Its eleven o’clock on a Friday night in Los Cristianos in south Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands nestled off the coast of west Africa. Renowned for British holiday makers on cheap package holidays in search of sun, sand, sea and something else beginning with ‘s’. Yet on Friday 7th June 2024 a different type of human congregates on the beach front. The festival atmosphere heightens with music, drums and fireworks as 442 ultra-runners start their 110km journey up Mount Teide the iconic volcano that dominates the island and across the island to Puerto de La Cruz. Only 297 will make it to the final destination and finish line, the rest defeated by heat, altitude, exhaustion, broken bodies and minds on the trails. Welcome to Tenerife BlueTrail Ultra.
Rewind seven months to an atypical dismal wet day in the depths of the 2023/2024 winter where days blurred into one with endless grey clouds and rain. After yet another soul destroying bog fest ‘run’ on the Wiltshire trails I faced a decision…
Opt for the Northern Traverse Alfred Wainwrights 200-mile 5 x day epic coast to coast in April or Tenerife BlueTrail in June with nine days working remotely combined with the chance to acclimatise with a spot of diving and chance to recce parts of the route. Fond memories of the other Canary Islands surfaced having participated in Trans Gran Canaria Ultra and Advanced respectively in 2018 and 2020; Fuerteventura Half-Marathon des Sables in 2018 and several ‘holidays’ at Club La Santa world class training centre on Lanzarote.
After a spot of research and number crunching I discovered the financial investment to be identical. £1,500. It wasn’t a difficult decision. Six months later Tenerife and sunshine beckoned.
Sat under a grapevine in the small village of Ifonche I’m munching on grilled padron peppers covered in chunks of rock salt with red and green mojo sauce and hearty bowl of garbanzos (chickpea) stew with 90s rock music blaring in the background. I’m taking a break from my hire car route recce cruising along perfect asphalt surrounded by seemingly out of this world towering volcanic rock formations. I relish spending time in a new landscape before an race and exploring the trails in advance. The Tenerife BlueTrail race series consists of various distances; 24km, 47km, 73km, 110km and a vertical night challenge; obviously I’d committed to the full-monty aka 110km with 6,250m ascent (and descent!).
Back to Friday night in Los Cristianos as our route traces the shoreline along the streets of Las Americas. It’s a collision of two worlds as Lycra-clad ultrarunners meet Lycra-clad revelers lost in the music, dance, alcohol, and drugs. Both seeking to lose themselves and escape from normality through altered states of consciousness. Minutes later, an unexpected bottleneck at 5km jolts me back to reality; then forces me to stop alongside my fellow trail-runners and wait in turn to scramble up sandy single-track path. The bright lights fade into the distance as the wilderness and trails beckon. The plaintive cry of a short-eared owl calls from far above the steep-sided ravine guiding us on our way upwards towards Mount Teide.
There’s something delicious about running through the night in the early hours. The rest of the world could be on another planet. Daily life slips away, work commitments, ongoing house renovations, social media, expectations, assumptions… Only the present moment exists. At the heart of it ultra-running is so simple. One foot in front of another. And yet traversing such distances often lies beyond my comprehension. The enormity of it all. It’s almost impossible for my mental brain to fathom. Time-scales and distances that lie beyond our daily construct of 10,000 steps and sedentary lifestyles.
Somewhere on the flanks of Mount Teide I enter the liminal time zone between night and dawn. There’s an almost imperceptible shift in darkness as a lighter hue slips across the sky to the east; then a first glimmer of gold, orange, red and yellow that words simply fail to capture. The volcanic rocks soak up the first rays and glow. Mother Nature at her finest.
The day unfolds as I move through forests of Canary Pine, subtropical birch forests, sandy arid desert and the rocky volcanic centre. During this time I appreciate the camaraderie of fellow runners that switches from silent companionship interspersed with sporadic friendly conversation. A pleasant distraction from the inevitable physical pain and fatigue that builds.
Time passes. 19 hours 6 minutes and 59 seconds later the finish line awaits. Placed 6th Lady and 67th overall. Mission complete.
