A new edition of the Tenerife Bluetrail – the island's most popular (and extreme) long-distance mountain race – is set to take place on Saturday 11th June. Over 1,000 athletes from all over the world have already signed up to run from sea level to an altitude of over 3,550 metres in Spain's highest race.
Under the slogan “trail running for all”, the Tenerife Bluetrail features five different trails so runners of all abilities are welcome – from professional athletes to amateur runners: Ultratrail (97 km), Trail (66 km), Marathon (43 km), MediaTrail (20 km) and adapted trail called 'Challenge' (8 km).
One of the race's highlights is the variety of landscapes and contrasts it goes through, including the dryness of the south and the lush green vegetation of the north – guaranteeing great scenery for mountain runners.
However, the true star of the Tenerife Bluetrail is the moon-like Teide National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), where daring athletes on the Ultratrail category will reach a height of 3,555 metres, starting from the popular holiday resort of Los Cristianos and finishing in the northern town of Puerto de la Cruz. The time to beat is 13 hours and 2 minutes; the current record for an athlete traversing the 97 km which connect these two locations – achieved by Spanish athlete Carlos Pascual in 2015.
In addition, runners who complete the Ultratrail or Trail categories will get 5 or 4 points towards next year's Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® (UTMB), as the Tenerife Bluetrail is one of the approved qualifying races – testament to the ever-increasing importance of the Tenerife Bluetrail in the international events calendar.
There are still places available for participation in the different categories of the Tenerife Bluetrail 2016.
