Image: Sergio Betancort
The town of Montaña Blanca (San Bartolomé) hosted the third edition of the Vertical Montaña Blanca on Saturday morning. A unique mountain race that stands out for its difficulty and the elevation gain accumulated in the legs of the participating athletes. The event, organized by Senderismo Lanzarote and the San Bartolomé City Council, had a wide participation of athletes, enjoying a great day of sports. Alberto Peláez and Belinda Guillén were the absolute winners of the "Fanegas" category, which had a route of 18 kilometers.
The Vertical Montaña Blanca is a mountain race that has been consolidating in the calendar of sporting events and that each year has improvements that make it more attractive. In this third edition, the route was slightly modified to prevent athletes from having to do an excessive number of laps. In addition, the organization marked the entire route in great detail so that there would be no confusion, and the competitors had a chip to control the time. The III Vertical Montaña Blanca had a participation of 173 athletes.
The "Fanegas" category with a route of 18 kilometers was starred by the hand-to-hand that Alberto Peláez and Jachinson Hernández maintained, deciding the race in the final stretch. During the climbs, Alberto Peláez was the one who took the initiative and in the descents Jachinson Hernández cut differences, leading the race in several areas. The final victory went to Alberto Peláez with a time of 1 hour, 31 minutes and 43 seconds. Jachinson Hernández (1:31:52) crossed the finish line in second place and the third place on the podium went to Fran Godoy (1:35:28).
Among the women, the fastest was Belinda Guillén, a member of the Helly Hansen Trail Team, crossing the finish line in first place with a time of 1 hour, 55 minutes and 38 seconds. The second place overall went to Sarah Erikson (1:56:29) and the podium was completed by Purificación Giménez (2:27:27)
Luis Rodríguez and Puri Gallego, winners of the "Almudes" category
The third edition of the Vertical Montaña Blanca featured the "Almudes" category, in which participants had to complete one lap of the course and complete a 9-kilometer route. Luis Rodríguez, a member of the Senderismo Lanzarote team, was the winner of the men's category with a time of 46 minutes and 14 seconds. The podium was completed with the second place of Fernando Pérez (47:03) and the third place of Jonathan Pérez (47:13), both members of the Haría Trail Team.
In the women's category, the triumph went to Puri Gallego with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 52 seconds. Ángeles Clar (1:04:19) and Carmen García (1:05:40) completed the top three positions in the "Almudes" category in the women's version. Meritorious second place for Ángeles Clar, a runner who had just participated in and completed the Ironman Lanzarote.
The III Vertical Montaña Blanca featured a children's race in this edition, aimed at young people who are starting to get the bug for mountain races. Gabriel Rodríguez (11:15) and Gabriela Hernández (11:56) were the winners of the children's category. And outside of the competition there was a group of people who participated in the hiking modality, who enjoyed the trails of the race and the wonderful views offered by the top of Montaña Blanca.
