Fifth win in five participations for the French runner The Italian champion ran under 48 hours, arriving in the town of Tejeda in the morning
The race was broadcast live for 4 hours on Friday
At 18:59 on Friday, Claire Bannwarth crossed the finish line after 57 hours, 56 minutes and 13 seconds after running through the wonderful landscapes of the island of Gran Canaria. Five participations in the 360º The Challenge Gran Canaria and five victories, which make the French runner a legend of the self-sufficiency test.
Bannwarth’s excellent time also earned her ninth place in the general classification. Two other women are still in the race, Gran Canarian Sandra Moreno, who at this time is crossing kilometre 212 of the route, approaching the last basecamp in Artenara; and the British Claire Ferguson, about to reach kilometre 200. If both runners keep up a good pace during the third night of the race, the forecast is that they will be able to reach Tejeda on Saturday morning.
As dawn broke over the town of Tejeda, Italian Marco Gubert completed his display in this year’s edition, running under 48 hours to achieve his third victory in the 360º The Challenge Gran Canaria. The men’s podium was completed by Frenchman Julien Chorier, one of the best ultra-distance runners of the last decade, who crossed the finish line just over two hours behind the leader with a time of 49 hours, 35 minutes and 54 seconds; and Gran Canarian Álvaro Santana, who in his first 360º achieved a great feat by arriving in Tejeda as the first Spanish person classified very close to the spectacular winning duo, stopping the clock at 50 hours, 29 minutes and 53 seconds. The next to hear the applause of the public present on the beautiful morning in Tejeda was the only runner who has been a finisher in all the editions of the 360 The Challenge, the Italian Luca Papi, who after a spectacular comeback during the second night went from 13th to 4th place in just a few hours, and who also promises to return next year.
At this time, the Gran Canarian José Bordón (5th), last year’s champion Claudiu Beletoiu (6th), the Frenchman Stephane Higueret (7th) and another local runner Cristian Guerra (8th) also finished the race.
After almost 60 hours of competition, 59 participants are still in the race, who have until Sunday 17th at 2:00 p.m. to cross the long-awaited finish line, a milestone that changes the life of anyone who achieves such a feat.
It should be noted that Arista TV offered a four-hour live broadcast coinciding with the final kilometres of the head of the race on the YouTube channels of Arista Eventos (https://www.youtube.com/@AristaTV) and The North Face Transgrancanaria (https://www.youtube.com/@transgrancanaria102)
The 360º The Challenge Gran Canaria is organised by Arista Eventos, with the sponsorship of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through Turismo de Gran Canaria and the Instituto Insular de Deportes; the Government of the Canary Islands with Promotur – Islas Canarias; the City Council of Tejeda and Fred. Olsen Express; and the collaboration of the companies Lorenzo González Automoción, Gofio La Piña, Inerza, Emicela and Provital.