About Barcelona

Barcelona Marathon 2011

The new edition of Marató Barcelona will be this Sunday March 8th.

Since 2006 the race has been gaining numbers of runners from 4.425 in 2006 till 12.211 in 2010, and this year is expected to have even more runners divided in the 6 different categories: starting with Sub 23 (between 18 and 22 years) and Senior (from 23 to 44 years) to the 4 different categories for Veterans (A from 35 to 44 years; B from 45 to 54 years; C from 55 to 64 years and D from 65 years over). Actually, after the registration was closed, the number of runners inscribed for the 2011 Barcelona Marathon is of more than 15.000 inscriptions. With this numbers the Barcelona Marathon is already the seventh with more participants in Europe.

The race will have two out puts; the popular at 8:30 Hs, and the professionals a few minutes before in Avinguda María Cristina.  The approximate finish time for first runners is at 10:40 Hs also in Avinguda María Cristina. The time limit for the las ones is 6 hours from the start of the race.
Seven pacemakers will take part in the race. They will set an even pace for runners to follow to finish the marathon in six different times: 2h50m, 3h00m, 3h15m, 3h30m, 4h00m and 4h30m.
As for the regulations of marathon rules from the RFEA and IAAF, there will be refreshment stations for participants every 5 kilometers during the race (at the 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, 25km, 30km, 35km, and 40km marks). These refreshment stations will offer participants water, isotonic drinks, fruit, sponges and Vaseline. From the 7,5 Km mark, there will be sponge prints every 5 Km.
The official distance of 42,195Km long, certified by the Catalan Athletics Federation, through an authorised commission of the IAAF will be a journey through the old the present and the future of the city of Barcelona.

As other years the race will pass by near or around some of the most interesting sights of the city like the Barcelona Futbol Club Stadium (Camp Nou), important Modernist buildings from Catalan Architects Gaudi (Casa Batlló, Casa Milá (La Pedrera) and La Sagrada Familia), from Puig I Cadafalch (Casa Amatller, Palau Baro de Quadras and Casa de le Punxes) and from Domènech I Montaner (Casa Lleo Morera, Casa Macaya), passing by through the classic Arc the Triomf by Vilaseca i Casanovas or the well known Columbus Monument; with a visit to the Gothic Neighbourhood, Cathedral, City Town Hall, the Drassanes building; and also through new icons like Jean Nouvelle’s Torre Agbar and the  new Parc central del Poble Nou, Herzog & Meuron Forum Building, the Towers of the Olympic Vila and the new Gas Natural office building by Miralles Tagliabue or the Calatrava bridge. Going also through some of the most known Avenues like Diagonal Avenue and the Gran Via de las Corts Catalanes in different sectors, the old beautiful boulevards of Passeig de Gracia and Passeig de Lluis Companys, the very popular Ramblas or the new Passeig de Litoral close to the beaches of Barcelona.

The weather this week in Barcelona has been changing. The first days had been dry and sunny and getting wormer, but Thursday changed and began raining and Friday had more rain and it was much cooler. Saturday for the moment is sunny, but the weather forecast announces more rain for today for the moment looks like that Sunday will be a sunny day.

Some of the runners, with friends and families, are using our Barcelona apartments accommodation to prepare before the race, to be close to it and to visit Barcelona for some days