Anaga’s trails once again host the Fred.Olsen Santa Cruz Extreme, the mountain race that, after being suspended last October as a result of the heatwave, resumes its ninth edition tomorrow. The testing will take place between today and tomorrow in the Anaga Country Park, and is organized by the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, through the Santa Cruz Sustainable Canaries Foundation, the Sports Department and other areas of the Metropolitan City Council.
The mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, celebrates the possibility of resuming the test which is “an essential element of the municipal events calendar due to the exceptional demand and its beauty”, and recalls that it is “one of the first tests in Spain”. It holds an environmental quality certificate in mountain races, which highlights the natural spaces and cultural and rural heritage of the region.
“The Santa Cruz City Council, through various means, has once again put all its efforts into Santa Cruz Extreme,” notes First Vice Mayor and Environmental Councilor Carlos Tarif. “Incorporating the natural environment and preserving it in a sustainable and respectful way are among the main objectives of this event.” “The main goal is to promote rural development in the Anaga Massif Biosphere Reserve, based on natural resources without damaging them.”
“The Santa Cruz Extreme Race is one of the most important events to mobilize athletes and promote the city from a tourism perspective,” said sports consultant Alicia Ciprian, adding that the city has “a magical place like Anaga Country Park, a protected natural space where this mountain test takes place with more And more followers.”
“The success of this event is also due to the different distance options, and that it also has comprehensive testing, thus giving people with functional diversity the possibility to participate,” comments the Santa Cruz council member. He also wanted to remember that “another positive factor in the development of Santa Cruz Extreme is that it supports the local economy of the rural areas through which the race is held.”
Santa Cruz Extreme is one of the first races in Spain to receive the Environmental Quality Certification in Mountain Racing seal promoted by the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME) and Europarc.
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This version is offered in five different distances in terms of mileage and technical characteristics that allow participants to choose the distance that suits their level of fitness, such as 60 km, 33 km, 19 km, 10 km and Vertical (3 km), where you will take the traditional paths of the Anaga Rural Park which It connects part of its symbolic centers: Igueste de San Andrés, San Andrés, Roque Negro or Afur. The 60km test is a true mountain marathon where the positive slope of 5,141m stands out among other technical data, while avoiding the multiple valleys of Anaga Country Park. Departure will take place at 7:00 AM from Igueste de San Andrés and participants will have sixteen hours to complete this challenge.
In the 33 kilometers, which constitute the average distance, a positive slope of 2572 meters will be accumulated. This method in turn is the Canary Islands Mountains Cup, promoted by the Canary Mountains Federation, and is the last test after those held in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma and El Hierro, so the results will be decisive.
This mode departs from Las Teresitas Beach at 9:00 a.m. and climbs to its maximum altitude in just 8 kilometers when it reaches the Degollada de Alpicor (the traditional path connecting San Andres and Taganana). From there the demand does not stop at points such as Valle Brusque, Roque Negro and Los Catalans. The Anaga Extreme race will be 19 km long with 1,135 meters of positive gradient and starts from Avor (10:00 am on Saturday), through Catalunya at kilometer 9 of the race and from there it runs to the finish line.
This year, the new Anaga Extreme 10km route will be incorporated, which will be an option for the most enthusiastic runners, as well as those who want to get started in the sport, starting from Los Catalán at 10:30 am. .
We must also highlight the vertical way in which the capital itself is celebrated and which unites the city with the mountains. In stopwatch mode, one by one, each participant departed, this Friday, from the bed of Barranco Santos to ascend through Barrio Nuevo and Cueva Roja, until joining the Las Lecheras route that will take the runners to the Parque de las Tables. The participants were able to enjoy the views of the capital, which were unique and different from the usual ones, during their continuous 3-kilometre climb.
The finish line for all modalities will be located in the plaza next to Plaza de España. The first runners are scheduled to arrive from 11:30 am and throughout the day until 11:00 pm, which is the closing hour of the race. Various activities are also planned in the area to enliven the event and especially for the public that comes to enjoy their efforts with the athletes, since just finishing an event with these characteristics usually poses a real challenge.
Among those registered are nearly 800 participants, from a total of 21 nationalities, such as Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, among them. In addition, 26% of the contestants come from outside the island, with the aim of succeeding Omar Azakriti and Claudia Mola.
Winners include notable names such as Pau Capell, member of The North Face team and winner, among other events, of the 2019 UTMB, as well as Gomero runner Cristofer Clemente, currently on the HOKA International Team, without a doubt, one of the best global athletes in this method, Their many achievements include second place in the World Racing Championships and World Champion for the national team.
Finally, the ninth edition of the Santa Cruz Extreme was sponsored by Promotur Turismo de Canarias, Fred. Olsen Express, Turismo de Tenerife, Imasa Corporation, Motor 7 Isles, Silken Atlantida Santa Cruz, Coca-Cola, Sport HG, Crown Sport Nutrition and La Fast.
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