This Sunday, 30 March, more than 1,000 participants will take part in the event in the capital, a record number
The tenth edition comes with new routes in its three competitive distances
The LPA Trail will celebrate its tenth edition on Sunday 30 March in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The mountain race, which returns with novelties in its routes, will take place in the capital with more than 1,000 participants between the three races (19, 11 and 5 kilometres), to which must be added 150 children who will enjoy another year of the LPA Kids in the surroundings of the Plaza Santa Ana, an emblematic place of the city that will host the finish line of all the races.
The official presentation of the event took place this Thursday in the press conference room of the Gran Canaria Arena with the presence of Carla Campoamor, Councillor for Sports and Youth of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Víctor Navarro, advisor to the Sports Department of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; José Miguel Álamo, Vice Rector of Culture, Sports and Society of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Lorenzo Spinelli, Head of Sales of Fred. Olsen Express and Jazmina Benítez, director of the LPA Trail.
Carla Campoamor began by saying that ‘this is a record-breaking LPA Trail’, having sold out the bibs more than a month in advance. The councillor highlighted the beauty of the route through the Barranco del Guiniguada ravine and that it is an event that invites the youngest participants to take part with the LPA Kids: ‘So that boys and girls can get into the world of sport, and in this case trail running’, she said.
Next, Víctor Navarro alluded to the fact that ‘it is an important event that takes place in the city and extols natural values such as the Barranco del Guiniguada’. ‘It is a trail event that takes place in a fabulous atmosphere, in fantastic surroundings and with excellent organisation by Arista Eventos’, added Navarro.
Lorenzo Spinelli also wanted to congratulate the organisers on the tenth anniversary of the event and ‘for their immense work in promoting the practice of sport and respect for the environment, values that we share at Fred. Olsen Express’.
Meanwhile, José Miguel Álamo commented that the ULPGC has ‘reinforced the involvement of an emblematic event in the municipality’. ‘We are proud that one of the starts will be from our facilities, on the University’s football pitch,’ he added.
Finally, Jazmina Benítez took the floor to thank the support of the institutions, sponsors and collaborators who make this project possible. ‘The LPA Trail has a record number of participants and a record of female participation with 35% of women taking the start’, said the race director.
Benítez also thanked the Town Council of Villa de Santa Brígida, the municipality that will host the start of the long race for the first time. ‘The people of Santa Brígida have welcomed us to give more green to this modality and to enjoy the thermophilic forest that runs through the Barranco del Guiniguada and that links us to the capital’.
Jazmina Benítez. Carlos Díaz-Recio
The race director also explained that the middle race, which will start from the Tafira football pitch, is the largest with 450 participants: ‘We will run through some of the streets and paths of the university which bring a lot of greenery to the event’. He added the importance of repeating the Rector’s Trophy. ‘We are very happy that the educational community and the staff of the University are competing in the Rector’s Trophy,’ she said.
Finally, the head of the event highlighted the new short course ‘with less asphalt and more mountainous’, which will start from the neighbourhood of Lomo Verdejo; and that the race organisers continue to promote the use of more sustainable public transport and the practice of trail running among teenagers, ‘which brings many values and makes us know and respect our environment’ with three training categories: children (13-14 years) cadets (15-16 years) and youth (17-18 years). ‘We invite families to join in because I think that a day with our children in the mountains is the best gift that life can give us’, concluded Benítez.
A T-shirt that travels back to the origins
The press conference also served to present the runner’s T-shirt, which in this edition evokes the autochthonous origins with Canary Island graffiti and the colours of the regional flag. Runners of 26 different nationalities will be able to wear the T-shirt, which will feature athletes such as Laura Burzi from Italy, second in the long race of LPA Trail 2024, and Álvaro Santana, who reached the third step of the podium in the 360º The Challenge Gran Canaria last November.
The LPA Trail is organised by Arista Eventos and is sponsored by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through the Instituto Insular de Deportes (IID) and the Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria through the Instituto Municipal para la Promoción de la Actividad Física y el Deporte de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (IMD); and the collaborating entities Fred. Olsen Express, Gofio La Piña, Aguas de Teror, Pepsi, Emicela, Lorenzo González Automoción, Bonflex, Inetel, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo.
