The popular race that Madrid will host on Sunday November 3 will be atypical. The “runners” will not pass through Paseo de la Castellana or any other central road in the capital. They will also not visit parks or trails. The scene of the activity will be the M-30 tunnelswhich will host an initiative of this type for the first time in its history.
This is one of the activities that Madrid Calle 30the joint company which manages the motorway is organizing the 50th anniversary of the ring road.
The race, free, will start at 9 a.m. Participants will have the departure and arrival at the Marqués de Vadillo roundabout. There will be two routes: one of 5 kilometers and the other of 10 kilometers. Both will pass entirely through the two southern bypass tunnels. The outward journey will be via the exterior road and the return will be via the interior.
Official race poster.
Madrid City Hall
In total, there will be four categories: senior (16 to 34 years old), Veteran A (35 to 44 years old), veteran B (from 45 to 55 years old) and veteran C (from 56 years old). In each category, the first three classified men and the first three women will receive a trophy. Yes indeed, All runners will receive a commemorative t-shirt.
In addition, a stage will be installed at the Marqués de Vadillo roundabout, which will host musical and entertainment activities before and after of the race. The registration period will open this Tuesday 15th and will last until October 30th via the website ‘www.carreramadridcalle30.com’.
50 years of M-30
The M-30 was born in 1974, the year the first four sections of the city’s then-nascent third belt, the La Paz and Manzanares highways, were opened to traffic, according to the Works Zone in the press release where she offers the details of the race.
“Half a century later, this road is the the busiest urban mobility platform in Spain. Each year, on average, thanks to its network of tunnels and open roads, 374 million vehicles“.
The M-30 ring is a “fundamental link in the capital’s arterial mobility network” and a global “reference”, “not only by the scale of a unique infrastructure, but also in terms of operational excellence”, stands out from the Zone, which leads Paloma Garcia Romero.
It was in 2004 that the Ministry of Development transferred ownership of the M-30 to the City Hall, then governed by Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón. The popular mayor has carried out some “pharaonic” work to bury the southern part of the highway thanks to a very extensive network of tunnels.
To carry out the work, the Town Hall created a company, Madrid Calle 30, which ended become a mixed company. However, as García Romero announced in March, the M-30 leadership It will be 100% public from 2026. This will therefore be the end of the public-private model that has worked until now. With this change in formula, Cibeles calculates that will save more than 50 million euros per year.
