The Tenerife Bluetrail, Spain’s highest-altitude mountain race organized by the Cabildo through the public company Ideco, kicks off this afternoon, Thursday, with the start of its first event, the Vertical Night Challenge, which will set off from Barranco Hondo in the municipality of Candelaria and finish in Las Lagunetas. This will be followed by the rest of the events, which will take place through Saturday, the 4th, from various municipalities. The main new development is the starting point for the race’s flagship event, the Ultra, which for the first time will begin at El Médano Beach in Granadilla de Abona.

At the press conference to present the race—which is now in its 11th year—Island Council President Pedro Martín emphasized that “there are few events with such high participation, and I’m not just talking about athletes, but also companies, associations, city councils, groups, and above all, citizens who want to get out there and take on a challenge.”

“It’s true that we have world-class stars and athletes, but I’m perhaps even more pleased to highlight the participation of thousands of people who will run in a race with the goal of overcoming challenges on their own island,” said the president, who noted that “participation in sports in Tenerife has grown tremendously in recent decades,” and, he said, “it’s hard to go out on a weekend without running into people heading to or returning from a sporting event,” and for that reason, he emphasized, “we want to offer a major race that can provide different experiences and new challenges every year—one that gets us all excited, both those participating in the competition and those of us organizing it.”

First Vice President Enrique Arriaga explained that “the magic of this race is that it’s enjoyed just as much by the elite athletes who participate in it as by the amateurs who set themselves the challenge—not of racing against the clock—but of crossing the finish line and enjoying unique landscapes that can only be reached on foot. There’s little as spectacular as watching the sunrise from Mount Teide and seeing the sea of clouds at your feet.”

For her part, the island’s Sports Councilor, Concepción Rivero, defended “the compatibility of holding events of this kind in natural areas and within the National Park itself with the preservation of those areas.” She noted that the Bluetrail “is sustainable, uses only recycled materials, and the markers are biodegradable.” She also pointed out that after the race, an environmental cleanup crew will collect any waste that may have been generated.

Rivero also noted that “the participating athletes are very attuned to the beauty of the surroundings they pass through and are the first to take care of them.”

The race director, Fernando Ordóñez, noted that the race’s organizing committee consists of more than 700 people and announced that “runners in the marathon will have the opportunity to lay a wreath at the shrine of the Virgin of Candelaria before the race starts from the plaza in front of the Basilica.”

The director took a tour of the areas through which the race passes in all its categories and highlighted another new feature of the eleventh edition: the starting points for almost all categories and the unprecedented finish route toward the finish line located at Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz, along the beaches of El Ancón, Los Patos, and El Bollullo.

The Bueltrail by the Numbers

A total of 2,223 athletes from 36 countries will participate in the race, 17% of whom are women. This percentage rises to 25% and 22% for the Half Marathon and the Vertical, respectively.

The 2022 Tenerife Bluetrail, now in its 11th edition, offers seven race categories: the Ultra, at 102 kilometers; the Trail, at 73 kilometers, which also includes a relay category with legs of 25 and 48 kilometers; the Marathon, with a total distance of 44 kilometers; the Half, covering a distance of 24 kilometers; and the Bluetrail Challenge for people with disabilities, which includes three distances of 7.2, 5, and 1.2 kilometers that end at the finish line of all the races, in addition to the nighttime vertical race.

The Spanish Federation of Mountain and Climbing Sports (FEDME) has included the Tenerife race as one of the qualifying events to select the members of the Spanish national team who will compete in the upcoming Ultra World Championships, to be held in the Italian city of Ossola from September 9 to 11.

The race is also endorsed by the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), the most prestigious event in the sport, which this year is replacing the traditional points system with a ranking of races based on their distance and elevation gain.

More than 700 people are involved in organizing and ensuring the safety of the event, which features 13 refreshment stations for athletes spread out along the courses for each discipline. At these stations, 14,000 liters of water, 3,500 liters of sports drinks, and another 1,800 liters of soft drinks will be served. Also to be consumed are 3,105 kilograms of fruit, 250 kilograms of nuts, 120 kilograms of gummy candies, 32 kilograms of chocolate spread, and 30 pellas of gofio.

The Tenerife Bluetrail is also the only mountain race that features 24 hours of live music, thanks to the involvement of members of the Bloko sociocultural movement. The percussion group will once again energize the runners starting with the nighttime start of the Ultra category, along part of the course, and at the finish line—in what has now become a collaboration that embodies the Bluetrail spirit that makes this Tenerife race so special. The dance troupes Los Joroperos, Tropicana, and Danzarines Canarios will also cheer on the athletes.

Sports and Nature

Both the Trail and Ultra versions of the race will traverse Teide National Park, with the Ultra route reaching an elevation of 3,555 meters at La Rambleta, making it the highest race in Spain and the second highest in Europe. In addition, the GR 131 long-distance trail takes center stage this year, as approximately 46 kilometers of the race will follow its route.

The Tenerife Bluetrail will pass through the municipalities of Candelaria, La Matanza, La Victoria, and Santa Úrsula for the first time, where the race will traverse the so-called Los Sanguinos grove, a landscape of great beauty and unique ecological value in the Canary Islands, as it is home to tree species characteristic of the laurel forest that have clustered in this area to form a distinctive and unusual forest. Vilaflor, Granadilla, and Puerto de la Cruz round out the list of municipalities hosting the 2022 edition.

Among the athletes who will be at the race’s starting line are runners of the caliber of Jesús Gil, the 2022 Spanish Ultra Champion; Gemma Arenas, silver medalist at the Spanish Ultra Championship recently held in Castellón; Greek runner Fotis Zisimopoulos, winner of the legendary Spartathlon race with the fourth-fastest time on the circuit; Mónica Vives, the Team HG – AMLSPORT runner who has been Spanish Trail Champion; Rodrigo Monasor of the Salomon team, one of the rising stars of Spanish trail running who will run the Half and the Vertical; Norwegian Anders Kjærevik, the current European Ultra Skyrunning runner-up; and Yeray Durán, a three-time winner of the Ultra category.

The Tenerife Island Council has also invited 68 runners from La Palma to participate free of charge in this year’s Tenerife Bluetrail as a gesture of solidarity with the athletes from the island of La Palma following the volcanic eruption.

The Tenerife Bluetrail 2022, which has become a national and international benchmark, is supported by companies such as Fred. Olsen, Hospiten, Physiorelax, La Fast, Fonteide, Libby’s, Cajamar, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Clínica del Pie La Orotava, Tirma, Vertresa, and Isola Frutos Secos are among the event’s sponsors.

Race Tracking

Televisión Canaria will broadcast the race on Saturday, June 4, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., although the race can also be watched live online (via streaming) on the event’s official website: www.tenerifebluetrail.com.

Starting at 11:30 p.m. on June 3, the start of the Ultra race from Médano Beach will be streamed live, while the schedule for the other events will run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.