Designated as a Cultural Heritage of National Interest, Montjuïc Castle still dominates the Catalan capital today, a presence suspended between memory and landscape. On Friday, May 29, as night descended, that same architecture was transformed into a unique stage for one of the most evocative relay races in modern running. A race, certainly, but above all a collective moment built around a simple yet powerful idea: the kinetic energy of running is never solitary: is transmitted, amplified, and changes form when it’s shared.

Invited by the Swiss brand to cover this first European stage of the On Squad Race, we witnessed an evening where sport, urban culture, performance, and community found a natural synthesis in the 192 runners, 48 squads, and over 300 people—including friends and supporters—who flooded the Spanish fortress, becoming direct witnesses of a language that speaks about sharing.

Each runner was asked to run 800 meters at top speed, one lap per round, as part of a relay in which the passing of the glowing baton became a statement of solidarity as well as a technical maneuver. The evening began with a course winding across the castle’s rooftop, beneath Barcelona’s setting sun, before moving into the fortification’s inner arcades, where the stone and the sound of footsteps lent the race a theatrical dimension for the final relay. Accompanying the event were music, food, the crowd, and the On Cloudmonster—the shoe in which all runners tackled the relay, becoming an integral part of it.

In the end, the French team Jolie Foulée emerged victorious, securing a spot in the On Squad Race world final in Los Angeles, where they will face the best running squads from around the globe. We met with them after their victory, capturing their words and their euphoria, on a night that successfully united ambition and community, told through the voices of those who lived it as protagonists. A conversation about the community of contemporary running, the relay as a form of trust, and a new generation of runners who seek not only results but a deeper, more visible sense of belonging.

Tonight, the On Squad Race brought together teams from different cities and cultures, united by a common language: running. What strikes you most about sharing the same starting line with runners from all over Europe?

Flavien Coindard: “For me, it was exactly the kind of event that I love. It’s really attractive, and it makes me feel alive. Usually, we train every day, but not for this kind of event. This is a way to enjoy running differently. All of us come from track, and on the track the mindset is not the same. It’s only about performance. Here, it was so good to enjoy the moment with teammates, to live it fully, and to cheer with people as well. That’s why I really had fun. I had already done this kind of event before, so I already knew that mood, that feeling. When On told us to bring the team to Barcelona I said: Of course.”

Emma Maurel: “I mean, we all come from a track&field background, so we are used to running with athletes from different nationalities. In that sense, we know what it means to run with people from other countries. But yes, it’s always amazing to run, to get to know runners and people from other cultures, and also, more than anything, to get to know new people from different French cities who run, it was beautiful”

Émilie Romanet: “It was incredible. A truly beautiful experience. Being there, surrounded by runners coming from so many different places, gave the race a very special energy. There was something very powerful in standing on the same starting line, feeling that everyone was there with the same desire: to run, to share the moment, and to live something together.”

Zian Quere: “I found it really cool that we were able to meet runners coming from everywhere, each with different cultures and different visions of running. That’s what made the experience special for me. Even if everyone arrived with their own background, their own way of approaching the sport, we all came together to run. And I think that, above everything else, this is the most important thing.”

Running a relay race means trusting your teammates’ pace as well as your own. In a race like this, how important is the relationship with your team compared to pure individual performance?

Flavien Coindard: “Honestly, it was based on trust between all of us. Before the race, we didn’t all know each other. I had known Zian for a long time, but with Ema and Emilie, it was the first time I had seen them in real life. With social media now, it’s easy to know people, but knowing them in real life is different. We knew that, in this kind of event, our strength was our girls. We really focused on the strategy. The draw for the relay and the heats brought us luck and it was a really good opportunity to do the best we possibly can for the girls. It was not a long race, so even if my personal relay was not so good, the second relay could be better, and then the girls put in a crazy effort. All together, we were growing together.”

Emma Maurel: “It’s all coming from training and sharing information, we know our times and the specific qualities of each person in the team. That was the cool thing. We were able to say who is fast, who will be slightly less fast, and so on. We based it on our track references. I didn’t know Emilie before on a personal level. We all got to know each other in person in those last days, so I hoped the feeling would be there. And it was. That was really good. At the end of the race, we were all together, cheering together. I think that is what made us win yesterday. We were together. Even during the heats, we celebrated every round until the final one. And then we won. So I think the chemistry was there. We created something together. Actually, in athletics, we have team championships with private clubs. At the end of that competition, there is usually a 4×400 relay. For us, it happens once a year, and it is one of the best moments we have, because you get to share the feelings, the emotion, the hype, the vibe — all of those things. Some people told us that the Squad Race event was going to feel like that. So we thought: okay, maybe we can make it to LA.”

