Just 3,000 runners out of 10,000 registered cross the line in rain-soaked Carrera Urbana in Malaga

Heavy rain caused major disruption on Sunday as the 44th edition of the Carrera Urbana Ciudad de Málaga, commonly known as the El Corte Inglés race, took place on the city's streets.

Despite over 10,000 people registering, the adverse weather led to a sharp decline in numbers, with only around 3,000 participants crossing the finish line.

Both the 10km and 4.3km races began under worsening conditions from the same starting point on Avenida de Andalucía. Although the streets appeared empty moments before the start, thousands emerged to compete, including top athletes aiming for personal bests.

Defending champion Mohamed Lansi of Club Atletismo Nerja took first place in the men’s race, clocking 30 minutes and 54 seconds. He was closely followed by Zouhair El Janati (31:04), with Malaga's Ignacio González (31:16) in third.

Lansi, who recently became a Spanish citizen, admitted to briefly veering off course but still managed to recover and win: “I made a mistake around the 5km mark, but caught up quickly. Given the conditions, I’m happy with my time.”

In the women’s race, Granada’s Nazha Machrouh also retained her title with a time of 35:22, though an initial time of 33:50 was later corrected due to a technical issue.

Machrouh, who holds the race’s female record, was delighted with her performance, stating, “I love running in the rain, and the crowd’s support made it even better.” Belén Infantes (37:12) and Laura Núñez (38:27) completed the women’s podium.