Barcelona is a city that is enjoyed kicking the asphalt, but from time to time we like to look at it from above to remember that we live in a privileged place. What is perhaps not so usual is to decide that, instead of taking the elevator like any person with common sense, the best plan for a Saturday is to climb one of our most famous towers on foot and at full speed. This is the premise of the Cupra Barcelona Tower Running Challenge, the first vertical race that will host the Glòries Tower and that promises to leave its participants breathless -literally-.
The event is not only a local landmark, but also places Barcelona on the world map of high-altitude sport. This event will be the first qualifying stop of the prestigious Tower Running Tour 2026, an international circuit where the world’s fastest runners take on the most emblematic skyscrapers on the planet.
In our house, the challenge consists of overcoming the 686 steps of Jean Nouvel’s building, a figure that, all at once, makes our legs ache just thinking about it.
The success of the event exceeded all expectations. The 400 available registrations disappeared in just ten days, demonstrating that in Barcelona there is a great desire to live experiences that are out of the conventional. Among the participants there are athletes of thirty different nationalities, from professionals seeking points for the world ranking to popular runners who, like Mathieu Muracciole, have decided to change the 10 kilometers of asphalt for the absolute verticality to live a unique experience.
Organizing such an event is a real logistical puzzle. To avoid traffic jams and ensure safety in such a confined space as the emergency stairs of a skyscraper, the runners will not all start at the same time. The format chosen is that of a time trial, with staggered starts every few seconds, allowing everyone to fight against the stopwatch without having to dodge anyone on the way to the top.