Barinatxe beach near Sopelana, Spain, in the Basque region, will again be the site of the annual nudist foot race on September 15, 2007. The race’s organizer since 2003 is Jesus Iglesias, a member of the board at the Basque Naturist Association (Euskal Naturista Elkartea).

According to Iglesias, the race was the brainchild of Patxi Ros in 1999, but the later shelved the event in 2001. Iglesias revived the race in 2003 and this year’s edition will be the fifth under his leadership. He told Nudist Day there’s usually between 90 and 130 runners competing in the all-nude race, and the ratio of women to men is about the same if not more than what you would find in a textile competition, although most female participants tend to be over 40. He couldn’t estimate the number of spectators at past events, but he did say it was composed of both nudists and non-nudists, and the turn-out hinges a lot on the weather that day.

He also points-out that the competition has to be held at low tide in order that runners have a hard sand surface to tread on.
All the participants begin the race at the same start line, but may run different lengths according to age, which can range from under 15 to well past 40, as well as gender. Most runners are local people, Iglesias says, and quite a few are athletes who aren’t normally nudists, but will get undressed in order to compete. Iglesias also points-out that there is no nudist lodging in the Basque region.

Barinatxe beach, also known as “La Salvaje” (The Savage) has a long nudist history, dating back to before public nudity was decriminalized in Spain in 1989. The municipality of Sopelana backs the race, but in an odd twist, the traditionally nudist part of the beach is in neighboring Getxo, which hasn’t been so supportive and has shown in the past that it has an anti-nudist attitude. Strangely, both municipalities are ruled by the same party.

Related Sites:

• Nude Race web page, in English
• Basque Naturist Assoc. web page, in Spanish only

_{Photos courtesy of ENE}