The ultra-distance sports event will begin next Wednesday, November 5, in Tejeda and will continue through Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Guía, La Aldea, and Mogán
The 120 participants will face a positive elevation gain of more than 12,600 metres in a self-sufficiency regime
The ultra-distance race 360º The Challenge Gran Canaria has announced the route for its tenth edition to its 120 registered participants, which will take place between November 5 and 9, starting and finishing in the town of Tejeda. The male and female runners will have to face 265 kilometres and more than 12,600 metres of positive elevation gain, during which they will have five life bases in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Guía de Gran Canaria, La Aldea de San Nicolás, Mogán, and Cercados de Araña, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The race director, Wendy Cruz, has indicated that “this tenth edition will be special because we have achieved a record number of registrations, with 120 participants; a record number of women with 11 runners, and because we are returning to the urban centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where we will once again relive iconic images with runners passing through the city’s most emblematic streets such as Plaza de Santa Ana, Triana, Mesa y López, or Paseo de Las Canteras.”
“It will be a very varied route, with fast and slow areas, with urban routes, coastal paths, forests, and lots of mountains for this tenth edition of the 360º The Challenge Gran Canaria, where runners will discover firsthand what a miniature continent is,” Cruz highlighted.
The start will take place at nine in the morning on Wednesday, November 5, in the urban area of Tejeda. Participants will face the first climb up to Cruz de Tejeda before beginning a descent through Valleseco, Osorio, and the area surrounding Teror.
The route will continue through La Angostura and the Guiniguada ravine until entering Las Palmas de Gran Canaria through the historic centre. The first life base (kilometre 56) will be located at the Metropole Swimming Club before continuing through different areas of the capital such as Mesa y López and the Paseo de Las Canteras, thus recovering iconic images of the race.
The race will continue along the north coast of the Island, visiting towns such as El Puertillo, San Andrés, and San Felipe, before reaching Guía de Gran Canaria, where the second life base (kilometre 100) will be located. Runners will continue through Agaete and the Tamadaba Pine Forest until the third life base in La Aldea de San Nicolás (kilometre 171).
Mogán, at kilometre 213, will receive the participants after travelling through the districts of Tasartico, Tasarte, and Veneguera. The last stretch of the race will enter the Nublo Rural Park with a life base in Cercados de Araña (kilometre 246) before facing the final 20 kilometres to return to Tejeda via the La Plata and La Culata paths.
The runners will also have three external assistance points where they can receive support since they are areas where the supply from establishments open to the public is practically non-existent. These will be located in Agaete (kilometre 134), Cruz de María (kilometre 150), and El Caidero (kilometre 234).
The sports event is organized by Arista Eventos, with the sponsorship of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through Turismo de Gran Canaria and the Insular Sports Institute; the Government of the Canary Islands with Promotur – Islas Canarias; Tejeda Town Council; Joma and Fred. Olsen Express; and the collaboration of the companies Aguas de Teror, Pepsi, Lorenzo González Automoción, Emicela, Gofio La Piña, Bonflex, Provital, and Inetel, as well as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Town Council through the Municipal Institute for the Promotion of Physical Activity and Sport (IMD), Guía de Gran Canaria Town Council, Mogán Town Council, La Aldea de San Nicolás Town Council, and San Bartolomé de Tirajana Town Council.