popular athletics begins to die of success due to a saturation of races, to the lack of control of many of them, to the rivalry between tests and to the poor quality and unattractiveness offered by some of the smaller organizations. So far this year, all marathons, including New York -there was much less demand than before the pandemic-, have noticed a very worrying drop in registrations. This circumstance coincides with the latest athletic fashion, the hill racingwhich to a greater or lesser extent are reducing the influx of those organized on asphalt and in large cities.
However, the offer is so wide, the diversification is so immense that most tests can no longer hang up the sign and announce that all numbers are sold. “Before the pandemic in 48 hours Registrations were closed in the main athletic and cycling races and now it is no longer possible & rdquor ;, sources from the sector affirm to this newspaper.
The Valencian exception
In Spain, only one marathon grows year after year. It is the one from Valencia. It is already the main one in Spain, after unseating Barcelona and Seville, and it is fighting to be part of the best in Europe. “They have it all -add the same sources- good weather, a flat circuit where any participant can make the mark that is proposed and they also have sponsorship that allows them to sign the best African specialists & rdquor ;. València has great financial support from the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, chaired by Juan Roig, founder of Mercadona. This year (it runs on Sunday, December 4 with 30,000 participants) has signed the Ethiopian long-distance runner Letesenbet Gidey with the intention of breaking the world record in the specialty.
According to experts, the athlete is ready for it. “Runners love to meet great specialists, but bringing them costs a lot of money. Yes Gidey breaks the women’s world record, the prize will be around 100,000 euros and few organizations can afford this disbursement & rdquor ;, they say.
The run segueix ben viu. The participants of the asphalt courses are passing through the mountains. A sample:
Bombers course 2013: 23,750 arrivals
“ “ 2022: 9,700
Ultra Pirineu (4) 2013: 625 arrivals
“ “ “ 2022: 2,719— Pucurull (@Pucurull) November 1, 2022
Instead, Barcelona He has seen how the growth of his marathon has not only stagnated, but participation figures have dropped after the pandemic crisis. In 2013, according to data collected by Miquel Pucurull, ‘senator’ of the test, 14,766 people crossed the finish line, far from the 5,410 who did so this year. “We still don’t know the cause, but after the pandemic there are many people who sign up and then don’t go running. This circumstance, together with the drop in foreign participation, is harming all the organizers & rdquor ;, argues Pablo Lopez-BarajasDirector of Events at Atresmedia and responsible, among others, for the Seville and Malaga marathons.
mountain fever
The trail running fever contrasts with the loss of motivation towards popular asphalt competition. Although it is true that no test of this type can reach the dimension of any marathon in terms of participation -for reasons above all of security-, there is an upward trend, after the pandemic, when it comes to taking advantage of this offer.
However, here the same thing happens again as with the urban tests. Supply exceeds demand. For example, on October 15 and 16, nothing less than 19 races of these characteristics. This weekend there have been up to six possibilities of ‘trekking’ in Sant Pau de Segúries, Sant Esteve de Palautordera, Flix, Barcelona, Cunit and Santa Coloma de Farners.
?️ AGENDA | Les curses per muntanya del proper cap de semana ??♀️⛰️
The calendar presents ends at 1️⃣9️⃣ curses arreu de Catalunya (record figure!)
I vosaltres? Will I participate?➕INFO ➡️ https://t.co/uw3X3UieCV pic.twitter.com/8gNpOSZ2et
– Ultres Catalunya (@ultrescatalunya) October 14, 2022
“We are noticing an increase in participants who come from urban races, in a clear trend after the pandemic of changing the city for the mountain&rdquor ;, he explains Albert BalcellsCEO of Ocisport, which organizes, among others, the Solomon Run of Barcelona, the Garmin Mountain Festival of the Vall de Boí or the Skyrace Comapedrosa in Andorra.
In his opinion, many popular athletes have left the city for a matter more adventurous than competitive. “In urban races everyone is aware of the ‘chrono’. In the mountains it is not so important to make a good mark and nobody cares about going through the most complicated sections of ascent or descent & rdquor ;, he adds Balcells.
more regulation
Balcells believes that there should be greater regulation in this type of races that hardly exceed the 500 seats for security, logistics and nature conservation. “There are too many federations behind. The sector is not regulated and there is a lot of intrusion. A race of this type requires at least 300 people, 200 of which must be distributed along the route for provisioning, signaling the most complicated sections and evacuation areas in case of any emergency. And not everyone has an infrastructure of these characteristics & rdquor ;.
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“The ‘top’ races, both asphalt and ‘trekking’, will survive on their own, but the smaller ones must reinvent themselves or they will end up disappearing. Some organizers neglect the supplies and have not understood that due to the price they charge they cannot offer only a technical jersey to the participants. People demand more quality because prices are often high & rdquor ;, indicates Xavi Llobetformer Olympic triathlete who collaborates in the sponsorship of several Catalan races.
Normally, in the mountains, it is customary to charge a euro per kilometer traveledfigures that can reach 70 euros in the so-called Ultratrails, which are now the last word among the most fiery when it comes to running far from the cities.