Top Tips
Nutrition – Listen to your body and be flexible. Strategies that had worked successfully in training in the UK over recent months were a catastrophic fail. I ended up nibbling on Veloforte bars and surviving on cartons of pineapple juice and gummy sweets snatched from the aid stations. Night time fueling can add an additional challenge into the mix when your body is habituated to rest.
Hydration – Understand what your body and stomach can handle. I struggle with isotonic drinks. One cup and vomit-tastic. Stick to salt tablets.
Mind over matter – Your breath offers presence and focus. I also add in mantras to calm my mind; ‘you are a breath’ and ‘you are the wind’ were on constant repeat up Mount Teide. These words connected me to the elements and surroundings in a state of walking meditation. It took 3-hours to cover 10.5km with over 1,400m ascent combined with wobbly altitude sensations at 3,000m due to lower levels of oxygen.
Clean your teeth – Dispel the mouth furry feeling due to sugar build up. The taste of mint gives a fresh taste and mental boost.
Post-race decompression – Ultras unsurprisingly exert an enormous physical, mental and emotional toil. The inevitable Garmin body battery crash and elevated resting heart rate over the preceding days offer a glimpse into my levels of fatigue. I’d purposively planned a couple of days to rest and recharge in Puerto de La Cruz though I’d have benefited from more.
These were glorious lazy days where my body and mind were soothed by rhythmic sound of waves crashing against black volcanic rock beach. I was able to soak my battered legs in salt water and watch the shore crabs busily scurry past; then each evening savour local ‘pinxtos’ or chunks of bread adorned with home-made octopus croquets, prawns, local cheese, mushrooms and other tasty delights.
Kit
Shoes - La Sportiva Mutants - I’ve had a long and trusted relationship with La Sportiva and these trainers for over six years now. The grip and high supportive hold have supported many races. Kindly gifted as part of the La Sportiva UK running ambassador team.
Skort / Motion Running Skirt - WAA ULTRA - What An Adventure - Another classic favourite. The pink has brightened up the trails and my races for over seven years. The discrete side pockets are simply perfect for stashing essential ultra essentials, food, rubbish, salt tablets, pole rubber tips, phone… Still going strong after being gifted as part of the WAA Elite Athlete programme in 2017.
Desoto Sport Cool Wings – There’s a bit of a theme in the longevity of my kit. First discovered in 2012 for my first IM70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas the same item of clothing still works perfectly.
Helvellyn PRO Carbon Z-Poles Harrier Trail Running – These streamlined and feather light poles literally saved my legs. The rubber tipped ends were essential for National Park restrictions to avoid degrading the delicate volcanic environment. Kindly gifted by Harriers after supporting their Trailblazers programme as Head Coach in preparation for Threshold Sports Race to the King and Race to the Stones.
Overall race verdict – This was quite possibly my best race performance in four years since I tackled Trans Gran Canaria Advanced in 2020. Since COVID I made the conscious decision to move away from my 100km ‘sweet spot’ to focus on multi-stage and shorter 50km events that on reflection potentially wasn’t the ‘right’ decision.
I felt strong and enjoyed the journey through the night and day despite the usual mental and physical wobbles with plentiful learnings and re-learnings! It’s a solid milestone towards revisiting the ‘Diagonale de Fous’ (translated as ‘The Fools Crossing’) a beyond tough 100-miler on Reunion Island in October to finish what I started five years ago (read about my DNF in 2019 - here).
Watching the waves from my Airbnb apartment the day after Tenerife BlueTrail I sadly discovered the passing of a life-long Watson family friend; the legendary Harry James. He notoriously welcomed my arrival onto this planet in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on a snowy February night during the winter of discontent in 1979 otherwise known as ‘wetting the babies head’ with my dad; he endlessly shared his outdoor wisdom during legendary father/offspring bushcraft weekends in the Lake District during the 80s, patiently supervised my still memorable (!) Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition in the Scottish Highlands and constantly inspired me from afar with his annual long distance walking Scottish traverses into his late seventies. He always had a twinkle in his eye and zest for adventure. It seemed fitting to wish him a final adieu watching the sun disappear over the horizon after such an epic journey across Tenerife.
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