Montjuïc-Tibidabo

Barcelona is a city most people know in just one way: flat, Mediterranean, urban. Few know that behind the residential neighbourhoods lies a natural park — the Collserola — and that on either side of the city two hills rise up and watch over it like silent sentinels.

The Montjuïc-Tibidabo Half is the race that connects them. You start from Montjuïc along paved city streets, cross the whole of Barcelona — and then, for those choosing the 21 km, you enter the Collserola park and start running on dirt trails, through the woods, with the city spread out below you. It's the perfect race for those who want to get into trail running without the shock of huge elevation, and for those who want a Sunday of running that's genuinely fun, not just painful.

Organised by Buff, the Catalan technical clothing brand, the race gathers fewer than 5,000 participants — very few for a city that draws 14 million tourists every year. Which means an authentic, local atmosphere, far from the big mass marathons. At the finish, everyone together in a large park surrounded by greenery with beers from the Tibidabo Brewing craft brewery.

RunAway takes you into this weekend with a different approach: no tourist traps, no obvious landmarks. We'll stay in a shared house or 3-star hotel away from the tourist centre — in Gràcia, in Sarrià, in Sants — in the neighbourhoods where the real Barcelona lives. We'll explore markets and trattorias with authentic Catalan food, take a day trip to a lesser-known stretch of coastline, do a running technique session and a sunset yoga on the beach. And Sunday morning: time to climb.