TRANSGRANARIA 2003-2013: TRIED, TESTED AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.

The Transgrancanaria wasthe pioneer of this kind of event in the Canaries. The private company Arista has been the race organizer from the begining of the race ten years ago. Step by step they hace carved out a high standard for this Transgrancanaria ultrarunning event as one of the main highlights on the national, European and now, the World stage.

The first edition of Transgrancanaria in October 2003 had just 65 brave souls ready to tackled the whole traverse of the Gran Canaria island. It was a success and the race veteran´s word of mouth together with the organizers consistent efforts have grown it up over the years to more than 1400 participants nowdays. There are mountain runners most of them, but includes also hikers and recreational joggers. Nature lovers sll of them, from more than 20 countries that have decided to take the challenge of crossing the island on foot in less than 31 hours. On this route participants can find rain, sun, mud, dust … but above all they will enjoy direct contact with nature. The course is always fully marked to ensure safety as much as an even competition between locals and visitors from all over the world.

Race Director Fernando Gonzalez shares with us in this exclusive interview (in spanish, sorry) his experience and memories over all these years gone by at the helm of Transgrancanaria.

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TRANSGRANCANARIA 2013: Four different races (119k / 83k / 42k / 24k)

The Transgrancanaria 2013 is to be held in the first week of March and offers four different trail running races, in an effort to cater to every runner´s condition, from grizzled veterans to tender newcomers, and thus help the trail community grow on.

• Transgrancanaria: 119km. Elevation: + 7.000 m. 31 Hours.
• South-North Transgrancanaria: 83km. Elevation: + 4.700 m. 24 Hours.
• Media Transgrancanaria: 42km. Elevation: +- 4.000 m. 14 Hours.
• Transgrancanaria Starter: 24km Ascent: +- 1.800 m. 10 Hours.

The Transgrancanaria is not intended only to challenge elite runners, but is rahter an event for every trail runner, which is why you have 31 hours to do it. The first competitors will finish in daylight and the last will finish in darkness, however all will pass through the aid stations ensuring the competitors’ safety and comfort.  The 2013 courses are slightly modified from those of previous years, making them slightly shorter yet allowing for a  more rugged and beatiful race. As reference, see below the full results of the two ultrarunning races of last year with superb performances by The North Face team winners Sebastian Chaigneau (new race record as well) and Fernanda Maciel.