Macael runs with the elite: 350 athletes at CxM Macael Mármol, with Spanish Cup and National Blind Championship
The CxM Macael Mármol brought together 350 athletes in Macael on Sunday for the third round of the Spanish Cup and the National Championship for the Blind.
Automatic translation: this article was translated with artificial intelligence from the original in Spanish. Read the original
Last Sunday, 27 September, Macael was once again a top-level venue for mountain running. The CxM Macael Mármol 2026 mountain race hosted the third round of the Spanish Cup and the National Championship for the Blind, according to the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME), and brought together 350 athletes from different parts of the country, as reported by esRadio Almería.
The event was organised by the C.D. Cuéllar Stone Mármol Running Team, the Spanish federation and Macael Town Council, in collaboration with Almería Provincial Council. The start was at 08:30 from the Bulevar Paseo Reino de Granada. The flagship race, covering 27 kilometres and 1,614 metres of positive elevation gain, traced a circuit through some of the most notable spots in Macael and Laroya, according to information from the organisers published by La Voz de Almería.
How the podiums ended up
- Men’s overall: José Antonio Bellido Puebla (C.D.E. Todovertical), 2:37:18; Alberto Agúndez de San Sebastián (C.D.E. Todovertical), 2:44:06; and Diego Benítez Cordero (C.D. Grupo Alpino de Benalmádena), 2:50:44.
- Women’s overall: Bárbara Ruiz Páramo (C.D.E. Todovertical), 3:16:07; Alba de Mendiolagoitia Díaz (C.D. Grupo Alpino de Benalmádena), 3:19:36; and Tania Salamanca Ruiz (independent), 3:20:03.
Bellido gave his rivals no chance: he crossed the finish line almost seven minutes ahead of his clubmate. The fight for third place was much closer, and Benítez took it by just two seconds from Enrique Gallego del Castillo (Club Deportivo Locos de la Colina). Bárbara Ruiz, the first woman, finished tenth in an overall classification that includes 44 athletes, and Todovertical was the club of the day, with four category wins.
There was also joy for the hosts. Ismael Blanco Rodríguez, of the Cuéllar Stone Mármol Running Team, the organising club, was third in the veterans A category, with 3:04:26.
Mountains without barriers
The day also had an inclusive focus. The National Championship for the Blind, held as part of the race, had a single team this year, and FEDME stresses that its presence at the start of a Spanish Cup race “strengthens the place of inclusive mountaineering” within mountain running.
It is not the first time Macael has measured itself against the best: in November 2024 it already hosted the final of the Spanish Cup in this discipline, according to FEDME’s bulletin for that edition. And events like this bring visitors in the middle of autumn and show people from elsewhere a landscape, between the mountains and the marble, that can also be enjoyed while running.
From elValle Actualidad, we can only join in congratulating the Cuéllar Stone Mármol Running Team on continuing to put Macael on the national trail running map.
