The race will be held on May 20 and has the categories 'Open', 'Bombers', 'Inclusiva' and 'Som Un Equip'.
Sponsored by the journalist Cristina Riba, the race continues to increase its inclusive and supportive character.
The Xarxa de Comunicació Local will broadcast the race live and can be seen on local television stations throughout Catalonia.
On Saturday May 20, at 9 am, will start the 5th Vertical Montserrat, the most demanding vertical race in Spain, in which 200 participants will have to climb the 2,180 steps that separate the lower station of the Funicular de la Santa Cova de Montserrat from the upper station of the Funicular de Sant Joan of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) overcoming the 388 meters of vertical drop.
This year, the Minister of Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, will attend the race accompanied by Toni Segarra, president of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Juanjo Ortega, from Obra Social Sant Joan de Déu, Miquel Solà, mayor of Collbató, among other authorities.
Created in 2017 by Firefighters of the Generalitat de Catalunya and organized jointly with Obra Social Sant Joan de Déu, it is part of the project Firefighters with a Cause. It has the support of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Abbey of Montserrat and the Patronat de la Montserrat Mountain and the collaboration, among others, of Firefighters of Barcelona, Creu Roja de Catalunya, the Federation of Hiking Entities of Catalonia, "La Caixa" Foundation and Airbox. The objectives of the race are clearly solidary: to raise funds to finance research projects in children's diseases and social programs for children at risk of exclusion served in the various centers of Sant Joan de Déu and promote the inclusion of people with disabilities through sport.
The number of participants will go up in the 'Open' male and female category. On May 20 have confirmed their presence the winners of the last editions of the race: Joan Freixa, Adrià Duarri and Angel Lopez.
In this fifth edition of the Vertical Montserrat will participate 57 firefighters, of which 7 are female firefighters, from different bodies: Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona Fire Department, Madrid City Council Fire Department, Madrid Community Fire Department, Zaragoza Provincial Council Fire Department, Jaén City Council Fire Department, SEPEI Cáceres Provincial Council and Cádiz Province Fire Department Consortium.
On the other hand, the participation of 10 athletes in the 'Inclusiva' (inclusive) category, aimed at people with physical, intellectual, auditory or visual disabilities, has been confirmed. Among them, Maria Petit and amputee Dani Nafría stand out. It will be the edition with more participants registered in this modality.
The visually impaired will be accompanied by a sighted guide and united by a directional bar. In this way, the Vertical Montserrat wants to contribute to the inclusion of people with different disabilities through the practice of sport.
The Vertical Montserrat continues to bet on the most supportive category 'Som Un Equip' (we are a team) and has increased the number of participants in this modality with a total of 25, 50% more than last year. Aimed at individuals, companies, schools, sports clubs and other organizations, they will participate with two runners who represent them after having achieved a solidarity challenge of 500 €. In this way, solidarity in this fifth edition also goes one step further.
The ambassador of the Vertical Montserrat 2023 is the journalist Cristina Riba who has developed much of her professional career in Televisió de Catalunya, where since 2017 she has presented the Telenotícies Cap de Setmana.
In addition, for the second consecutive year, there will be a live broadcast through Xarxa de Comunicació Local by local televisions throughout Catalonia and by streaming from their digital platforms. It can also be seen in the Monastery Square, where the race bibs are collected and the awards ceremony takes place, where there will be a giant screen installed.
For those people who want to collaborate, but cannot participate in the race, a Dorsal Zero has been enabled and will be operational until the day after the race.
Additional material:
- Espot Vertical Montserrat: https://youtu.be/HKFM05qT9jo
- Photos of the 2022 race: https://www.flickr.com/photos/solidaritatsjd/albums/72177720299876139
- Dorsal Zero: https://verticalmontserrat.org/dorsalzero
