Magnificient finale to the 25th edition of The North Face Transgrancanaria

The event distributed 36,000 euros in prizes this Sunday, the highest economic figure in history

The live broadcast of the Classic and the Marathon garnered 270,000 views in its first 72 hours in Spanish, English, and Chinese

10,000 people visited the runner’s fair open between Tuesday and Friday at ExpoMeloneras

The twenty-fifth edition of The North Face Transgrancanaria is now history after the awards ceremony of the longest tests of the race this Sunday, the Classic, Advanced, and Marathon. In this edition of The North Face Transgrancanaria, more than 4,100 participants from 73 different nationalities have been traversing the various trails of Gran Canaria since Wednesday to accumulate over 300 kilometers between the Classic, Advanced, Marathon, Starter, Promo, Youth, Vertical Kilometer El Gigante, not to mention the Family and the TransgrancanariaKids Abora by Lopesan.

During Sunday’s awards ceremony, the race director, Carlos Torrent, congratulated all the participants, both those who managed to reach the finish line and those who had to abandon, and thanked the work done by the volunteers, as well as recognizing the support of the administrations and companies that endorse The North Face Transgrancanaria.

Live broadcasts in China

This 2024 has been one of the most followed editions in the history of the event with over 16 hours of live broadcasting in Spanish, English, and, new this year, Chinese. On The North Face Transgrancanaria’s official YouTube channel, the broadcasts of the Marathon and the Classic in English and Spanish totaled 205,000 views at the close of this note, while on the Chinese platform WeChat, the streaming views totaled 40,000 views in Chinese and 15,000 views in English, so the race has already accumulated 270,000 views on all platforms over these three days.

*Albert Jorquera and Daniel Sanabria. Miguel Travieso*

Likewise, the race could be followed live on a special broadcast by Radio Televisión Canaria, which set up its own set at the finish line at Parque Sur on Saturday to broadcast the arrival of the Classic race to all Canarian households. Additionally, a special summary was also broadcast on Teledeporte on Saturday.

The organization accredited over fifty media outlets and photographers from the rest of Spain as well as from Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland. Furthermore, regional, national, and international media received timely information and audiovisual material of what was happening in the race through the race communication service.

On the other hand, the deployment through the official social media profiles of the event throughout this week has allowed keeping all trail-running fans informed. Thus, the effort made by the race communication team has been reflected with a significant increase in followers of the profiles and with over 3 million views only on the official Instagram.

Premiere of Gran Canaria World Trail Majors and biggest economic prize in history

During the race week, the premiere of the sponsorship of Gran Canaria Tourism of the international circuit World Trail Majors took place, which will be called Gran Canaria World Trail Majors from this month onwards. Thus, the Gran Canaria appointment has been the third stop of the circuit, with the next tests being the Japanese Monte Fuji and the Portuguese MIUT Madeira Island Ultra-Trail. Likewise, the Advanced test hosted the Canary Islands Championship of ultra-distance races of the Canarian Mountaineering Federation (Fecamon), and the Vertical Kilometer El Gigante has been the first stop of the KV Fecamon Tour circuit.

This year has seen the largest amount of money distributed in the over 20 years of history of the event, as the top three runners and runners of the Classic, Advanced, Marathon, and Starter have shared 36,000 euros in prizes.

Dauwalter and Butaci, kings of the Classic

Courtney Dauwalter and Raul Butaci have been the best in the flagship race of the event, the Classic, a test that did not disappoint as, in addition to the toughness of the course, very adverse weather conditions were added, with strong winds, low temperatures, rain, and the final heat of the southern area of Gran Canaria. In fact, renowned participants could not access the top three positions in the classification. Courtney Dauwalter achieved her second consecutive victory in Gran Canaria, an island she declared to be in love with, after recording 15:14:54 to cover the 126 kilometers and the almost 7,000 meters of elevation gain, ahead of Claudia Tremps and Emma Stuart. In the men’s category, a commanding victory for the Romanian Raul Butaci, who in 2023 was fourth and this year led the race from Tejeda and crossed the finish line after 13:22:32, ahead of the Spanish legend Miguel Heras and his compatriot Ionel Cristian Manole.

The rest of the races were also competitive. Tara Fraga and Andrzej Witek won in the Advanced, the American Jennifer Lichter and the Kenyan Robert Pkemoi, who achieved his second consecutive victory, in the Marathon. On Thursday, the Pole Katarzyna Solinska and the Spanish Antonio Martínez won the Starter, the Slovenian Sasa Torkar and the Spanish Alejandro Díaz won the Promo, and Elvira Borring and Francisco Javier Tejonero won the Youth. Finally, in the Vertical Kilometer El Gigante, a test that kicked off on Wednesday afternoon, the American Katie Schide and the Italian Henri Aymonod were the best.

Return of The North Face and party at Parque Sur

2024 has marked the return of The North Face as the main sponsor of the event. The leading sportswear and mountain company in the market has landed on the island with clothing for participants and volunteers and with activities throughout the island that have allowed all trail-running enthusiasts to try out the brand’s products, as well as train with the elite athletes of The North Face team.

In parallel to the celebration of the competitions, between Tuesday and Friday, the Trail Zone runner’s fair was held, where around 10,000 people visited the shops and tourist information stands set up at ExpoMeloneras, alongside the withdrawal of bibs from the participants. This year, the finish line at Parque Sur turned into a family leisure space, where food trucks sponsored by Gran Canaria Me Gusta were deployed, and where a concert took place on Saturday night by the Fijo Discontinuo group thanks to Pepsi’s sponsorship.

*Fijo Discontinuo concert. Miguel Travieso*

All of this was framed within the race’s philosophy, Kilometer 0, a firm commitment by the race organizing company, Arista Eventos, to involve Canary Island companies and to employ and promote products from this land. It is one of the most beloved events in the islands, and an example of this is that nearly 1,500 of the participants came from the archipelago.

The North Face Transgrancanaria is a race sponsored by the institutions Cabildo de Gran Canaria, through Gran Canaria Tourism and the Insular Sports Institute; the Government of the Canary Islands with Canary Islands Latitud de Vida; Maspalomas Costa Canaria; the Municipal Sports Institute of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and the Tejeda City Council. It also has the support of companies The North Face, San Roque University Hospitals, Fred. Olsen Express, 226ERS, Sonocom Audiovisuals, Lopesan Hotel Group, Expomeloneras, and Aguas de Teror.

Results

Classic 126 Km

Female

Courtney Dauwalter (USA) 15:14:54

Claudia Tremps (ESP) 16:27:03

Emma Stuart (IRL) 16:50:40

Male

Raúl Butaci (ROU) 13:22:32

Miguel Heras (ESP) 13:32:48

Ionel Cristian Manole (ROU) 13:49:04

Advanced 84 Km

Female