Barcelona’s Nose Race bids 2020 farewell with sport

The Nose Race offers a 5 km and a 10 km version and will comply with all the preventive measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

As ever, Barcelona winds up its sporting year with the Nose Race, which takes place as usual on 31 December at 5.30 pm. This year’s event will be different, adapting to the current situation and allowing runners to take part with all the required safety and prevention measures in place.

The main change for the Nose Race 2020 is that  there will be two distances to choose from: a 10 km race and a 5 km one. As an exception, the second option will only be available to elite athletes.

The 10 km event will be staggered into three start groups of 333 people, setting off at 5.30 pm, 6 pm and 6.35 pm. A distance of 1.5 metres will be maintained between the runners in each starting box.

Another new feature for this year’s Nose Race is the route. Given the current situation, the race will be held over a closed circuit of 5 km along the Barcelona coastline. The start line will be in the esplanade at the Llevant beach, with the finish line in Passeig Marítim del Bogatell, just past the nautical base. Runners will have to complete two laps of the circuit to finish.

5 km to obtain a new women’s record

This exceptional edition is also the first time that the International 5 km Nose Race will be held, exclusively for elite men and women athletes, the goal being to beat the women’s world record for 5 km. This event starts at 4.45 pm, with a route starting in the esplanade at the Llevant beach before going along Av. Litoral and ending up in Pg. Marítim del Bogatell.

Registration

The registration period will be open from 4 December (6 pm) until 20 December (11.59 pm) or once 1,000 runners have signed up, at the Nose Race website (http://www.cursadenassos.barcelona/).

Number bibs are to be collected from the ADIDAS shop at Passeig de Gràcia, 3, on 28, 29, 30 and 31 December. Given the health measures established for the pandemic, you must strictly stick to the day and time chosen to pick up the number bib.

Safety protocols

The race will comply with all the preventive measures necessary to avoid spreading Covid-19. Because of this, the use of face masks will be obligatory before the race and after the finish line. Runners will have to wear their face mask from home and keep it on until the race starts. Once the race begins, throwing masks on the ground is not permitted, neither at the beginning of nor during the race. Runners will have to keep their face masks, dispose of them in the right bins at the finish line and receive a new one.

A distance of 1.5 metres will be maintained between runners in the starting box. In addition, there will be hand sanitiser dispensers available for participants to use and all of the infrastructures used for the race will have been disinfected before the race is held.

Solidarity Nose Race

Once again, this year’s Nose Race will also be a celebration of solidarity. Five euros from the registration fee for the race will be donated to the Marató de TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio, which is devoted to Covid-19 research this year. White chips will also be collected after the race, representing a donation of 80 cents per chip for the same cause.