Our story

“We wanted to bring the Ukrainian community in Barcelona together: each of us, forced to move here during the full-scale invasion, felt a certain isolation.”

That is how it all began. The club was not built for the sake of sport, but so that people would have somewhere to come. Running clubs became a trend in 2024 — URB appeared before that went mainstream.

1. July 2023

   The first solidarity run

   The club appeared in July 2023, and on 16 July the founders gathered people for the very first run. The idea was simple: everyone who had been forced to move to Barcelona after the full-scale invasion felt a certain isolation — and there had to be a place where you could find your people.

2. 2023

   Flags on the streets every week

   Spanish media were covering the war less and less. So a second goal was added to the first one: to remind locals, as often as possible, that the war is still going on. Runs with Ukrainian flags became weekly.

3. March 2024

   First run in Lisbon

   The format outgrew Barcelona: in March 2024 the club held its first run in Lisbon.

4. Summer 2024

   Partnership with the Hurkit fund

   The club started sending every donation it collects to Hurkit, a fund that buys weapons and equipment for air-defence units. In return the fund sends the club lots to raffle for further donations.

5. August 2024

   A record hundred runners

   On the 33rd Independence Day of Ukraine, a hundred people ran three symbolic kilometres with the club — the largest run in URB history.

6. September 2024

   A run in Malmö

   Another city on the club map. In parallel, an active branch group works in Poland.

7. 2024

   Merch and a partnership with Nova Poshta

   A community of this size needs funding — space and equipment cost more than the members can cover themselves. Nova Poshta became the sponsor, and the club got its own merch: you receive it for a donation, and 100% of that donation goes to Hurkit.

What came of it

A small chat of twenty contacts, once used only to announce runs, has grown to 1,300 members. The club has become the backbone community for Ukrainians in Barcelona — the place newcomers turn to as soon as they arrive in a new city and start looking for their own.

The story and the quotes come from the Rubryka article about the club (January 2025).