More than 2,000 athletes from 33 countries will run the Tenerife Bluetrail through eight municipalities

The Tenerife Bluetrail, Spain’s highest-altitude race, organized by the Cabildo through the public company Ideco, will feature more than 2,000 athletes from 33 countries this year. They will traverse a total of eight municipalities across the race’s various categories, making it a national and international benchmark.

The twelfth edition of the race will kick off tomorrow, Thursday , June 8, with the Night Vertical, which will begin at 9:00 p.m. in Barranco Hondo, in the municipality of Candelaria, and will cover 5.25 kilometers of ascent to the finish line, located in Las Lagunetas. The rest of the events will take place next Saturday, the 10th, in various municipalities, with the main new feature being the addition of three new races for families, children, and jöelettes.

Another new feature of the Tenerife Bluetrail is the addition of the Diamond category to recognize the efforts of athletes over 70 years old; the Cadet category for athletes between 15 and 17 years old; and the Volcano category, designed for people with disabilities who compete in a different format than the Challenge or the Jöelettes. The location of the finish line is another new feature; this year, it has been moved from Lago Martiánez to Plaza Reyes Católicos in Puerto de la Cruz.

The acting president of the Island Council, Pedro Martín, noted that “the Tenerife Bluetrail is not designed just for athletes; it also aims to attract children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities, so that it becomes a competition for all Tenerife residents.” He also highlighted its “ability to attract international athletes, which shows that we are capable of offering something innovative and unique.”

The acting Island Councilor for Sports, Concepción Rivero, expressed her gratitude for “the effort, hard work, and dedication of everyone involved in the event, whether from the public administration, private organizations, or the community itself.” She also noted that “race bibs can be picked up at the Sport Summit sports fair, which is being held at the Fairgrounds and will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.”

The acting director of Tourism for the island, Laura Castro, stated that “one out of every three visitors who come to Tenerife do so to participate in some kind of sport or physical activity, especially those related to the natural environment.” For this reason, she said that her department “allocates a large portion of its budget to promoting active tourism and activities of this kind.”

Race director Fernando Ordóñez praised “the work of the more than 700 people in the organization who have been working together for months to make sure the competition goes ahead” and emphasized that “the Tenerife Bluetrail is a race for everyone, and the addition of new race formats and categories only serves to make that clear.”

The Tenerife Bluetrail by the Numbers

Of the more than 2,000 registered athletes, 21% are women—four percentage points more than in the previous edition—a percentage that rises to 23% in events such as the Half Marathon and the Vertical Race. In terms of age group, 60% of the runners in this year’s race are over 40 years old.

The 2023 Tenerife Bluetrail offers ten race categories: the Ultra, at 102 kilometers; the Trail, at 73 kilometers, which also includes a relay category; the Marathon, at 44 kilometers; the Half Marathon, at 24 kilometers; the Bluetrail Challenge for people with disabilities, which includes three distances: 7.2 kilometers, 5 kilometers, and 700 meters; the Family Race, covering 5.3 kilometers; the race for children under seven, covering 500 meters; and the Jöilettes race, covering 5.3 kilometers; as well as the Night Vertical Race.

The race is also endorsed by the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB)—the most prestigious event in the world in this discipline—for five of its categories, based on distance and elevation gain.

Thus, the Ultra and Trail events (104 and 73 kilometers, respectively) of the Tenerife race will be included in the 100-kilometer category, while the marathon (44 kilometers) and the second runner in the Trail Relay (48 kilometers) will receive a 50-kilometer credit; this credit will be 20 kilometers for the Half Marathon (24 kilometers) and for the first runner in the Trail Relay (25 kilometers). After finishing the race, runners will receive a UTMB performance index in the corresponding distance category.

More than 700 people are involved in organizing and ensuring the safety of the event, which features 13 refreshment stations for athletes spread along the courses for each discipline. At these stations, 13,000 liters of water, 2,200 liters of sports drinks, and another 1,800 liters of soft drinks will be served. In addition, 3,105 kilograms of fruit, 250 kilograms of nuts, and 120 kilograms of gummy candies, among other foods, will be consumed.

The organization also relies on the support of 200 volunteers who perform various tasks, such as preparing runner bags, distributing race bibs, assisting at the start of the ultra race, handing out supplies and meal tickets at the finish line, coordinating transportation for runners to Santa Cruz or La Laguna, and providing refreshments along the various courses, among other duties.

The Tenerife Bluetrail is once again committed to sustainability this year to ensure it has no impact whatsoever on the environment through which it passes. The race markings, for example, are made of a completely biodegradable material—an initiative that complements other environmentally friendly measures, such as selective recycling and the presence of environmental patrols, which will ensure that the race leaves no trace along any section of the course.

Among the athletes who will be at the race’s starting line are runners of the caliber of Cristofer Clemente, two-time trail running world runner-up (2017 and 2018); champion of the Ultra Skyrunners World Series (2016) and a podium finisher in such prestigious events as the UTMB, Penyagolosa Trails, and Transgrancanaria; Nina Kreisherr, last year’s winner of the Ultra category at the Tenerife Bluetrail, as well as Nepal’s Shange Sherpa, who won the same race in 2016 and has just been crowned champion at the 2023 Rinjani Ultra in Jakarta.

Also competing will be Spanish champion David Prades and Gran Canaria native Yeray Durán, a three-time champion of the Tenerife Bluetrail Ultra, though this year he will be running the Trail race; Mireia Pons, European duathlon champion and European Sky Running champion (2019), who is coming to Tenerife to run the Half Marathon.

The Hospiten Group’s Endocrinology Department will conduct a post-event study on the body composition and health of ten volunteer runners from the Tenerife Bluetrail using a bioimpedance test, which measures the percentage of muscle, bone, and fat to determine athletic performance during training and competitions.

The 2023 Tenerife Bluetrail is supported by companies such as Fred. Olsen, Hospiten, Physiorelax, La Fast, Fonteide, Libby’s, Cajamar, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Clínica del Pie La Orotava, Isola Dried Fruits, Tirma, Vertresa, Viajes El Corte Inglés, Coca-Cola, and Coca-Cola Events with a Great Atmosphere, La Molineta, Mahou, Cultesa, Lago Martiánez, Casinos de Tenerife, and Avis.

Televisión Canaria will broadcast the event on Saturday, June 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The race can also be watched live online (via streaming) on the event’s official website.