Fifth edition of Unirun, the race for Catalan universities
Today the fifth edition of Unirun has been presented. This is the race promoted by twelve Catalan universities to promote new challenges in university athletics. The race will take place on Sunday, March 3, in the cities of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. The University of Barcelona, as the coordinator of this yearsʼs Catalan University Sports (ECU), is, together with Gaudium Sports, the organizer of the race, which counts on the support of the General Secretariat for Sports, and the city councils of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, apart from the sponsorship by Adidas.
Today the fifth edition of Unirun has been presented. This is the race promoted by twelve Catalan universities to promote new challenges in university athletics. The race will take place on Sunday, March 3, in the cities of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. The University of Barcelona, as the coordinator of this yearsʼs Catalan University Sports (ECU), is, together with Gaudium Sports, the organizer of the race, which counts on the support of the General Secretariat for Sports, and the city councils of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, apart from the sponsorship by Adidas.
The Old Estrella Damm Factory has been the stage for the presentation, gathering representatives from the twelve Catalan universities that take part in the race. During the event, the rector Joan Elias noted that universities have to keep working to promote sports and reach excellence. Then, the director-general of the Catalan Sports Council, Antoni Reig, said Unirun erases as the distinguished race of the university community, and thanked the effort of all those involved in the organization of this activity. Also, the manager of the Barcelona Sports Institute, Xavier Olivella, highlighted that races such as Unirun allow young students to keep up with physical activity, while the mayor of Sant Adrià de Besòs, Joan Callau, noted sports are a tool for social integration.
In these lines, Unirun collaborates with the Support Program of the University of Barcelona for Refugees and People from Conflict Areas. The program, launched in September 2015 under the coordination of the UB Solidarity Foundation, aims to promote the access of this collective to higher education. With this aim, it includes support actions for refugee students through aids for university enrolment, Catalan and Spanish language courses, tutoring programs, accommodation, legal advice and psychological assistance. The director of the UB Solidarity Foundation, Xavier López, took part in the event to tell more about the program. He came with Zaaki Jan Rezaee, student from this program who is now studying the bachelor degree on International Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the UB, and who will be the patron for the fifth Unirun.
The activity closed with the presentation of the official shirts to be work by the participants in the race. The shirts for the UB will be coral and navy blue.
Open registrations
Online registrations in the website of Unirun will be open until February 26 at 11.59 p.m.
Unirun 2019 will start at 9.30 a.m. in Parc del Fòrum and will end in the same place, after going through a circuit crossing the district of Sant Martí (Barcelona), Port Fòrum and the beach la Pau in Sant Adrià de Besòs. The route of this race has a total of 6,779 meters, the same distance of the traditional rowing race of the English universities Oxford and Cambridge.
Participation is open to everyone: university students, former students, future students, teaching staff, other staff, suppliers, family members or supporters of any of the Catalan universities. Minimum age to take part in the race is that of those born in 2003. Participants have to join the team of their universities and wear the corresponding shirt.
Shirts will be given by the organizers in Fira del Corredor, which this year will be held in the Historical Building of the UB, on March 1, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday Mach 2, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
More information in the Unirun website