The Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® increases women’s participation in the race to 27%

The Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB®, the race organized by the Cabildo through the public company Ideco, has seen a steady increase in female participation in recent years. Of the 3,400 athletes registered for the upcoming edition, 27% are women, which represents nearly 500 more female runners than three years ago.

Sports Minister Yolanda Moliné highlights “the steady growth in female participation in a mountain race as demanding as ours, and although there is still a long way to go before we achieve parity with men, we must recognize the efforts of many great trail runners who serve as role models for new generations of athletes who want to pursue this discipline professionally, such as the American Courtney Dauwalter, the first person to win the world’s three most iconic ultramarathons in a single season.”

To mark International Women’s Day, Yolanda Moliné states that the Cabildo’s Department of Sports “is committed to raising the profile of and promoting women’s sports in all their forms and facets, through programs such as ‘Women and Sports,’ through which we aim to promote women’s access, participation, and representation in the sports sector in Tenerife, with a very positive impact on their physical, social, and mental health.”

The 27% of female athletes who will run the Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® in two weeks rises to 34% in the 24k category—the most popular among female athletes—followed by the Vertical Night Challenge, with 31% of female participants.

As for the main nationalities of the participating athletes, the most represented are, in this order, Spanish, French, Polish, and Italian, although there will also be athletes from the United States, Iceland, Slovenia, and China, among others.

Female athletes participating in the Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® will have access to separate restrooms and changing areas at the aid stations, which are stocked with a selection of basic feminine hygiene products. A “Violet Point” will also be set up—a space dedicated to information, prevention, and support regarding sexual violence and gender-based violence.

All races in the UTMB World Series circuit, including the Tenerife race, have a special policy for pregnant athletes, athletes with a pregnant partner, or athletes who are adopting or having a child through surrogacy. In these cases, the organization guarantees a full refund of expenses and priority registration valid for two years.

This year, the Tenerife race also partnered with the Trail Camp Femenino initiative organized by Galician runner Aroa Sio, a camp that aims to introduce more women to the mountains through an inclusive and accessible experience.

The Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB®, which will celebrate its fifteenth edition in 2026, will take place from March 19 to 21 with ten race categories. The race will feature 3,400 runners from 64 countries, more than 700 people working in security, logistics, and emergency response, and more than 200 volunteers.

The race is organized in collaboration with the Sports Department of the Tenerife Island Council, through its DXTenerife brand, and Turismo de Tenerife, through the “Tenerife despierta emociones” brand, as well as with the support of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Islas Canarias brand, Fred. Olsen, Hospiten, Libby’s, Clínica del Pie Orotava, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Isola, Fonteide, La Fast, QRV Emergencias, La Molineta, Tirma, Quanarian, Mahou 00 Tostada, Cultesa, and Avis Canarias.