Spain Ultra Cup 2014 calendar (March to October): Ultra trails at Gran Canaria, Penyagolosa, Pyrenees, Guadarrama & Guara.

Posted by mayayo oxigeno on January 4, 2014 in gran trail peñalara, michel poletti, penyagolosa trails, spain ultra cup, spain ultra cup 2014, trail running, trail running spain, trail running spain 2014, transgrancanaria, Ultra Trail, ultra trail guara somontano, ultra trail guara somontano 2014, volta cerdanya | Leave a comment

The Spain Ultra Cup has announced its final 2014 series calendar as the national ultra trail circuit of reference, featuring five highly reputed races to enjoy mountain running at its best over the whole country, with the support of the International Trail Running Association ( ITRA ).

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SPAIN ULTRA CUP 2014: FIVE GREAT ULTRA TRAILS,

FROM MARCH 1st TO OCTOBER 4th

The Spain Ultra Cup has announced its final 2014 series calendar as the national ultra trail circuit of reference, featuring five highly reputed races to enjoy mountain running at its best over the whole country, with the support of the International Trail Running Association ( ITRA ).

The series take trail runners through Gran Canaria, Alto Maestrazgo, the Pyrenees, the Guadarrama National Park and the Sierra de Guara.
The five mountain races that form this 2014 edition of the Ultra Cup Spain are: TNF Transgrancanaria Advanced 82k ( March 1st) ; Penyagolosa Trails CSP 115K (May 17th) ; Volta Cerdanya Ultrafons 85k (June 6th) , Gran Trail Peñalara 110k ( June 27th) and Ultra Trail Guara Somontano 98k (October 4th) .

As the race directors emphasized during the official presentation ceremony last December 14th at Madrid, the goal of the circuit is to provide the best of the national trail running scene for the benefit of popular ultra runners, who will then be able to choose freely their favorite three races from March to October, according to their schedule and regional preferences.

In addition to starting the first edition in 2014 with five major races, the Spain Ultra Cup ( SUC ) wishes to acknowledge the high interest shown by several organizers of other big name races. Time constraints and prior commitments of the parties advised not to include all of them in this inaugural season. Therefore, the 2015 calendar is already expected to significantly expand the range of mountains covered as well as the race calendar.

To this end, the Spain Ultra Cup Spain relies upon three key pillars: The enthusiasm and support put forward by the five founding races of 2013; the excitement and encouragement expressed by other reputable organizers; and finally the large experience and know-how of the International Trail Running Association ( ITRA ) whose president, Michel Poletti, personally joined the presentation of the Spain Ultra Cup back in December 14th.

Spain Ultra Cup 2014 ranking procedures: By completing each of these five events, ultra runners will receive SUC ranking in proportion to both their finish in the race as well as the field competitive level. At the end of the year, every position in the final ranking will consider only the three best results to proclaim the male and female Champions of the Spain Ultra Cup.

Next steps: Having now closed the final schedule , the Cup organizers, together with the five race directors will jointly strive to develop and communicate the final ranking score details per race, way ahead the start of the first TNF Transgrancanaria Advanced 82k on March 1st. Registrations for Transgrancanaria, Volta Cerdanya and Gran Trail Peñalara are already open while Penyagolosa CSP115k is to open next Jan 10th and only the autumn race at Guara Somontano is still far from its entry opening date.

Santi Santamaria, race director of Ultra Trail Guara Somontano declared: “The UTGS was born in 2009 as a project that would blend its founders love for the beauty of Sierra de Guara together with the values transmitted by trail running. Set in the fantastic scenery of the Sierra de Guara Canyons Natural Park, with the historic village of Alquezar as its start and finish, the UTGS event offers a grand tour of the most emblematic areas of the park allowing for several races of different difficulty in order to all its visitors to enjoy both the natural charms of this area as well as its rich cultural heritage”

“Although the Sierra de Guara is has a worldwide reputation for its canyons and ravines , being a haven for canyoning lovers, its possibilities go far beyond, having in fact also earnt a solid reputation being well known for its wines of the DO Somontano label, or its cultural richness with numerous prehistoric caves art paintings .”

“Joining the Spain Ultra Cup will allow us to boost awareness of our race and all it has to offer. Along with the rest of the Cup events, we will offer a perfect ultra trail tour of Spain with well know and highly reputed events, ready to for visitors from abroad to enjoy the sport and the mountains that we celebrate”

Sergio Garasa Mayayo, Spain Ultra Cup manager, declared: “Joining in with the Ultra Trail Guara Somontano as the fifth race as the circuit will provide a perfect finish for this first edition. The team at Alquezar has consistently demonstrated solid organization and extreme dedication to the popular runner in all details ever since the race was born. Besides that, it is a true pleasure for us to offer international trail runners a chance to discover the magic of the Sierra de Guara, particularly in its splendid autumn season.
Guara Somontano joins the series races, which will kick off the European season in March at Gran Canaria and then progress through the other three events, well into the heart of the ultra trail annual calendar, to enjoy the Alto Maestrazgo, the Pyrenees or the heart of the Guadarrama.”

“All five races of the 2014 Cup Ultra Spain wish to thank the warm welcome received from across the trail running world, from the national mountains association, to the ITRA , the sports media and other race organizers. They have all helped us with their comments and suggestions driving us to refine the project, polish it and move more solidly. “

“But above all, we must thank trail runners themselves, from all over Spain. Their enthusiasm and encouragement following and cheering us on through our social media and website , definitely drive us to live up to their expectations.”

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ULTRA TRAIL GUARA SOMONTANO: 2013 PHOTOGALLERY.