Trail La Vegueta Lanzarote 2015

Lanzarote, Canary Islands – Time-to-Run Trail recently attended the Trail La Vegueta 2015 run in the village of La Vegueta. Very much a low key event, however we wanted to provide a report, as Piia Doyle, the Editor of Time-to-Run Suomi participated.

Trail La Vegueta – Piel De Toro

I have run some trail races here in Lanzarote. I am not really a fan of trails and prefer the flat roads. The Trail La Vegueta  was the most technical out of all the trail races I have run so far. I was aware that there will be a one tough volcano to climb up but was not quite prepared for what I had to climb. A steep wall of a volcano with rock and sand, at places you could not even call it a trail. Everyone else in front of me was walking up this hill so I was very happy to follow suit. I tried to “power walk” up the hill by pushing on my knees with my hands with each step. It was hard but it helped! My legs did not get tired climbing up and I even passed some runners. The downhill was tougher and at places I got a little scared as the downhill was steep and there was no trail to follow, and the soil was loose.

I absolutely loved running on the narrow trails on the side of the volcano: it felt like I was running at a good speed, jumping over rocks and holes, while looking for a perfect spot to place my feet on.

The hardest parts on the legs are definitely the downhills. I do love running down hills as I can be quite fast on them, however, there were 2 long steep downhills with difficult, if not dangerous, terrain and they took their toll on my quadriceps.

I can’t believe how I enjoyed this particular trail run. 14 km was just long enough and there was nothing better than the view from the top of the volcano over the authentic black vineyards, with bright and dark green vines and volcanoes on the background.

Trail La Vegueta by Piia Doyle

Conclusion

The Trail La Vegueta of Lanzarote was made up of 3 events, the main race being the 14km, then a 10k and a 5k, which included trekking / walking. An event for every enthusiast.

Piia fails to mention she won the Women’s section of the Trail La Vegueta. Sitting around after the event to enjoy a beer is a must, as the village atmosphere provides a great feel. Well, for me it certainly was.