The popularity of running is undeniable, with millions worldwide lacing up their shoes daily. Consequently, securing a spot in sought-after races has become increasingly challenging. To aid the running community, Mikel, a content creator from Bizkaia, has developed an AI tool for searching races in Euskadi and its surroundings.
AupIA Mikel is a conversational AI that recommends races based on verified data from its own calendar, available on the creator's website. After a testing phase, the AI has launched a stable version, serving as a new gateway to over 1,200 races cataloged on the site.
According to Mikel, previously finding the next race involved battling filters, spreadsheets, and numerous open browser tabs. AupIA Mikel replaces this entire process with a conversation: users describe their search in natural language – such as "a short trail near Bilbao in October", "a half marathon in spring", or "a family fun run in Cantabria on a June Sunday" – and the AI responds with actual races, including dates, distances, and direct links to their details.
AupIA Mikel is accessible from any page on Mikel's website via a dedicated button in the bottom left corner, requiring no downloads, registration, or cost. Users type their query and receive a selection of races with links to detailed information within seconds. The AI accepts combinations of criteria – location, distance, race type, date, specific weekend – and maintains conversational context, allowing for refined searches through follow-up questions.
The key difference lies not in its conversational ability, but in its data source. Generalist assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity scan the internet or rely on prior training, often mixing old editions, confusing dates, or even citing races that are no longer held. For runners who need to request time off, pay registration fees, and travel, such a margin of error is unacceptable.
AupIA Mikel operates in reverse: it starts with a closed dataset meticulously curated by Mikel, the project's lead, and exclusively recommends races listed in that calendar. If an edition's date changes, the AI provides the updated information from the website, not outdated data scraped months ago.
The calendar supporting the AI features over 1,200 cataloged races, including road, trail, marches, and orienteering events. Its geographical coverage focuses on Euskadi, Cantabria, Burgos, La Rioja, Nafarroa, and Zamora, alongside half and full marathons from across Spain.
Aupa Mikel (aupamikel.com) is an independent project created and maintained by Mikel, a computer systems engineer and amateur runner. It began as a personal challenge to transform a spreadsheet of northern races into a public website. Today, it boasts over 1,200 cataloged events, an active community on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under the handle @aupamikel, and informative content aimed at both novice and experienced runners.
