Cursa de la Mercè (Mercè Race) is a public athletic race with free registration that is held annually in the streets of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...
since 1979.
It is organized by the
City Council of Barcelona
The City Council of Barcelona (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ajuntament de Barcelona''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ayuntamiento de Barcelona'') is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Barcelona, municipality of Barcelona, Catal ...
.
The race is held on the morning of Sunday of the second half of September, forming part of the ''
La Mercè
La Mercè () is the annual festival () of the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It has been an official city holiday since 1871, when the local government first organized a program of special activities to observe the Roman Catholic feast ...
'' festival. Its current route runs through the most central streets of Barcelona, with exit and arrival to Avenida de Maria Cristina, between the Plaza España and the
Montjuïc
Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Montjuïc or Montjuich, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill in Barcelona with a rich history. It was the birthplace of the city, and its st ...
mountain. During its history, it has had many variations of distance, between 8 and 11 kilometers.
The athletes who have won most times are Joan Viudez, on four occasions, and Núria Pastor Amorós, on seven occasions.
References
Sports competitions in Barcelona
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