Today, Transgrancanaria says goodbye to another edition but the great satisfaction of confirming our (r)evolution for this year has been a massive success. The race keeps growing steadily and a desire to continue improving for following years. There’s much more to come!
The most important change this year was to increase the number of race days. Instead of gathering all races in one weekend, this edition was extended to five days. A huge organisational effort to dedicate more time to shorter races, which were moved to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning: KV El Gigante, Starter, Promo, Youth, Family and Marathon. Also, non-competitive Transgrancanaria Kids was held on Friday morning with more than 300 participants aged between 4 and 15 years old.
Overall, more than 3,600 runners from more than 60 different nationalities took part in any of the eight races. Also, this edition was an excellent opportunity to confirm once again the strong support to Transgrancanaria from local runners with more than 1,300 runners from the Canary Islands among the registered participants.
Transgrancanaria has relied on the efforts of many people and organizations who, for months, have worked to ensure that everything went smoothly. A success that allows the race to continue to be one of the most recognised ultra-distance races in the world.
We would like to thank the work of the more than 400 volunteers who participated in the race, distributed at different points along the route. They worked tirelessly throughout the five days. We would also like to thank the state security and emergency forces, who have guaranteed the safety of the race, the institutions, external professionals, collaborators and members of the organization.
One of the great point of Transgrancanaria 2023 has been the media coverage (unseen until today in Spain), which has allowed the race to be broadcast all over the world with more than 17 hours of live streaming, in Spanish and also in English, due to an impressive display of 16 cameras that offered full coverage of the Marathon and an extensive part of the Transgrancanaria Classic through YouTube, with more than 115,000 reproductions during the two days of broadcasting.
The race could also be widely followed live on Spanish television and regional television stations in the Canary Islands (with a special broadcast at the finish line in Parque Sur) and Catalonia.
Transgrancanaria once again caught the attention of the international trail running press with the arrival of more than 35 accredited journalists. Hundreds of media received regular information and audiovisual material on what was happening in the race through the race’s press service.
It has also been important the work of the official social networks of the race to keep all trail running lovers informed throughout the race. An effort that has been reflected in a spectacular growth of all the KPIs for this channel.
The work of the organisation over the years has been rewarded. Transgrancanaria is part of the Spartan Trail World Championship circuit. In addition, four races are awarded with ITRA points.
As a result, this recognition translates into better prizes for the winners. The Spartan Trail World Championship has awarded $30,000 to the top three finishers of Transgrancanaria 2023. In addition, the race has served to award another 40,000 dollars in prizes corresponding to the 2022 season.
It would be unfair to leave any of the winners out of this acknowledgement, but one name that has emerged above the rest: Courtney Dauwalter. The American runner, who came to the island as the favourite to win the women’s Transgrancanaria Classic, not only fulfilled all the predictions, but also did so with a legendary performance: 7th in the overall rank with an incontestable lead over Canada’s Lowther and Catalonia’s Claudia Tremps. In addition, she achieved a historic record: 128 kilometers and 7,000 meters of elevation gain in less than fifteen hours.
In the men’s category, Andreu Simón was the fastest of all. The Catalan runner, who had already experienced success in Transgrancanaria with his victories in the 2020 and 2021 Marathon, put his name on the winners’ record books of the race. Portuguese Miguel Arsénio and American Tyler Green followed him on the podium. The high level of the race meant that many renowned riders were unable to finish in the top three places. A glance at the general classification confirms the tremendous competitiveness of the race.
George Foster and Azara García de los Salmones won the Advanced, while the Marathon went to Kenyan Robert Pkemoi, the first African to win a big Transgrancanaria race, and Catalan Nuria Gil. Poland’s Bart Przedwojewski did a double win with Starter and KV El Gigante, while Switzerland’s Rea Iseli won Starter women’s category.
France’s Enzo Rati and Italy’s Cecilia Basso Promo finished on top of the podium in the Promo category. In the Youth category, a French double win for Camille Cucherousset and Lili Perignon. Finally, Poland’s Katarzyna Solińska joined her countryman Przedwojewski as winners of the KV El Gigante, which was held on Wednesday afternoon.
Finally, we’d love to thank all organizations which make this race possible: institutions and private sponsors. Their contribution is essential to keep this project alive and well for the future. Without their support, Transgrancanaria would not be possible.
At the Institutional level, the race has had the invaluable collaboration of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through Turismo de Gran Canaria and Gran Canaria Isla Europea del Deporte, the Government of the Canary Islands with Promotur – Islas Canarias, Maspalomas Costa Canaria, Instituto Municipal de Deportes de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Town Halls of Agaete, Arucas, Artenara, Moya, Teror and San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The private sector is represented by the companies SWE, Fred. Olsen Express, Hospitales Universitarios San Roque, Expomeloneras, 226ERS and Sonocom Audiovisuales, as well as the collaboration of Provital, Emicela, Ahembo, Aguas de Teror, Coros, Petzl, Vivac Aventura, Inerza, Hotel Aloe Canteras, Lorenzo González Automoción and Tirma. Thanks to all of them for their support.
Campeonato de Canarias Men
Campeonato de Canarias Women
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