Around 1,800 runners will compete in the two fastest distances, crossing the most unique corners of the summit municipalities
The Spanish Elite representatives are once again among the favorites to claim victory at the iconic finish line in Tejeda
The North Face Transgrancanaria 2026 will start Thursday’s session with the Half (23 KM) and Promo (12 KM) modalities, two short, fast, and technical courses that reveal the most surprising places on the island to the runners. Nearly 1,800 participants will enter into action on a day of celebration in Tejeda, which will once again shine with its emblematic finish line.
The starting signal will first be given by the Transgrancanaria Half from its new start in Santa Lucía de Tirajana (9:00 hours), a course of 23 kilometers and 1,817 meters of positive elevation gain that crosses unique landscapes. The Caldera de Tirajana, the Llanos de Pargana, and the Llanos de la Pez challenge the athletes before facing one of the most spectacular ascents in the Archipelago: the Paso de La Plata.
Once the highest point is crowned, a technical and fun descent leads the participants through the neighborhood of La Culata to Tejeda, where in the last edition the Swiss Judith Wyder was crowned, followed by the Spanish Marta Martínez and Naiara Irigoyen, and the athlete from Alicante Antonio Martínez at the top of the men’s podium completed by Alain Santamaría and Adrian Ivars.
This year the list of favorites once again has a lot of Spanish representation with runners such as Marta Martínez herself, María Fuentes, Inés Astrain, Eltel Roig, or Greta García, among other international representatives such as the Italian Camilla Magliano, the Swedish Barbro Fjällstedt Oljans, or the Swiss Flavia Van der Zon.
For its part, in the men’s category names appear such as those of Alain Santamaría, Daniel Osanz, Marcos Villamuera, Andrés García Blanco, or Álvaro Escuela, who are also joined by athletes from the international scene such as the Italian Luca Merli, the Swedish Linus Hultegard, the Chilean Nicolás Ignacio Benavides, or the British Brennan Townshend, among others.
As a novelty, the Half modality can be followed for the first time live through the streaming broadcast. A coverage that Arista Eventos has raised to the next level in this edition with a total of 25 hours of broadcast during the four days of competition that can be seen from all over the planet on the official YouTube channel of The North Face Transgrancanaria.
The excitement of the Promo returns
The Thursday session, however, is not only limited to the frenetic Half, as barely an hour and a half after the start, the Promo modality will also begin, with 12 kilometers of distance and a positive elevation gain of 869 meters, in which the competition will be lived to the maximum among athletes starting out in trail running.
Not only does the speed and fun of the course stand out, but also the beauty of a route that runs between the two highest villages of Gran Canaria, the so-called summit municipalities. Participants will get to know the dense pine forest of Pinos de Gáldar along a path that borders the Caldera de Tejeda.
The excitement is more than guaranteed in a section that last year was conquered by the French Charlotte Delabarre, in a women’s podium completed by the Spanish Mónica Vega and the Slovak Sasa Torkar. While, in the men’s, it was the Canarian trio made up of Ione Guerra, David Recco, and Jehosua Medina who led the final classification.
The North Face Transgrancanaria is a race organized by Arista Eventos that has the sponsorship of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, through Turismo de Gran Canaria and the Instituto Insular de Deportes; the Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria through the Instituto Municipal de Deportes; the Ayuntamiento de Teror and the Ayuntamiento de Tejeda. Furthermore, it has the support of The North Face, Hospitales Universitarios San Roque, Lopesan Hotel Group, ExpoMeloneras, 226ERS, Fred. Olsen Express, Sonocom Audiovisuales, and Aguas de Teror.
