The Cursa de Bombers ( en, Fireman's Race) 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 ...
race over 10 km which takes place in April 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, Spain.
History and course
The race was created in 1999 as a joint venture between the ''Bombers de Barcelona'' (Firemen of Barcelona) and
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
as a way of protesting against the
Ayuntamiento de Barcelona (Barcelona City Council) for their refusal to respond to the firefighters' demands for improved working conditions. The race has since grown significantly as both an elite and popular race, with major Spanish runners such as
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 ...
taking part and over 13,000 athletes running the course by the 2007 edition of the event. A record of 18,014 people participated in the 2010 race – edition which held
IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status.
[Valiente, Emeterio (2010-04-19)]
Menjo blazes 27:04 10Km in Barcelona
IAAF
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 for ...
. Retrieved on 2019-04-03.
![Post Office Passeig de Colom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Post_Office_Passeig_de_Colom.JPG)
The course of the race is uphill for the first and has a slow decline over the remaining . The race has a looped circuit which is clockwise in direction and goes through a number of major roads in the city. Beginning on Avenida Marques de Argentera, near the
Parc de la Ciutadella
The (; "Citadel Park") is a park on the northeastern edge of Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. For decades following its creation in the mid-19th century, this park was the city's only green space. The grounds include the city zoo (on ...
, the race heads west toward
Passeig de Colom before going northwards along
Avinguda del Paral·lel
Avinguda del Paral·lel (; en, Avenue of the Parallel) is one of the main streets of the city of Barcelona, dividing Ciutat Vella, Eixample and Sants-Montjuïc districts. It receives this name because it is (unlike any other street in Barcelona) ...
. The route turns eastwards at Calle Floridablanca and follows a straight path along
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes
Gran may refer to:
People
*Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
* Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...
. The race begins to loop back to the start at this point, passing through
Passeig de Sant Joan,
Ronda de Sant Pere and finally onto
Via Laietana
Via Laietana () Vía Layetana in Spanish, is a major thoroughfare in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the Ciutat Vella district. The avenue runs from Plaça Urquinaona to Plaça d'Antonio López, by the seafront, and separates the neighbourhoods ...
The elite race has been dominated by Kenya runners, with all but two editions of the men's race having a Kenyan victor and half of the past women's race winners coming from the country. In spite of this, the race remains popular among the top domestic runners, such as
Chema Martínez Chema is a common nickname for the Spanish given name José María (an alternative to the short form ''José Mari''), and less commonly for ''José Manuel'' (or ''Josema'').
People
The name Chema may refer to:
* Chema (footballer born 1976), Sp ...
,
Nuria Fernández
Nuria Fernández Domínguez (born 16 August 1976 in Luzern, Switzerland) is a Spanish middle distance runner. She specialises in the 1500 metres and is the Spanish record holder in the mile run and the 1500 m indoors.
Career
Fernández ha ...
, and
Carles Castillejo, who have reached one of the top three spots.
[ The 2011 elite race was reduced to a sub-national level race as only those who were registered with the Catalan Athletics Federation were allowed to compete. With little competition, and hot weather to contend with, the winning times were among the slowest ever for the race.][Justribó, Joan (2011-04-11)]
La Bombers se abona al récord
Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved on 2011-04-16.
Past winners
Key:
Statistics
See also
*Barcelona Marathon
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, Catalonia, Spain, ...
*San Silvestre Vallecana
The San Silvestre Vallecana is an annual 10 km road race held on 31 December in Madrid, Spain since 1964. It has two editions: a fun run for amateur athletes and an elite race for professional athletes. In 2012, the race achieved its histo ...
References
External links
Official website
{{in lang, ca
10K runs
Athletics competitions in Catalonia
Athletics competitions in Spain
Recurring sporting events established in 1999
Athletics in Barcelona