Barcelona woke up this Sunday, May 10, with the kind of atmosphere only major mass-participation races can create. Early in the morning, some streets were still half empty and cafés were just opening, but around Avinguda Diagonal thousands of runners were already gathering with race bibs pinned to technical shirts, light jackets tied around their waists and that familiar mix of nerves and excitement that always surrounds an important race morning.
The 46th Cursa El Corte Inglés once again turned the city into one huge shared running experience. And it did so by confirming something very few popular races manage to preserve after so many decades: the ability to attract everyone at once. Fast runners, first-timers, families, groups of friends, people walking sections of the course and athletes fighting to break the 30-minute barrier all coexisted within the same event, in a morning that Barcelona seemed to embrace as its own.
The public response was massive once again. After the initial 40,000 race bibs sold out, organisers expanded the limit to 50,000 entries, reinforcing the scale of an event that continues to hold a unique place in Barcelona’s sporting calendar thanks to its free registration model and strong connection with the city itself.
A huge start line and a city fully involved from the first kilometre
The race began at 9:00 a.m. on Avinguda Diagonal, directly in front of El Corte Inglés Diagonal, but the atmosphere had already started building long before the gun went off. Runners warmed up beside the barriers, groups stopped to take photos before entering their corrals, music echoed near the start arch and thousands of people slowly moved toward the line with the sense that they were stepping into something bigger than a simple 10K.
The weather helped too. After Saturday’s rain, Barcelona welcomed the race with much friendlier conditions and temperatures that gradually rose as the morning progressed. The course remained the officially certified 10-kilometre urban circuit approved by the Federació Catalana d’Atletisme, starting on Diagonal and finishing in Plaça Catalunya after passing through some of the city’s best-known streets, including Passeig de Gràcia, Aragó, Gran Via, Passeig de Sant Joan and Ronda Sant Pere.
More than its speed, though, the course once again delivered something else: the feeling of running through Barcelona from the inside. For several hours, the streets stopped functioning as traffic arteries and became a shared space occupied by tens of thousands of runners moving together toward Plaça Catalunya.
Pol Espinosa and Sandra Sancho led the competitive side of the morning
Although the popular dimension of La Cursa often dominates the conversation, there was also serious racing at the front. From the opening kilometres the pace was extremely fast, and it quickly became clear that both races would be decided by very small margins.
In the men’s race, Pol Espinosa took victory in 29:44 after a very aggressive and tightly contested battle until the final metres. Mourad Mounim crossed the line only three seconds later in 29:47, while Marc Fernández completed the podium with 29:52. All three runners broke the 30-minute barrier in one of the closest finishes of the morning.
In the women’s race, Sandra Sancho delivered one of the standout performances of the day to win in 35:28. Raquel Yécora finished second in 36:06, while Brisa McGrath completed the podium only three seconds behind with 36:09.
Still, the most representative image of the race was probably not at the front. Long after the winners had already recovered near the finish area, thousands of recreational runners continued crossing the line in Plaça Catalunya: some sprinting hard through the final metres, others walking, many taking photos immediately after finishing and plenty simply staying around to keep enjoying the atmosphere.
A race that still blends competition and city life better than almost any other
The Cursa El Corte Inglés continues to preserve something very difficult for events of this scale: it remains competitive without ever losing its open and popular identity. Elite-level athletes share the same streets with runners attempting their first-ever 10K, and instead of weakening the atmosphere, that mixture is exactly what gives the race its personality.
The fact that the race is still free remains one of the main reasons why. At a time when many major urban races are becoming increasingly expensive and exclusive, La Cursa continues defending a different vision of city running: accessible, broad and deeply connected to Barcelona itself. That can be felt in the diversity of participants, in the atmosphere before the start and in the constant sense that this is not only a race for dedicated runners, but for the city as a whole.
The charitable dimension also remained important this year. The Johan Cruyff Foundation was the official beneficiary of the 46th edition, reinforcing the social component that has long been part of the race’s identity. Throughout the course, groups linked to the foundation could be seen participating and supporting initiatives connected to inclusion through sport.
Barcelona once again showed why this race remains special
There will be time to analyse full rankings, split times and participation statistics. But what Sunday morning really left behind was something else entirely: confirmation that the Cursa El Corte Inglés still carries a unique weight within Spanish running culture.
At a time when many races try to differentiate themselves through exclusivity, image or premium experiences, La Cursa continues betting on something much simpler — and probably much harder to build: bringing together tens of thousands of people around a shared idea of sport and city life.
And that may ultimately be the best way to summarise what Barcelona experienced this Sunday. The 46th edition did not stand out only because it filled the city with race bibs again, nor because it maintained its huge participation numbers. It stood out because, for a few hours, Barcelona stopped merely watching a race from the sidewalks and instead felt fully inside it.
At SnapRace, we had already covered the practical guide, course details and preview of the 2026 Cursa El Corte Inglés before race day. What Sunday delivered was something different: a morning of mass running, urban atmosphere and thousands of people sharing the same streets, the same kilometres and the same feeling of being part of one of those races that still means something long after crossing the finish line.