23rd Pradejón hiking march draws 150 participants

Hiking is the kind of local event that can look small from the outside and turn out to be doing a lot of work. It gets people moving. It fills a town square early on a Sunday. And in places like Pradejón, it also doubles as a charity fundraiser and part of a wider regional circuit. That is basically what happened on May 10, when Pradejón staged the 23rd Villa de Pradejón hiking march and drew around 150 participants. ### What happened in Pradejón? The event was the XXIII Marcha Senderista Villa de Pradejón, held on Sunday, May 10, 2026. The start was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in Plaza de España, with local mountain club EMETEBE organizing the march and the town hall collaborating. About 150 people took part. ### Where did the route go? This was not a mountain-race setup. (pradejon.es) It was a 19-kilometer hiking route with medium-low difficulty, designed so a broad mix of walkers could do it. The course ran through Pradejón, El Villar de Arnedo, and Ausejo, with refreshment points along the way. That matters because the event is built more around participation than speed. (pradejon.es) ### Why does the 150-person turnout matter? For a town the size of Pradejón, 150 walkers is solid turnout — enough to make the event feel regional, not just neighborhood-scale. And because this was the 23rd edition, the bigger story is continuity. These marches survive by becoming habits. People know the date, know the format, and keep showing up. ### Where did the money go? (yoleoescaparate.com) Part of each registration had a direct social purpose. €3 from every entry went to the Asociación de Síndromes AGO. With registrations priced at €15 in advance and €18 on the day, the charitable slice was fixed per participant rather than dependent on profit left over at the end. ### What did walkers get besides the route? (yoleoescaparate.com) The event was set up as a full morning, not just a start and finish line. Organizers planned several aid stations during the hike, then a raffle with donated products afterward, plus a popular meal with local staples like mushrooms, fried eggs, and chorizo. In other words — classic Rioja small-town event logic: exercise first, social time after. (yoleoescaparate.com) ### How does this fit into the wider Rioja hiking scene? Turns out Pradejón is one stop in a much bigger calendar. The 2026 Liga de Senderismo de La Rioja lists Pradejón’s march on May 10 as one of the season’s events, inside a non-competitive hiking program spread across rural municipalities. The league says 2026 includes 19 marches, and its whole pitch is participation, exercise, and showcasing smaller towns. (yoleoescaparate.com) ### Why are these marches organized as non-competitive events? Because the point is access. Rioja’s hiking league is explicitly participatory, not competitive. That means towns can attract regular hikers, casual walkers, and families without turning the day into a race. It is more like a rolling community circuit than a results table — closer to a traveling village festival with boots on. (ferimon.com) ### So what is the real takeaway? Pradejón’s hiking march was not big national sports news, but that is almost the point. It shows how a local event can stack several jobs at once — outdoor activity, rural visibility, club life, and a small but concrete charitable donation stream. When 150 people show up for a 19-kilometer walk on a Sunday morning, that tradition is still alive. (yoleoescaparate.com) (ferimon.com)