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Trail running: Transvulcania

Ultratrail across the Canary volcanic island of La Palma

by Johannes Wolf • 05/02/2023
Transvulcania by UTMB
La Palma
Transvulcania by UTMB
La Palma
La Palma is a very special island and has been known worldwide since the volcanic eruption in 2021. But La Palma is also characterised by a special trail running event. In a few days' time, the Transvulcania trail run will start across the island for the thirteenth time.

In recent years, trail running has become more and more of a trend and many winter sports enthusiasts have also become runners. After all, running in the mountains in summer is the ideal balancing sport for the upcoming ski touring season. With the start of the coronavirus pandemic, I also caught the running bug again, especially in the mountains of course. After I started taking part in my first trail running competitions and ran my first ultra trail on the Grossglockner last year with the GGUT55, I was hooked. After deciding on my holiday destination last year - the Canary Islands - and realising that the Transvulcania would be taking place at the right time and that there were still places available, it was clear that I had to take part in it! However, for a long time I wasn't sure whether I should run the full distance or the "shorter" marathon. After all, I had never run such a distance and so many metres of elevation before. In the end, I took the plunge and started the ultra last October.

The Transvulcania is one of the most famous and toughest trail running events. Not without reason: with a length of 75 kilometres and 4,735 metres of positive elevation gain and 4,405 metres of negative elevation gain, it is not one of the longest trail running events, but the route is scenically unique due to its route, which starts from the sea and leads over several volcanoes and up to an altitude of 2,426 metres before descending back down to the sea. Since October, the Transvulcania has also been an official event of the UTMB World Series.

With just under 85,000 inhabitants and a length of just 45 kilometres and a width of just under 27 kilometres, the island of La Palma is the third smallest island in the Canary Islands. Due to its geographical location and the multitude of volcanoes, La Palma offers all kinds of things to see. We were already on the island a few days before the actual event to have a look around and, of course, to watch some sections of the race before the actual event started off with the Vertical Race. In the vertical race, participants complete 250 metres of elevation in a very short time and there was already a great atmosphere here. The start is at Playa del Puerto de Tazacorte. The route then climbs steeply up the GR-131 path to the Mirador de la Punta. Many runners take the vertical race as a kind of warm-up. The actual Transvulcania race then takes place on the following Saturday.

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Transvulcania Ultramarathon

The alarm clock went off at 3 a.m. on Saturday. Although the start was moved from 06:00 in the morning to 07:00, this did not change the departure time of the buses to the start area. The reason for this was that the road was buried by the volcanic eruption and there was only a temporary road through the volcano's run-off zone. Progress was correspondingly slow. It took us around 1 ½ hours to cover the 30 kilometres and so we had to leave at 04:30. Once we arrived at the start area, we experienced the much-vaunted atmosphere for the first time. The more than 1000 runners and the moderators made for a great start. The first few kilometres took us from Fuencaliente along the road directly uphill, before continuing on a small hiking trail towards Los Canarios. This was the first sign of what was to await me over the next 20-30 kilometres: Running on volcanic sand! As there is always a traffic jam at the beginning, progress was slow at first. This is why the use of sticks is forbidden until the first aid station at Los Canarios.

Once we arrived in Los Canarios, despite the early hour, the crowd was already going wild and the words "Venga Venga" or "Vamos" could be heard echoing loudly across the square. Now it was finally time to run, but only for a short time, as the volcanoes on the Transvulcania had to be conquered. The next few hours involved many kilometres on black sand. As a result, I started to feel my legs after just 25 kilometres. The third aid station is in El Pilar and this is where the wheat was separated from the chaff for the first time, as this is where the first cut-off time was set. After a short break and after removing the sand from my shoes, I still had a buffer of over an hour, so I was still well on time. Now the track was finally actually runnable. Beautiful trails up and down until I finally reached VP 4. From there it's another steep climb and it's advisable to fill up all your bottles, as there are no more aid stations for the next 15 kilometres. This may not sound that far, but it's quite a stretch, as you have to climb well over 800 metres in altitude on this stretch. Now the first doubts arose, by now I had been travelling for over 7 hours and unfortunately the catering wasn't going well at all. My stomach just wasn't playing ball and so I didn't have a gel or a bar every 40-60 minutes as planned. However, the highest point of the tour was within reach with only 5 kilometres to the Roque de Muchachas! So I mobilised my energy reserves once again and made it to the Roque. Once there, I finally had something sensible and, above all, warm to eat. There I had to make a decision for the first time: give up or carry on.

Transvulcania by UTMB
La Palma
Transvulcania by UTMB
La Palma

Although you've already covered over 50 kilometres at Roque de Muchachas, now it's almost all downhill and this is where full concentration is required. After I still had an hour's buffer and was able to fortify myself a little, I finally decided to carry on. If necessary, I would just walk... Surprisingly for me, the downhill went really well and I was able to make up some time so that I arrived in Puerto de Tazacorte just in time for sunset.

Overjoyed, I realised in the moment: "You can still manage the last 5 kilometres!" The finish was within reach. But this impression was to be deceptive, through a dry riverbed, which I had already explored a few days earlier, I was now heading towards Los Lianos. This is where the good head torch paid off once again, because as soon as the sun was gone, it suddenly became dark. Once you had passed the riverbed, you have to climb another 350-400 metres before you reach the road that leads you home. This section really felt like an eternity to me, I was completely exhausted just walking the last few metres towards the finish, I was simply physically and mentally finished. Even the cheers didn't help, it was only a few hundred metres before the finish that another runner managed to motivate me again. We finally crossed the finishing line together. Completely exhausted, but incredibly proud, I reached the finish line after 13:44 hours.

Looking back, I can only confirm that this race is one of the tougher races for a reason, but is a "must" for all trail runners due to the atmosphere and the truly impressive scenery. For all those who are perhaps now thinking about it but are not yet completely convinced: In a few days it will be time again, a look at the live stream should certainly dispel the last doubts.

The Race Highlights 2022

Johannes Wolf
Looking back towards the start
Johannes Wolf
Looking back towards the start

Photo gallery

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