On the morning of Sunday, April 10th, more than 10,000 runners will fill the city of Barcelona and take part in the 38th Cursa El Corte Inglés. The race will begin at 9.30 a.m. and participants will follow a 10.8 km route through the main streets of Barcelona including a traditional, symbolic lap around the track at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium. As in the case of the Barcelona Marathon, runners will finish the race at Plaça Catalunya. Organizers of the race are planning to set up a control at the 10 km point so that runners can check their timing close to the finish line. Runners who complete the race are eligible for trophies and awards that are handed out to top performers in various age groups and categories.
Truly a festiva and fun event, the Curse El Corte Inglés is, nevertheless, a very well organized and supervised event as well. The general public is encouraged to enter the Cursa El Corte Inglés to enjoy a fun experience, while amateur athletes participate in the same race, treating it more as a demanding sporting event. The Cursa has increased greatly in popularity – the number of general public participants and amateur athletes signing up have both risen since last year.
This year, several celebrities will be participating in the race, including tennis star Carla Suárez, actor Francesc Orella, FC Barcelona star Javier Mascherano, and pastry chef of world-famous Michelin starred restaurant Celler de Can Roca, named World’s Best Pastry Chef, Jordi Roca.
The charitable organization associated with Cursa El Corte Inglés is Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona and they will channel the media attention received into raising awareness for important projects it is involved in. The organization forms a body of more than 8,000 members and donors, as well as a human team of 2,500 professionals and volunteers who help roughly 23,500 people suffering from social exclusion. Caritas welcomes these people in, provides professional guidance and helps them to further their career goals, find proper housing and deal with financial situations. Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona has established a long list of aid programs, including the Welcome and Accompaniment, Aid for Basic Necessities, Family and Child Care, Care for Homeless Persons, Professional Training, Social and Employment Placement Programmes, Programmes for Migrants, Senior Citizens, Mental Health patients and programs also for former prison inmates.
The collaboration between the Cursa El Corte Inglés and Càritas have led to an awareness campaign entitled “Càritas, at your side during the Cursa and towards integration.” The campaign, shows videos of testimonies from people who, through sport, have overcome obstacles and accomplished their goals of social integration. The official hash-tag of the campaign is #jocorroambcor.
The official hash-tag of the Cursa El Corte Inglés of 2016 will be #LaCursaECI, available on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram platforms.
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Photo Credit: vamosacorrer.com
Featured Photo Credit: sports.es
