Today, Saturday, May 24th at 8:30am, the seventh edition of Vertical Montserrat took place, Spain’s most demanding vertical race where 330 participants climbed the 2,180 steps that connect the lower station of the Funicular de la Santa Cova to the upper station of the Funicular de Sant Joan of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), overcoming an elevation gain of 388 meters.
This year, the race introduced an exciting new category: Millennium. With an excusive route and a 1000 meter positive elevation gain, it celebrated the millennium anniversary of the Montserrat Monastery’s foundation. 52 athletes started from the Montserrat Aerial Bridge to tackle 4.5 km and a total of 3,000 steps, finishing at the Eremite de Santa Magdalena. The race included the regular vertical Montserrat segment with Enrique Santamaria winning the men’s category in 47:15 and Laia Montoya winning the women’s category in 48:36.
The winners in the Open category were Josep Andreu Cortada with 11:42 and Andreza Diaferia with 17:12. Vertical Montserrat is part of the National Vertical Race Circuit and counts towards the circuit standings. This year the competition attracted international participants, including two athletes form Brazil who returned to compete as well as Angel Lopez Amor, 2023 Spanish Vertical Race champion. It was also special to have Miguel Poblador Adam from Algemesi (Valencia), who participated alongside his family in the Children category. His family was affected by the DANA Floods.
The 7th edition saw continued growth in firefighter participation, with 75 members form various fire departments: Bombers de la Generalitat, Bombers de Barcelona, Madrid City Fire Department, Madrid community fire department, Zaragoza provincial fire department, Valladolid city fire department, and Toledo Provincial Fire Consortium. These firefighters climbed the 2,180 steps in full gear, which weighs about 23kg.
The best time in the Bombers was achieved by Adrià Duarri from Bombers de Barcelona (Eixample fire station) in 17:58. This is the 4th year female firefighters have participated in the event. Firefighter Mireia Quirós from the Bombers de la Generalitat (Falset fire station) winning the award for best female firefighter with a time of 25:12.
The 2025 edition also saw increased participation in the Inclusive category with 11 athletes. Edgar Toapanta posted the best time in the visual category with 18:14, while Pere Torramorell had the best time in the physical category with 18:09. In the women’s visual category, Marta Bustos finished in 25:23, accompanied by a sighted guide and using a directional pole. Vertical Montserrat continues to promote inclusion for individuals with disabilities through sports.
En la categoria més solidària, la de ‘Som Un Equip’ (SUE), es manté el número d’inscrits de l’any anterior amb un total de 26. Dirigida a persones, empreses, escoles, clubs esportius i altres organitzacions, han participat amb dos o quatre corredors/es que les ha representat després d’haver aconseguit un repte solidari de 500€.
In the most charitable category, We are a team (Som un Equip), the number of registrants remains the same as last year, with a total of 26 participants. This category is aimed at individuals, companies, schools, sports clubs, and other organizations, who joined with teams of two to four runners each representing their group after reaching a solidarity challenge goal of €500.
In the seventh edition, corporate teams, the 4000 Peus hiking association, and the Escola El Puig have remained loyal participants, returning form last years event and adding 4 new participants in the Children category. Noteworthy are the 5 SUE teams form Off Diabetes, who used the race as a platform to raise awareness about diabetes, mobilizing participants form Malaga, Jaen and Madrid. The winners of the event were Transport x Cable with a time of 32:42.
All times and rankings can be consulted on the SportManiacs o a Timing.cat (Vertical Montserrat – Mil·lenari i Infantil) website. You can also check the results on our website under the results 2025 section (resultats 2025)!
Founded in 2017 by Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya and organized in a collaboration with the Obra Social de Sant Joan de Déu, the event is part of the Bombers amb Causa project. It is supported by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Abbey of Montserrat, Montserrat Mountain Foundation and the collaboration of Bombers de Barcelona, the Red Cross of Catalonia, Federació d’Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya and the sponsorship of Inacces, ERMS, Good Bio and Airbox.
In its 7 editions Vertical Montserrat has always had the goal of raising funds to finance research projects on childhood disease and social programs for children at risk of exclusion, who are supported in various Sant Joan de Déu centers. At the same time it aims to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.
The TV3 journalist and Catalan writer Xavier Grasset i Foraster, the ambassador for the Vertical Montserrat 2025 had the honor of starting the race. Among participants was the consellera d’Interior i Seguretat Pública de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Nuria Parlon Gil, who also climbed the 2180 steps alongside other athletes.
The race was attended by Carles Ruiz Novella, president of the Ferrocarils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Father Bernat Juliol Gali, steward-administrator of the Abbey of Montserrat, Juanjo Ortega, director of Obra social Sant Joan de Déu, Gemma Rodríguez, Mayor of Collbato, Núria Carreras, Mayor of Monistrol de Montserrat, and Juan Jurado, mayor of Esparreguera, among other dignitaries.
Additionally for the fourth consecutive year, the event was broadcasted live on Canal Taronja and La Xarxa+ for local television across Catalonia, as well as via streaming on their digital platforms. The awards ceremony took place in the Monastery Square, where a giant screen was set up for spectators.
For those who still wish to contribute a ‘Zero bib‘ has been set up, available until the week following the race.
Since the creation of the Bombers amb Causa solidarity project, over the one million euros have been raised, funding 6 research scholarships in childhood disease studies as well as more than 50 social projects related to childhood.
You will find all the images in Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/solidaritatsjd/albums/72177720326535469/