BARCELONA, 1 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona by Brooks 2024 will break the record of participants with more than 28,000 runners, a figure that places the Barcelona race as the most crowded in Spain in the distance and the second largest in Europe, in addition to continuing to be one of the few half marathons in the world with a Gold seal and brand new, for this 34th edition, a new start and route.
The half marathon of the Catalan capital will be the one with the highest percentage of international participation in the history of the event, 40 percent and with 98 different nationalities, and there will also be a record of female presence, with more than 9,800 runners representing the 35 percent of the total participation.
“This year Barcelona achieves the Mitja Marató with the largest participation in its history but, in addition, we will be the largest in Spain and the second most crowded in Europe. We are very proud of this edition, which will be a true sports festival in our city and the first great running event on the 2024 calendar,” explained the sports councilor of Barcelona City Council, David Escudé.
For his part, the race director, Mauro Llorens, assured that they have reached the participation record and that they want to enhance the sporting part of the race. “We will look for the circuit record, both for men and women,” he assured.
There will be a good line-up of international athletes, with the presence of the Kenyan athlete Kibiwott Kandie, who holds the second best time in the world in the half marathon (57:32'), and that of his compatriot, Ruth Chepngetich, world marathon champion in Doha 2019 and has the third best world women's record in the half marathon (01:04:02h). “We aspire to be the best average in the world, where any runner feels the great city of Barcelona is the ideal setting to meet their goals,” added Llorens.
To offer better service to participants and channel this year's high participation, the start is moved to Paseo Picasso, the vertical street compared to the start of previous editions. However, the arrival remains on Paseo Pujades. Therefore, it will no longer be a circular circuit, but rather semi-circular, since the finish and start will be only 500 meters apart.
After in 2023 the Kenyans Charles Kipkkurui Langat and Irine Jepchumba have set the best men's times (58:53') and women's times (01:04:37h) respectively, for the eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona by Brooks 2024 there will be new names that will seek to lower these times, with 14 men and 9 women who will make up the elite list for next February 11.
In the men's team, the favorite to win will be the Kenyan athlete Kibiwott Kandie, who has the second best time in the world in the half marathon (57:32') and who has won the 2020, 2022 and 2023 editions of the Valencia half marathon . Three other athletes from Kenya and one from Tanzania are aiming for the podium, all with marks under the hour. Kandie's direct competitor will be his compatriot Philemon Kiplimo, with a fifth position and personal best of 58:11 'in the Valencia 2020 test.
In the women's category there will be an athlete with a better time faster than the current women's record of the Barcelona average: the Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich, who achieved the national record in the Istanbul Half Marathon in 2021 and is the Marathon world champion in Doha 2019 , and has the third best world female record in the half marathon (01:04:02h).
Joyciline Jepkosgei, the athlete also from Kenya who was second in the Barcelona Half Marathon in 2023 (01:04:46h), will fight to get back on the podium, followed by the Ethiopian Senbere Teferi, winner of the Valencia Half Marathon in 2019 (01:05:32h) and the Kenyan Gladys Chepkurui, fourth classified in the Barcelona half marathon in 2023 (01:05:46h).
On the other hand, there is a very good pace of registrations for the Zurich Marathon Barcelona 2024, which already exceeds 17,000 bibs sold. In this sense, the marathon organization aspires to continue growing until next March 10 at a rate that will allow it to reach 20,000 registrations, to equal the current participation record of the event, set in 2016 at 20,385 numbers sold.