The Granollers Half Marathon (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Mitja Marató de Granollers'') is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

competition over the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

distance (21.097 km) which takes place in February in the city of

Granollers Granollers () is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental. Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from a t ...

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 north ...

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 ...

. The race is organised by the ''Col·lectiu d'Atletes de Fons'' group and was first held in 1987. The course starts and finishes in Granollers and passes through

Les Franqueses del Vallès Les Franqueses del Vallès (; es, Las Franquesas del Vallés ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental Vallès Oriental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Granollers. Along with Vallès Occidenta ...

and

La Garriga La Garriga is a municipality in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The municipality covers an area of and the population in 2014 was 15,762. Notable natives and residents * The Catalan missionary priest in Cam ...

. It is among the more popular half marathon events in Spain with around 10,000 runners taking part in the day's events.. In addition to the main half marathon race, there are two further events: a 5 km race for

fun run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors pro ...

ners and "the mini", which hosts a range of short distances for children. In its early editions the race attracted a principally Spanish audience. The first African winner was

Ezequiel Bitok Ezekiel Bitok (born 15 February 1966) is a retired Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coord ...

in 1993 and his course record run of 1:01:48 hours marked the introduction of elite-level participation at the event.

Alberto Juzdado Alberto Juzdado López (born August 20, 1966) is a Spanish long-distance runner. He specialized in the marathon race. Juzdado won the Tokyo International Marathon race in 1998. Achievements Personal bests *3000 metres – 8:08.87 min (1998) * ...

became the first Spaniard to complete the course in under one hour and two minutes in 1998. In 2000, Esther Kiplagat of Kenya was the first foreign female to win at the event and she improved the course record by over two minutes.Civai, Franco & Vázquez, Gerardo (2012-02-06)
Granollers Half Marathon

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2012-02-12. Two consecutive wins by marathon world record holder

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

in 2005/2006 brought a Spanish all-comers record time of 60:08 minutes and further recognition of the race's elite level status, as did 10,000 m world champion

Gete Wami Getenesh "Gete" Wami Degife (Amharic: ጌጤነሽ 'ጌጤ' ዋሚ ደግፌ born December 11, 1974 in Debre Berhan) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track, and road events. Her brother, Mulugeta Wami ...

's course record time of 1:10:24.2 hours in the women's race. The 2004 Olympic marathon champion

Stefano Baldini Stefano Baldini (born 25 May 1971 in Castelnovo di Sotto, Emilia-Romagna, Italy) is a retired Italian runner who specialized in the marathon. He was the Olympic champion in Athens and was twice European champion (1998 and 2006). Biography Baldini ...

and two-time European champion

Marta Domínguez Marta Domínguez Azpeleta (born 3 November 1975) is a Spanish former runner and politician. She competes mainly in the steeplechase. She has represented Spain four times at the Olympics and has competed at the World Championships on six occasio ...

won the men's and women's races in 2007. Kenya's

Samuel Wanjiru Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November 1986 – 15 May 2011) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32; becoming the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon. He beca ...

became the first man to run a sub-60-minute half marathon in Spain at the 2008 Granollers race: his time of 59:26 minutes was the fourth fastest time in the world that year. Both Wanjiru and Domínguez claimed their second Granollers titles the year afterwards. In 2012, Catalonia's

Carles Castillejo Carles Castillejo Salvador (born August 18, 1978 in Barcelona) is a Spanish long distance runner. He has won Spanish national titles in the 5000 m, the 10,000 m and the marathon. He has represented Spain at the Olympics on four occasio ...

became the first Spanish male winner since 1999 by defeating world record holder

Patrick Makau Patrick Makau Musyoki (born 2 March 1985) is a runner from Kenya. He is a former world record holder in the marathon—His time of 2:03:38, run at the 2011 Berlin Marathon, was the world record for two years, until it was beaten by Wilson Kipsa ...

.Valiente, Emeterio (2012-02-06)
Castillejo upsets Makau at Granollers Half Marathon - Spanish weekend round-up
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-12.

Past winners

Haile Gebrselassie at Vienna City Marathon 2011

Key:

References

;List of winners *Civai, Franco & Vázquez, Gerardo (2012-02-06)

. Retrieved on 2012-02-12.

External links

Official website
{{European half marathons Half marathons Marathons in Spain Athletics competitions in Catalonia Recurring sporting events established in 1987 1987 establishments in Spain Winter events in Spain Granollers