Mercabarna fun run & open day a resounding success
The inaugural Mercabarna fun run attracted more than 3,000 people to Barcelona’s wholesale market on Sunday. Along with the race itself – in which 1,520 runners participated – there were a range of activities related to fresh food and designed to showcase the key role of the Mercabarna food complex, one of the largest in Europe.
Runners passing through the Central Fish Market
Of the runners, 770 covered 5 km and 750 a 10 km route. Starting at 11am, the race took them through the central fruit and vegetables and fish markets.Though closed on a Sunday, some fruit and vegetable wholesaler stalls displayed produce to provide a taste of a typical day at the market.
And though no fish was on sale in the central fish market, loudspeakers reproduced the din usually found there when 2,000 or so buyers and sellers gather in the wee hours.
Runners collecting their numbers in one of the 7 buildings forming the Central Fruit and Vegetable Market
After the race, runners and their companions tucked into a breakfast based on sardines, sausage and fruit.
In a press release, the market authority said the visitors had been surprised at just how big the market is. Covering 900,000 m2, it shifts 2 million tons of fresh produce a year.