Nearly 4,000 people gathered this Sunday at the IXX edition of the Carrera Popular Memorial Padre Marcelino, a day that has turned the streets of Granada into a real clamor of sports and solidarity. The event, organized by the Club Polideportivo Agustinos del Colegio Santo Tomás de Villanueva, has once again established itself as one of the most anticipated events in the calendar of Granada, uniting families, athletes and neighbors around the values of sport, memory and solidarity.
With registrations sold out since mid-February, the event has broken participation records. Only in the 10-kilometer circuit, approved by the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation, 2,400 runners competed, 800 more than in the last edition. Throughout the day, a total of seven races were held, with 52 different categories, from the youngest runners in the endearing ‘Chupetín’ race, of just 350 meters, to the elite athletes in the absolute category.
But this is not just a race. It is a tribute. Every step of the way recalls the figure of Fr. Marcelino Alvarez, an Augustinian Recollect religious who dedicated his life to promote sports as a school of values in Granada. ” Today the city becomes Augustinian to pay tribute to a man who understood that sport was also a way of building community”, said Fr. José Mª Sánchez**, principal of the organizing school.
“Seeing thousands of families, children, young and old running together for a noble cause is the best legacy we could imagine.”
This year, in addition, the solidarity dimension has become even more important. The full amount of the Dorsal Zero and the solidarity contribution of the registrations will be destined to the construction of six new primary school classrooms in the rural school of Bamoi (Sierra Leone), through ARCORES, the international solidarity network of the Augustinian Recollect family. The initiative seeks to offer a dignified educational environment to more than 600 children who currently study in very precarious conditions.
“Sport and solidarity walk together in this race,” said Antonio
Mir, president of the Club Polideportivo Agustinos.
“Every step we take today here in Granada becomes hope for a child in Bamoi. That is the real goal we all want to cross together.”
Antonio Carrón, General Councilor of the Order and one of the original promoters of this race, also attended the event. Excited to see how the initiative has grown from its beginnings, he said: “This race was born as a small gesture of community and today it is a torrent of life. To run it again so many years later and see how it continues to grow is an immense joy. Father
Marcelino would be proud.” The Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, Friar Javier Tello, who was in the city on the occasion of the renewal visit to the communities of Spain, was also present.
In addition to the cause in Sierra Leone, the organization maintains its commitment 
with the local: for each runner who has crossed the finish line in the 10 km course, 1 euro will be donated to the Food Bank of Granada, reaffirming the spirit of a race that is much more than a competition: it is a family party, a solidarity event and a testimony of values.
The Councilor for Sports of the City of Granada, Jorge Iglesias, present at the start along with other municipal representatives, stressed “the consolidation of this race as a reference in the sports and solidarity calendar of the city”.
While music, applause and smiles filled the courtyard of the Santo Tomás de Villanueva school, many were already thinking about the next edition. As one of the young participants said after receiving his medal: “I also want to run again for Father Marcelino. Because here we all win.
