marathon was held later that same year. The marathon was held in Palafrugell again in 1979 due to a lack of a Barcelonian permit, but was subsequently moved in Barcelona in 1980. The marathon eventually became known as the "Marathon Catalunya". After a number of intermediate name changes, the name was eventually changed to "Zurich Marató de Barcelona" in 2012. In 2010, Kenyan Jackson Kipkoech Kotut won the race in a time of 2:07:30 hours. This was a course record and also the fastest marathon ever run in Spain. Over 10,000 participants took part in the event that year. The 2020 edition of the race was postponed due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, with the event being rescheduled for 25 October 2020. Runners were also given the option of deferring their entry to the 2021 event, set to be held on 14 March 2021 instead of the revised 2020 date. On 14 August 2020 the event was again cancelled, and is now set to return on 7 November 2021. Entrants are given the option of free entry in the new date with the possibility of running the half-marathon event in October for free also, or taking a refund, though as of 21 August 2020 many entrants report not having received any information about how to select from the alternative options.

Course

The route starts and finishes at Plaça d'Espanya, at the foot of

Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...

, in the

Sants-Montjuïc Sants-Montjuïc () is one of the ten districts into which Barcelona has been split since 1984, numbered District 3. Comprising very different areas of the city, it covers the southern part of Barcelona, joining the two former districts ''II'' (mad ...

district. It passes Camp Nou, back to Plaça d'Espanya, past

Sagrada Família The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, shortened as the Sagrada Família, is an unfinished church in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Designed by ...

, near the beach in northeast, around the old city, back to the shore and back to Plaça d'Espanya. It has many straight parts separated by sharp street corners. The route feels flat, but looks more hilly on a height profile diagram. It has some long slow inclines, notably around 25–27 km and 39–41 km. The marathon course was changed for the 2019 edition of the race, resulting in both course records being broken that year.

Winners

Key: Course record (in bold)

Multiple wins

By country

Notes

References

;List of winners
Barcelona Marathon
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2013-04-13.

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Bronze Label Marathons in Spain Athletics competitions in Catalonia Spring (season) events in Spain Recurring sporting events established in 1978 Athletics in Barcelona