Another season ready to roll and Transvulcania kicks off with yet another world-class line-up including last year’s winners Anna Frost and Luis Alberto Hernando, and 2012 winner Dakota Jones.
The super-stacked men’s field includes Timothy Olson, Ryan Sandes, Tofol Castanyer, Manuel Merillas, Miguel Heras, Jason Schlarb, Fulvio Dapit, Blake Hose, Jorge Maravilla, Mike Foote…and many more.
Anna Frost made a glorious comeback in 2014 after her extraordinary 2012 win, setting new course record which stands at 8h10’41. Her prowess seems unchallenged with absentees such as Emelie Forsberg and Maite Maiora who will be racing the shorter distances this year. The rest of the women’s field is headed by Anne-Lise Rousset and Landie Greyling but look out for Magdalena Laczak, Zuzana Urvancová, Alessandra Carlini, Alicia Shay…
The man to beat here is super-strong Luis Alberto Hernando, 2014 winner and Skyrunning World Champion. He’s back for more and represents an extreme challenge. Luis Alberto, for many years at the top of the skyrunning ranking, eternally second to Kilian Jornet, realised his dream last year, crossing the Transvulcania Ultramarathon finish line first, triumphant, ahead of his long-time friend and rival.
Dakota has been training on the island since the beginning of the month to ensure he’s as ready as he can be – aiming to be on top form take back his 2012 title.
Kilian Jornet, who still holds the men’s race record, 6h54’09 set in 2013, will be concentrating on his Summits of My Life project in the Himalayas for an Everest record attempt.
The Transvulcania Ultramarathon on the Spanish island of La Palma has made quite a name for itself. Just a small speck in the Atlantic ocean, the race chosen to launch the Skyrunner® Ultra Series in 2012 has grown to represent a hub for many of the world’s top ultra runners, and has never looked back.
With nearly 2,000 runners on the pre-dawn ocean-front start-line, Transvulcania has come to represent everything that is skyrunning. The runners face a daunting 8,525m ascent and descent over the 73 km course. It starts at sea level on the Atlantic coast and travels along the island’s backbone to the summit of the volcano at 2,423m before descending back to the sea and finishing in the town of Los Llanos where several thousand ecstatic supporters greet the runners.
The 2015 SWS kicks off with new sponsor Alpina Watches and continues with the support of main sponsor Active Patch 4U and Salomon, SCOTT Sports, Compressport, Arc’teryx and La Sportiva.
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Further info: www.skyrunning.com
www.transvulcania.com
