Transvulcania

The Vertical Kilometer starts at Puerto de Tazacorte Beach (o m.), and continues through the emblematic GR-131, in the opposite direction of UltraTrail’s course. On this stretch, the path ascends the cliff face of El Time until the township of Tijarafe, in the old BananasWarehouse (273 m.).There you will enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of Tazacorte and its coastline.Then, the route continues its ascent alternating path and road until reaching the View Point Restaurant El Time (513 m.). The climb follows the GR-131 track, up to the emblematic Hungarian House (624 m).At this point,we leave the GR-131 track and get into a local trail, in the township of Tijarafe. The TV antenna (722 m.) and the emblematic Viewpoint of Piedra del Guanche (750 m.) will be witnesses of the runners passing by. The path continues its ascent and connect again with the GR.131 (1.000 m) to finally reach the forest lookout tower of El Time (1.600 m.) (Tijarafe).A route with a length of 7.6 kilometers and 1.203 meters of elevation where runners will be rewarded with the astonishing views of the Northeast side of the Island and the AridaneValley.

The Transvulcania running race. The route starts at the Faro de Fuencaliente lighthouse and continues along the “Gran Recorrido” trail GR 131, also known as ‘Ruta del Bastón’, to Puerto de Tazacorte. From there, it connects with the GR 130, Camino Real de la Costa, to the finish line, located in the Plaza de España – Los Llanos de Aridane. Transvulcania is undoubtedly one of the toughest trail running races in the world, with a distance of 73.06 kilometres and 4,350 metres of cumulative positive altitude gain and 4,057 metres of cumulative negative altitude gain. From the starting line, located at sea level, the course climbs up to Roque de los Muchachos (2421 m.), the highest point of the island, then descends to Tazacorte and ends in Los Llanos de Aridane where the finish line is surrounded by an incredible atmosphere with lots of people.

The route starts in the Recreational Area of ‘Refugio de El Pilar’ (El Paso) at an altitude of 1,450 metres, and continues along the GR 131 – Ruta del Bastón long distance footpath, until it reaches the Puerto de Tazacorte where the race finishes at sea level, next to the beach. With a total distance of 43.08 km and 1,884 metres of accumulated positive difference in altitude and 3,329 metres of accumulated negative difference in altitude, this type of race requires a special physical condition because the final part of the route descends from the highest point of the island, Roque de Los Muchachos (2,426 m.a.s.l.) to sea level (Puerto de Tazacorte beach), so participants should take this into account in their previous training programmes.

The Transvulcania Half Marathon is not as hard as the Ultramarathon, as it is only 25 km long. It starts at the Faro de Fuencaliente lighthouse, only an hour and a half after the Ultramarathon. The Half Marathon runs along the emblematic Ruta de los Volcanes to the Recreational Area of ‘Refugio de El Pilar’, but this involves running in the opposite direction to the route, so there is a climb up a ‘Malpaís’ of volcanic lava. The short version of Transvulcania has 2,097 metres of cumulative positive elevation gain and 689 metres of cumulative negative elevation gain over a distance of 24.28 kilometres. All of this, passing through several emblematic points such as the place where the inhabitants of the village of Fuencaliente and other parts of the island gather in the early hours of the morning to cheer the runners as they pass through. Another important place is Las Deseadas, one of those places that runners fall in love with for its marvellous views.