Top Manta’s 'historic' first antiracist race takes over streets of Barcelona

On Sunday morning, the much-anticipated “historic” antiracist race, organized by Top Manta, took over the streets of the Sants neighborhood in the Catalan capital.

At 10:00 am, the race kicked off at Plaça de Sants, with many runners wearing t-shirts and apparel from Agua Running Club, Top Manta’s collection for the event.

1,500 runners participated with the official race bib, as participation was capped at that number by Barcelona city authorities before the race, but according to Top Manta, 6,000 people joined the race at some point without the bib, while thousands more joined as cheering spectators.

During the event, runners and spectators alike could be heard chanting "Free Palestine," "Boycot Israel," and "no one is illegal," with some people draping themselves with the Palestinian scarf, the keffiyeh, the Palestinian flag, or statements, such as “being born here is not an achievement,” “black lives matter,” or simply, “antiracist.”

The first woman to cross the finish line of the five-kilometer circular race was Ramatouile Krubally, at 19:01 minutes, followed by Barbara Rubio Forcada at 19:07, and Irati Blanco Verbruggen, after 20:53 minutes.

The first three men to complete the race were Martí Guitérrez Farré (15:41), Miguel Garcia Peña (16:17), and Miquel Castellote Borrell.

“Important to advocate”

Rosangela was one of the people participating in the race. For the occasion, she had decorated her t-shirt with a Venezuelan flag, and participated because it was “important” to attend “a very good cause”.

“I’m an immigrant living here in Barcelona, and I think it’s important to advocate for anyone who maybe doesn’t have legal documents,” she said.

She added that the energy during the race was “amazing,” and that’s very important “to come together” given the current “political climate,” referring to the rise of the far-right.

Immigrants’ role in society

After the race, the spokesperson of Topmanta, Aziz Faye, spoke to the press and stressed the importance of immigrants in Catalonia.

“Immigrants are not a problem in this country; immigrants have contributed, participated, and collaborated, and thanks to the immigrants, many of the basic services in society are working,” said Faye.

“If it weren’t for immigrants, Spain and Catalonia would not work, it’s as simple as that,” he emphasized.

“This is a victory”

The event was much more than just a five-kilometer race through the Sants neighborhood. According to Faye, it’s “a collective demand”.

“This is a shared victory that says, enough to racism,” he said. He added a message to the political parties. “Take note, because the hate speech of the far right is spreading everywhere.”

The project's goal is “to push back against the rise of hate speech and far-right movements,” both nationally and globally.

According to Top Manta, Catalonia accounts for 40% of all reported racist incidents in Spain, which highlights “the importance” of the “historic movement.”

The organizers hope the event will also serve as “ an inspiration for other social movements.”

New collection: Agua Running Club

To coincide with the event, Top Manta launched a new limited-edition clothes collection called Agua Running Club. The line includes a running T-shirt, sleeves, and a vinyl patch.

The word ‘agua’ (Spanish for ‘water’) is commonly used by the street vendors to warn each other when the police are coming and they need to start running, according to the organization.

During the race, runners and spectators were heard chanting "agua, agua, agua."

After the race ended, the event took to the main stage on la Rambla de Sants, with speeches and musical performances by Catalan duo Svetlana, singer Boye, Barcelona music collective, Jokkoo Collective, and Neo, among others.