Photos: Sergio Betancort
Nearly 300 runners gathered at the starting line of the fifth edition of the Tinajo X-Race, a race that this year had new features in the circuit and also in the starts. The participants of the "Media" (28 km) and "Open" (13.5 km) modalities, started in the Mancha Blanca area and the "Stater" (5.5 km) modality started in La Santa. The Cape Verdean Danilson Pereira and the Lanzarote native María Pilar Sosa were the absolute winners of the main race of the Tinajo X-Race.
At 09:00 hours the start was given to the "Media" and "Open" modalities of the Tinajo X-Race, concentrating all the runners in the starting area located in Mancha Blanca. Half an hour later the start was given to the "Starter" modality, in which many athletes who are starting in the sport of mountain racing participated. The finish line located in the town of La Santa was a constant arrival of runners.
The main category of the Tinajo X-Race was the "Media" modality, with a distance of 28 kilometers and scoring for the II Lanzarote Mountain Race Cup. The Cape Verdean Danilson Pereira of the Emicela Team did not disappoint and comfortably took the first place on the podium. He was almost seven minutes ahead of Javier Sosa of CAI Gran Canaria. Third in this category was the local Oscar Padrón, of MC2Action, 9 minutes and 12 seconds behind the Cape Verdean.
The differences in the women's classification were also wide. The race was dominated from the beginning by María Pilar Sosa, entering the finish line as the winner with a time of 3 hours, 19 minutes and 16 seconds. She was twenty minutes ahead of Mari Carmen García, of Carucat, who came in second position. Third classified was María Cecilia Baztán, of Amanus Running Club, with a time of 3:45:20
Joaquin Gomes and Laura Mulcahy, winners of the "Open" modality
The "Open" category, with a distance of 13.5 kilometers, was the most numerous in terms of participation. It was attended by one of the runners from Cape Verde, Joaquín Gomez "Quim" from the Emicela Team. Quim "flew" over the trails of Tinajo and reached the finish line with a time of 53 minutes and 2 seconds. He took a three-minute lead over the second classified, Álvaro Escuela, from the Jaira Team. Third was Majid Belouati, just one second behind his predecessor on the podium.
Regarding the women's category, Laura Mulcahy finished first with a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes and 50 seconds. The runner from Tri Activ Lanzarote was 1 minute and 14 seconds ahead of Gloria Cuellar. And the podium was completed with the third position of Cristina Rivero, with almost 7 minutes of difference with respect to the winner of the race.
Rafael Trinidad and Patricia Curbelo, winners of the "Starter" modality
Rafael Trinidad set a very strong pace from the beginning of the race in the "Starter" modality, with a distance of 5.5 kilometers, and followed by a large group of runners who wanted to catch up with him. Rafael Trinidad finished first with a time of 21 minutes and 53 seconds. He was 23 seconds ahead of Suso Albar from the Barceló Team and 27 seconds ahead of José Daniel Noda, from the Valdemoro Athletics Club.
In women's, Patricia Curbelo from CD Termesana reigned with a time of 33 minutes and 42 seconds. Just under a minute later Nereida Elvira entered the finish line and the podium was completed with the third position of Doris Krimm.
At the conclusion of the Tinajo X-Race, the participants commented on the hardness of the race, being surprised with respect to previous editions and advocating for maintaining this route due to its spectacular nature. The winners of each of the age groups and the general received their trophies in a healthy atmosphere of sports cordiality and enjoying a pleasant time in the town of La Santa. Accompanied by good weather and music, with a concert by "Emisora Clandestina" that put the finishing touch to the fifth edition of the Tinajo X-Race.
During the awards ceremony, the organization and the runners from Cape Verde, Joaquín Gomes and Danilson Pereira, presented a souvenir to the family of Félix Morales. He was one of the great defenders of sports in the municipality of Tinajo and since its birth, he was a tireless collaborator of the Tinajo X-Race. The Cape Verdeans were in charge of giving the souvenir to the son of Félix Morales, thanking him for the kind treatment they always received from his father.
