My marathons

Cursa de la Mercè Bimbo Global Race

The organiser has not published a date. Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona. Photograph by dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The 2026 10K was a single certified lap starting on Carrer d'Aragó near Carrer de Pau Claris and finishing at Plaça de Catalunya, passing Passeig de Sant Joan, Colom and the Paral·lel.

The course in short 3 lines
  • One lap from Carrer d'Aragó to Plaça de CatalunyaA certified single lap from Aragó to Plaça de Catalunya.
  • 16,000 runners, 8:30 start, aid at 5 km8:30 start, 16,000 cap, aid near km 5, 1 h 45 limit.
  • A 5 euro entry that went to charityA 5 euro charity entry in 2026, and a new women's record.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryOne lap from Carrer d'Aragó to Plaça de CatalunyaA certified single lap from Aragó to Plaça de Catalunya.

The organiser calls the 2026 route faster, more central and open, touching the sea, with 10 km certified by the Catalan athletics federation, run as a single lap marked at every kilometre. It starts on Carrer d’Aragó near Carrer de Pau Claris and runs down to Avinguda de Roma, then along Carrer València and Passeig de Sant Joan to Passeig de Lluís Companys, and on by Passeig d’Isabel II and Passeig de Colom to the Drassanes roundabout. It follows Avinguda del Paral·lel, then Ronda de Sant Antoni and Carrer de Pelai to the finish at Plaça de Catalunya.

Sourced

Whole courseTactics16,000 runners, 8:30 start, aid at 5 km8:30 start, 16,000 cap, aid near km 5, 1 h 45 limit.

The 2026 race started at 8:30 on Sunday 20 September, with a maximum of 16,000 runners and timing chips mandatory. Official aid, served in cups, stood at about km 5 and at the finish, and runners had 1 h 45 min, to 10:30. The race was open to those over 18, and to those over 16 with a parent’s signed authorisation, and the start was organised in coloured corrals by 10K time.

Sourced

Whole courseCrowdA 5 euro entry that went to charityA 5 euro charity entry in 2026, and a new women's record.

The 2026 entry cost 5 euros, given as a donation in support of Pallassos Sense Fronteres, and the organiser says the title sponsor added 20 slices of bread for the Barcelona food bank for each entrant. The organiser’s news report says Douae Ouboukir broke her own women’s record from 2025 by 47 seconds, and that Roger Súria won the men’s race in 29:59.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

No gel needed at this pace

Finish

Under about 75 minutes most runners need no gel: water at the aid stations does it.

For your long training runs:

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Get it on Amazon

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
10.0 km6.2 mi

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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