The race will be held next May 25 in the ‘Open’, ‘Firefighters’, ‘Inclusive’, ‘Som Un Equip’ and, for the first time, ‘Children’ modes
Sponsored by the world champion of mountain skiing, Oriol Cardona, it continues to bet on its inclusive and supportive nature
The Xarxa+ will broadcast the race live and it can be seen on local television stations throughout Catalonia
The funiculars of Sant Joan and Santa Cova will change their opening hours and it is expected that they will start their service at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday 25 May, at 8.50am, the 6th Vertical Montserrat will start, the most demanding vertical race in Spain, in which 260 participants will have to climb the 2,180 steps that separate the lower station of the Funicular from the Santa Cova de Montserrat from the top station of the Funicular de Sant Joan de Ferrocarrils of the Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) exceeding the 388 meters of difference. On the occasion of the race, the funiculars of Sant Joan and Santa Cova will change their opening hours and it is expected that they will start their service at 12.30pm.
Created in 2017 by the Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya and organized jointly with the Obra Social de Sant Joan de Déu, it is part of the Bombers amb Causa. It has the support of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Abbey of Montserrat and the Patronat de la Muntanya de Montserrat and the collaboration, among others, of the Bombers de Barcelona, Creu Roja de Catalunya and the Federació d’Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya. The objectives of the test are clearly solidarity: to obtain funds to finance research projects in childhood diseases and social care programs for children at risk of exclusion served in the various centers of Sant Joan de Déu and to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities through sport.
The majority of participants will go up in the Open men’s and women’s category. On May 25, the winners of the last editions of the race have confirmed their presence: Joan Freixa, Adrià Duarri, Enrique Santamaria and Angel Lopez..
In this sixth edition of the Montserrat Vertical, 71 firefighters will participate, of which 4 are female firefighters, from different bodies: Generalitat de Catalunya, Bombers de Barcelona, Bombers d’Andorra, Bomberos del Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Bomberos de la Comunidad de Madrid, Bomberos de la Diputación de Zaragoza, Bombersos del Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, Consorcio Provincial de Bomberos de Toledo.
On the other hand, 7 athletes have been confirmed to participate in the Inclusive category, aimed at people with physical, intellectual, hearing or visual disabilities. Among those that stand out are Pepi Benitez and Aniceto Rodríguez.
People with visual impairments will be accompanied by a sighted guide and joined by a directional bar. In this way, Vertical Montserrat wants to contribute to the inclusion of people with different disabilities through the practice of sport.
Vertical Montserrat continues to bet on the more supportive category ‘Som Un Equip’ and has increased the number of entries in this modality with a total of 21. Aimed at individuals, companies, schools, sports clubs and other organizations, they will participate with two runners who represent them after having achieved a charity challenge of €500. In this way, solidarity in this fifth edition also goes up another step.
This year Vertical Montserrat incorporates an important innovation, the new Children’s category. 8 boys and girls between 10 and 15 years of age will participate accompanied by an adult athlete. This category will climb the lower section of the route, the 711 steps of the Santa Cova funicular.
The 2024 Vertical Montserrat ambassador is professional trail running athlete and world ski mountain champion, Oriol Cardona.
In addition, for the third consecutive year, there will be a live broadcast via Canal Taronja and La Xarxa+ for local television stations throughout Catalonia and by streaming from their digital platforms. It can also be seen in Plaça del Monestir, the point where the bib numbers are collected and the award ceremony takes place, where a giant screen will be installed.
For those people who want to collaborate, but cannot take part in the test, a ‘Dorsal Zero’ has been enabled which will be operational until the day after the race.
From the creation of the charity project until last year, Bombers amb Causa has raised more than €800,000 and has financed grants for research and investigation of childhood diseases, and social projects related to childhood.
