/en/newsroom/news/2023/december/2023-valencia-races
The Great Races of Valencia are over and MSC has been fully involved in them through its sponsorship, now in its second edition.
The city was tinged with the company's colours through the MSC Running Team's kit and extensive presence of their runners at the race. The batucada group - made up of employees - along with family, friends and relatives, cheered on all participants from the incredible MSC Cheer Point.
For the first time, this year MSC sponsored the pacers or free runners, which in Valencia are called Pilots. The MSC Pilots were the experienced athletes who ran at a fixed pace to set the target times for the other runners. This is a very demanding role, so they had their own presentation ceremony at Feria Valencia where Ignacio Ballester, Deputy General Manager of MSC Spain, thanked them for their work and effort.
Find out in this video who the MSC Pilots are!
The first race of the year was the Valencia Half Marathon, which took place on 22 October, and saw runners complete a 21 km route around the city of Valencia.
Relive the Valencia Half Marathon in this video!
The last two races were held on December 3rd: the Valencia Marathon and the MSC Valencia Mini Marathon.
The MSC Valencia Mini Marathon was run by 1,300 children. It was wonderful to see them all enjoying themselves in such a fun and healthy environment, and at the end of the tour, they were able to visit the face painting and balloon artists’ booths.
This race had another very important objective, as it sought to raise money to support a charity. The 3 euros from each entry was donated to the Ronald McDonald House, whose mission is to provide accommodation for families close to their hospitalised children and to create a home away from home for parents to positively influence their children's recovery.
Supporting the Great Races of Valencia reinforces MSC Spain's commitment to the city. We want our contribution to help the races grow and become even more important national and international events.
Francisco Lorente, Managing Director of MSC Spain, said: "MSC's DNA is and always will be to support initiatives that favour the economic, social and sustainable development of the city of Valencia, our home for more than 40 years. Last year we made our debut as sponsors of the Valencia City of Running races and our experience could not have been better. This year, we are extending our collaboration to continue promoting the union of MSC with Valencia and with our neighbours".
You can see in these videos MSC's participation in the Valencia Marathon and MSC Valencia Mini Marathon.