MEDIA

12 Feb 2019

Athletes ‘Run For Hope’ at Global Ports Holding’s Global Run in Barcelona

The 2019 Global Run event, the Barcelona Half Marathon, took place on 10th February 2019. Global Ports Holding PLC is the main sponsor of the annual event. It brought together more than 19,000 participants from 103 countries to run in support of cultural tolerance and enjoy the charms of the city.

This year’s event marked both the highest ever number of foreign runners (8,323) and countries represented (103). 44% of athletes came from outside Spain, with the most represented countries being France (1,822), the UK (1,334), Italy (785) and Germany (742). Other countries represented from further afield included Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Virgin Islands and even Antarctica.

Eric Kiptanui won the men’s run with a time of 61:04, and the favourite in the women’s category – Ethiopian runner Roza Dereje – won with an impressive time of 01:06:00, beating her personal best by a minute. The first man and woman to pass the 5km intermediate line were awarded a Pullmantur Cruises vacation by GPH, and GPH CEO Emre Sayın presented the awards to eventual winners in conjunction with the Spanish authorities.

Global Ports Holding CEO, Emre Sayin, said:

“We are delighted that this year’s Global Run was such a success and it was a truly global event with participation from over 100 countries. We welcome millions of cruise passengers to Barcelona every year and it is fantastic that so many people have had the opportunity to experience this wonderful city during this event. Our Global Run initiative is an ongoing commitment, as the world’s largest cruise port operator, to promote cross-cultural understanding in the locations in which we operate, and we are proud to continue to support this initiative.”

GPH had additionally supported the hospital ship charity, Mercy Ships, for this year’s event by matching every incoming donation made for the ‘Run for Hope’ initiative. Donations can still be made until 17th February 2019 , please visit www.migranodearena.org/reto/19646/corre-para-dar-esperanza-x2

Global Run

The race is organized by Global Ports Holding every year with the hope of bringing the world one step closer to peace and understanding. People from many different countries and cultures join the event, at a different Global port city each year. So far, the Global Run has been held in Bodrum, Turkey; Valletta, Malta; Bar/Kotor, Montenegro; Ravenna, Italy; Havana, Cuba and now in Barcelona, Spain. The intention is to host a Global Run in all locations of Global Port Holding’s growing portfolio – currently 16 cruise ports located around the world.