For a few hours, the Diagonal will swap cars for runners and once again become a large athletics track crossing Barcelona from end to end. The Cursa Diagonal DiR Guàrdia Urbana by Olistic will return on May 23 and 24 with a new edition that confirms the moment of consolidation the event is experiencing within Barcelona's popular sports calendar.
The race, promoted by Clubs DiR together with the Barcelona City Council and the Guardia Urbana, will celebrate its twelfth edition this year and will once again approach record figures. A few hours before the close of registrations, the event already exceeds 14,000 participants, surpassing the records of the first ten editions and maintaining the growth that the event has been experiencing in recent years. The event has also consolidated itself as one of the great events of popular sport in Barcelona. Not only for the participation, but also for a route that crosses some of the most recognizable points of the city.
The 5 and 10 kilometer races will once again cover a good part of Diagonal avenue, extending towards Sant Martí and the coast. The main novelty of this edition will be precisely in the final stretch: for the first time, both modalities will share a finish line on the maritime front of Poblenou, where the awards ceremony will also be held in an environment designed more as a multitudinous celebration of sport than as a simple competitive arrival.
The desire to maintain an open and transversal format continues to be one of the keys to the event. Beyond the main Sunday races, the program will also include family sports activities and a new edition of the Cursa DiR Kids, scheduled for Saturday in the Jardins de Piscines i Esports, in front of the DiR Diagonal facilities.
This popular character is also reflected in the profile of the participants. The organization highlights that this year runners of practically all ages will once again coexist, from children barely one year old to participants over 70, a dozen of them even exceeding that age range.
The race is also part of a broader strategy by Clubs DiR to reinforce physical activity as a civic phenomenon and consolidate sports events open to the general public. Founded in Barcelona in 1979, the company has become over time one of the most recognizable gym chains in the city and currently has 20 centers between Barcelona and Sant Cugat.
A race designed for the entire city
Beyond the Cursa Diagonal, the brand also promotes initiatives such as the DiR Xperience, focused on outdoor activities, or the solidarity day Pedaleja, linked to The Marathon. Adding all these proposals, close to 20,000 people will have participated during 2026 in the popular events promoted by the company.
The race will also maintain a charitable dimension that the organization has reinforced in recent editions. This year, part of the proceeds will go to the Xana Foundation, focused on the comprehensive support of children and young people with serious illnesses and their families, as well as to the Amics del Clínic program, which promotes different medical research projects.
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