The Tenerife Bluetrail 2022 surpasses 1,200 registered participants in just one month

The Tenerife Bluetrail 2022, Spain’s highest mountain race, has already surpassed 1,200 registered runners in just over a month since registration opened on December 23rd. The organizers have set a total capacity of 2,900 runners for the race’s seven categories, which this year once again has the support of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), the world’s most prestigious race in this discipline.

The next edition of the race, which will take place from June 2nd to 5th, will have a maximum of 2,900 runners, but the restriction on participants crossing Teide National Park will remain in place to respect the environment and the quality of the race. Given the success of the Trail Relay and Vertical races, the number of available places has been increased this year to 100 pairs and 200 runners, respectively. The Ultra version will have 500 participants, the same as the Trail, while the Half Marathon and Marathon will each have 700 places.

The Island Councillor for Sports, Concepción Rivero, highlights that so far 19% of those who have registered for the race are women, “a percentage that confirms the increased interest of female athletes in this event and already surpasses the 17.5% of women who participated in the last edition of the Tenerife Bluetrail.”

Regarding the participants’ ages, runners between 45 and 49 years old currently lead the ranking, followed by those aged 40-44 and those over 50. Conversely, athletes between 20 and 30 years old are at the bottom of the registration list, so the average age of participants is 43.

Concepción Rivero also highlighted the new features planned for the race, “which this year includes new routes and schedules, as well as the marathon starting for the first time from the Basilica of Candelaria and the prominent role of the GR 131 long-distance trail, along which approximately 46 kilometers of the race will run. Furthermore, the 2022 Tenerife Bluetrail will feature a novel finish through the Martiánez Tunnel as it enters Puerto de la Cruz, after passing the beaches of El Ancón, Los Patos, and El Bollullo before reaching the finish line, which will once again be located at Lago Martiánez in the resort town.”

The Tenerife Bluetrail, organized by the Cabildo through Ideco, will pass for the first time through the municipalities of Candelaria, La Matanza, La Victoria and Santa Úrsula, where the race will cross the so-called Sanguinos grove, a place of great beauty and unique ecological value in the Canary Islands due to tree species characteristic of the laurel forest that have grouped together in this area forming a peculiar and unusual forest. Adeje, Vilaflor, La Orotava, Granadilla, and Puerto de la Cruz complete the list of municipalities that will host the 2022 edition.

There will also be new features in the nighttime vertical race, which this year will take place between Barranco Hondo and Las Lagunetas, covering a distance of 5.25 kilometers with an elevation gain of 990 meters.

This year, the Tenerife Bluetrail will feature seven race options: the Ultra, at 104 kilometers; the Trail, at 73 kilometers, which also has a relay option with 25- and 48-kilometer legs; the Marathon, with a total distance of 44 kilometers; the Half Marathon, covering 24 kilometers; and the Bluetrail Challenge for people with disabilities, which includes three distances of 7, 5, and 1 kilometers, in addition to the 5.25-kilometer nighttime vertical race to be held on June 2nd.