Émilie Romanet: “Natural trust, cohesion, and encouragement between all of us were essential. In this kind of race, you cannot think only about your own performance. You are running for others as much as for yourself. Every effort becomes part of something shared, and the energy of the team pushes you to give more. That trust between us made me want to go beyond myself, to push harder, and to give everything for the group.”

Zian Quere: “The advantage of our team was that it was complete, and that we were all aligned. We managed to place ourselves well, to understand each other, and to have fun at the same time. I think that was very important. With all these years of running, and also through my studies, I know how essential it’s to get along well with your team. In an event like this, that connection becomes the key. Of course, performance matters, but if the feeling between the teammates is good, everything becomes more natural.”

The On Squad Race seems to embody a new concept of running: less solitary, more collective. Do you feel that running today is also becoming a way to build connections beyond performance, revealing deeper truths about the power of community?

Flavien Coindard: “Yes, I think so. For people today, it’s important to be part of a crew. For them, it’s a kind of identity. They are proud to belong to a crew. Over the last two or three years, the running scene has really popped up, and we have seen that people are hyped about it. Before, it was mostly about running on the track, or running alone. But now, it’s not only a way to move. It has become part of people’s lives, and that’s really the difference. Maybe also because running is a democratic sport. You just have to buy a pair of shoes and run. You don’t need a lot of things. The only thing you need is others to run with, people don’t want to be alone. It’s really hard to go outside when it is raining and say: okay, I am going to do this run alone. But if you know that you will see your friends, if you are going to meet and run with them, that’s what helps you.”

Emma Maurel: “We talked about that even yesterday, when we arrived at the hotel with runners from everywhere. We are used to having that through track meetings, but track is mostly individual. Here, we were all together and it was something incredible. And I think running made that happen. In track, you win a race, but you win it and celebrate almost alone. Here, we shared the win together, and that was amazing. I think running creates that, with run clubs for example, with the social aspect. People meet others to run, not to party, not to drink, but simply to run, to make life better, to do something good for themselves. It creates something different from sport alone. Running can create that.”

Émilie Romanet: “Absolutely. Running brings people together, and everyone experiences it with a real sense of openness and kindness. That’s what I felt during the event: people were there to compete, of course, but also to support one another, to share energy, and to be part of the same atmosphere. I think this is what makes running so powerful today. It’s not only about performance or results. It can become a way to meet new people.”

Zian Quere: “I think running is an individual sport, but everyone who practices it knows how important it is to be well surrounded. Even when you run alone, the people around you matter. They help you train, they motivate you, they push you, and they make the whole experience more meaningful. I think this type of race highlights the collective and playful side of running. It shows that a race can be competitive, but also joyful, social, and shared. For me running, and sport in general, is one of the best ways to create connections with other people. It brings people together in a very simple and natural way.”

The On Squad Race made it possible to run inside Montjuïc Castle on a unique circuit. How does this experience make you feel compared to a more traditional race?

Flavien Coindard: “It was something amazing. It’s not common. We can organize races in the street, and we have done that a lot with Distance Running, but this one was something different. Being able to run inside Montjuïc Castle was a privilege.”

Emma Maurel: “It was amazing. We are used to having events and races in private places, like parking lots or buildings, but this was incredible: to be in a public place that Spain gave us, and that On received permission to use for running. They gave us the confidence to take care of this place. It was amazing. There was so much energy. It was special. It was not superficial. Sometimes we can think about the new running scene as something that is just about looking cool, dressing cool, buying a lot of shoes and a lot of clothes. But this was not that. There was a lot of history here, and that made it feel authentic. I felt that.”

Émilie Romanet: “For me, coming from usual track competitions, it was a complete discovery of this kind of urban race. The location was incredible. Running inside Montjuïc Castle made the experience feel completely different from a traditional race. The setting made everything more intense, more memorable, and more emotional.”

Zian Quere: “I thought the idea was fantastic. Running inside a castle adds a kind of battle feeling, almost like being in the time of knights. It gave the race a very particular atmosphere. The courses were also original, and that made the race feel open to all kinds of runners.”