Barcelona metro stair climb raises €17,000 for children’s cancer charity
Barcelona turned its deepest metro station into a 419-step charity climb, drawing 284 athletes and raising more than €17,000 for AFANOC.
Barcelona turned its deepest metro station into a public training ground as 284 athletes climbed 419 steps at El Coll/La Teixonera on May 16, raising more than €17,000 for AFANOC, the Catalan charity that supports children with cancer and their families. The second annual stair-climb challenge transformed an ordinary piece of transit infrastructure into a high-intensity endurance venue, with the route dropping 74 metres below ground and matching 18 floors of ascent.
The setting was the point. El Coll/La Teixonera on L5 is the deepest station in the Barcelona metro network, and the climb gave the city a fitness event that felt both local and unmistakably urban. Instead of a closed-off sports complex or a standard road race, organisers used a station that thousands of people associate with daily life, then turned its stairs into a symbolic test of strength and a visible show of solidarity. That blend of accessibility and difficulty is part of the appeal: the challenge is easy to understand, even for people who do not see themselves as gym regulars, yet the physical effort is severe enough to give the event real sporting credibility.
The race was organised by the TMB Foundation and TransPerfect Mountain Challenge, with sponsorship from Orona and collaboration from Club Atlètic TMB. TMB had initially said 386 participants were expected, but the final field settled at 284 climbers. Even so, the fundraising goal held its shape, and the total passed €17,000 for AFANOC, with donations still open through the zero-bib option until May 31. TMB said the climb formed part of its metro-centenary programme, giving the event an added civic layer beyond the charity angle.
AFANOC describes itself as a private organisation that provides comprehensive psychosocial support to children and adolescents with cancer and their families, with offices in Barcelona, Lleida, Tarragona and Girona. That mission fit neatly with the event’s format: a short, brutal climb in a familiar public space, organized as much for community participation as for athletic performance. The second edition also confirmed that Barcelona’s appetite for outdoor, low-barrier fitness experiences is broadening beyond traditional gyms and races, with the city’s own infrastructure now serving as a stage for sport, fundraising and civic identity at the same time.
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