TRANSGRANCANARIA

The North Face Transgrancanaria is the great winter rendezvous of international trail running. Born in 2003 from the dream of crossing Gran Canaria entirely on foot, this Spanish ultra has become a fixture of the global calendar, the race that traditionally opens the European trail season each February. The flagship TGC Classic covers 126 km with 6,764 m of climb, from the urban beach of Las Canteras in Las Palmas all the way to the celebrated dunes of Maspalomas on the southern shore.

The Canarian terrain is volcanic and exceptionally varied. Runners climb from the Atlantic into the pine forests of Tamadaba, follow exposed ridges high above the sea of clouds, and pass at the foot of Roque Nublo, the basaltic monolith that crowns the island at almost 1,800 m. The course plunges into deep barrancos, traverses laurel forests, the historic Camino de la Plata and the silent mountain village of Tunte, before opening onto the desert light of the south coast. Eight distances welcome every level: the legendary Classic 126 km, the Advanced 82 km, the Marathon 47 km, the Half 23 km, the Promo 12 km, the Short 5 km, the El Gigante Vertical Kilometer, and a Family race.

What makes Transgrancanaria special is its unique place in the trail world: the kickoff of the season, the first major confrontation between the world's elite, and a chance for thousands of amateurs to follow the same path as the champions. The midnight start under headlamps on the Atlantic shore, sunrise at altitude above the sea of clouds, and the warm finish line on the southern dunes have become genuine rites of passage in international ultra running.