Valencia Ciudad del Running launches a public awareness campaign on ‘The Invaders’ of the 5km Circuit

15 July, 2019

The 5km Circuit in The Turia Gardens is a popular area for running among Valencians and is one of the most used circuits of its kind in Spain. Nevertheless, each day sees countless invasions of the circuit by passers-by, cyclists, strollers and the like who do not respect these facilities (which were specially designed for runners). That is why Valencia Ciudad del Running has launched a public awareness campaign that will target not only Valencians but also tourists visiting the city.

To this end, a video has been made that imitates the aesthetics of video games. It is called ‘5K Invaders’ in which common-or-garden ‘invaders’ of the circuit are detected, such as cyclists or people walking their dogs. It also identifies citizens who use the paths through The Turia Gardens as they should. The gardens have bicycle lanes, areas for strolling, pavements, many play areas for children, work-out stations, and other leisure facilities.

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As well as the video, the campaign ‘5K Invaders’ will continue in the social media of Valencia Ciudad del Running (VCR), enlisting the support of runners and others in the gardens so that everyone can enjoy the facilities.

New service for the notification of incidents

Together with the campaign, Valencia Ciudad del Running is also launching a new service on the official web site and a smart phone app. Both allow users to quickly and easily make complaints or give notification of incidents concerning the 5km Circuit or of events bearing on running events in the city.

This section of the web, and the app allow users to send photos, geo-localise problems, and instantly send their messages. This information will be received by the VCR team, which will either quickly solve the problem or refer it to the right public service. The team will also make a note of users’ ideas and suggestions.

The 5km Circuit features the greatest number of training sessions and uses in Valencia, with no less than 90% of runners using it at least twice a week. This finding emerged from surveys and polls carried out by IVIE (Valencian Institute of Economic Studies) at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. These data are supported by Strava — a popular running app — which show that seven of the ten most used running facilities in Spain are all in Valencia, specifically in various sections and areas of the 5km Circuit.