The story began in the 1950s when a group of local mountaineers and hikers decided to recover the tradition to climb to the Sanctuary of Sant Joan de Penyagolosa from Castellón. This challenge and a project to restore ancient roads and trails resulted in the Sender de la Lluna Plena (Full Moon Trail), GR-33, which connects the city of Castellón with the peak of Sant Joan de Penyagolosa, at 1814 meters of elevation.
In 1996 it went initially from a two-day hike to a single day, under the direction of the Club Muntanya Castelló, the Centre Excursioniste de Castelló and the Universitat Jaume I which marked the birth of the Pujada a peu Castelló-Sant Joan de Penyagolosa. From then until know, it 20 years’ experience of organizing sports events through mountain paths of ancient pilgrimage routes steeped in history and tradition have been added up.
This first edition of 1999 was the result of the association of different clubs of the province: Club Muntanya de Castelló, Club Muntanyer La Pedrera de Borriol, Club Esportiu Bombers de Castelló and Club Trepa Castellet de Castelló. That is how Asociación Deportiva Marató i Mitja Castelló-Penyagolosa was born, an entities association to synergise human efforts and resources as well as materials that make this race one of the classics in our mountain community and national calendar. As a result, in 2003 the Marató i Mitja was selected to host the 2º Campeonato de España de Carreras por Montaña FEDME.