Barcelona's street vendors' cooperative, Top Manta, will organise its second anti-racist race on Saturday, 13 June. The 5-kilometre run through Montjuïc is described by organisers as a "broader social mobilisation against racism and hate speech."
Following a first edition last year that drew over 10,000 people, this year's event moves from Sants to Montjuïc hill. Registrations are now open for 1,500 participants. "This is much more than a race, it is a social mobilisation to demand a fairer and anti-racist society," organisers stated during the presentation at the Oval Hall of the Catalan National Museum of Art.
The race will start at 6pm from Avinguda Ferrer i Guàrdia, near the Magic Fountain. Runners will climb towards the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium and Palau Sant Jordi before returning to the starting point.
Beyond Sport: A Call for Dignity
The event coincides with Top Manta marking 11 years since the creation of the street vendors' union. Organisers highlighted a growing climate of hate speech and institutional racism, citing examples such as immigration raids in the United States by ICE, racist incidents in Catalonia, the eviction of the B9 building in Badalona, and anti-Muslim chants at a football stadium. These incidents show how "hate manifests itself in more and more spaces," according to the cooperative.
"Until all lives can be lived with dignity, the race continues," is the main message of this year's campaign. Organisers also connected the race to recent migrant regularisation in Spain.
Lamine Sarr, a spokesperson for Top Manta, said the regularisation measure was the result of years of organising led by migrants themselves. "It is not PSOE, it is not Pedro Sánchez, it is not political parties from the left or the right that allowed this regularisation," he explained. "It is the hard work of many migrant people."
Running for Resistance and Solidarity
For Aziz Faye, another Top Manta spokesperson, the race symbolises a long journey of resistance that began long before migrants arrived in Europe. "We do not run because we are fleeing from something, but we are running for resistance," he said. The presentation ended with a performance featuring a strong message: "No sobren migrants, sobren racistes," which translates to "There aren't too many migrants, only too many racists."
Top Manta president Marema Babou presented the official race poster and the new T-shirt for this year's Agua Running Club collection. The technical running shirt is inspired by traditional African patterns and made from fabric produced from 100% recycled plastic bottles in Top Manta's own workshop.
The word "Agua" refers to the warning street vendors use to alert each other when police arrive. "It is not only to warn others, but a word of resistance, a word of dignity, a word of solidarity," organisers explained.
Participants can register with a basic race bib, add the commemorative shirt, or choose the "dorsal zero" option to support the event financially without running. This year, the anti-racist races will also spread beyond Barcelona, with community-led editions planned in Terrassa, Sallent, Salt and Girona, Sabadell, La Garrotxa, Solsona, Vic, and Manresa. Organisers aim to make anti-racism visible across Catalonia and reclaim sport as a collective and political space. Registrations are open on the race website for €20, with participation limited to 1,500 runners.
