The Tenerife Bluetrail Vertical debuts a new route with the finish line at Las Lagunetas

The Tenerife Bluetrail Vertical Race—the mountain race organized by the Cabildo through the public company Ideco—will debut a new course this year, starting at Plaza de Barranco Hondo (Candelaria) on June 2 and ending at Las Lagunetas. Participants in this night race—a maximum of 200—will cover a distance of 5.25 kilometers.

The island’s Sports Councilor, Concepción Rivero, explains that “this route is one of the new features of the upcoming edition of the Tenerife Bluetrail, which will also feature new courses for the Ultra and the Marathon, as well as a spectacular final stretch along the beaches of El Ancón, Los Patos, and El Bollullo, ending at the finish line located at Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz.”

Rivero highlights the athletes’ keen interest in participating in the vertical race, which has led the organizers to double the number of spots available compared to last year. “This event, which is quite challenging, also presents the added difficulty of taking place at night along a spectacular ascent—the Lomo Centeno trail—which is of great heritage, botanical, and wildlife interest and will also play a prominent role in the marathon event.”

The Sports Minister explains that “it will be quite a spectacle to watch the athletes’ headlamps from all over the Güímar Valley and also from Santa Cruz as they climb a vertical wall 1,410 meters high.”

Participants in the vertical race will set off at 9:00 p.m. from the plaza in front of the church in Barranco Hondo, in the municipality of Candelaria. They will pass through Paso del Muerto to the Fayal trail and continue on to the Las Lagunetas Protected Natural Area, where the finish line will be located.

This tour offers the opportunity to discover some of the most representative native and endemic species of flora and fauna found in the mountain summit vegetation, and as well as to observe traces of the historical use of pitch pines, from which resin was once extracted for waterproofing boats. Along the way, you’ll also pass by the Fuente Madre del Agua, a watering hole where some bird species, such as the blue finch and the great tit, stop to bathe or drink water.

Vertical runners can, if they wish, book a shuttle service from Santa Cruz, Puerto de la Cruz, Arona, and Puertito de Güímar to take them to the starting line in Barranco Hondo, and also from the finish line in Las Lagunetas back to those same departure points.

This year, the Tenerife Bluetrail will feature 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 all finish at the same location as the other races, in addition to the nighttime vertical race.

The upcoming edition of the Tenerife Bluetrail is sponsored by companies such as Fred. Olsen, Hospiten, Physiorelax, La Fast, Fonteide, Libby’s, Cajamar, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Clínica del Pie La Orotava, Tirma, and Isola Frutos Secos, which are supporting the event.