Arrecife confirms date and details for its 2026 supersprint duathlon

Plan your race pace

The II Arrecife City Supersprint Duathlon will take place on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026, at noon, according to the confirmed date for the event. The course combines 2.5 kilometres of running, 8 kilometres of cycling and a final 1.5-kilometre run on an urban route closed to traffic. Registration remains open until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 7.

The event will count toward the Canary Islands Supersprint Duathlon Championship, the Supersprint Duathlon Club Championship and the Children’s, Cadet and Youth Duathlon Championship. Published entry fees range from €5 to €35, depending on age group and federation status. Although the December date is now confirmed, some technical documents still available were prepared for the original February event; schedules, course maps and some competition details therefore need to be read carefully.

Event date, venue and status

The event is scheduled to take place in Arrecife, Lanzarote, with the start listed for midday. The federation opened a new registration period from May 6 to Dec. 7, 2026, and the registration platform also lists Dec. 12 as the race date. The additional event information confirms that date, while an earlier federation news post continued to show Oct. 31 for several months.

The discrepancy reflects uneven updates across the event’s information channels. The duathlon was first rescheduled for Oct. 31, but the current calendar and registration system later changed to Dec. 12. The old notice should not be confused with the current schedule: the confirmed date for this edition is Dec. 12.

The race was originally scheduled for Feb. 28. On Feb. 27, it was postponed after the Canary Islands government and Arrecife City Council suspended outdoor activities in Lanzarote because of severe weather. According to information published by the federation, entries made for the original date remain valid, while participants unable to attend the new event could request a refund within the announced deadline.

A Canary Islands championship with several age groups

This is more than an elite competition. The federation’s programme presents it as a regional championship for individual and club supersprint, alongside the Canary Islands championship for children, cadets and youth athletes. The day also includes children’s and participation races for younger competitors, so the age-12 threshold cited for the championship does not necessarily apply to every event held that day.

The event is organized by the Canary Islands Triathlon Federation and Arrecife City Council. The event director listed in the documents is José Israel Caraballo Nieves. The official presentation took place at La Recova, although that does not identify the exact start line or final finish location.

The age-group format brings athletes of different ages and abilities together. For spectators, the sequence can turn the city centre into a changing sports venue: younger athletes have shorter races, while competitive heats may include semifinals and finals if the number of entries requires them. Youth participation is part of the event’s design, not a minor addition to the main race.

Distances and course features

The announced supersprint distance is 2.5 kilometres of running, 8 kilometres of cycling and a final 1.5-kilometre run. The first leg is completed in two laps, the cycling in four and the final run in one. That makes 12 kilometres across three disciplines and two transitions, although final distances remain subject to validation by the race technical delegate.

The route described in the available documents is urban and will be fully closed to traffic. The first running leg is planned as a flat out-and-back course, with three turning points and an anticlockwise direction. Four cycling laps mean repeated turns and make positioning within the group important; drafting between athletes of the same gender is permitted on the bike leg.

No precise start-and-finish address or updated December course map has been published in the available information. The original technical briefing placed number collection at a timing tent near the finish area, but did not specify the street where it would be set up. That detail matters to competitors and to anyone planning travel or hoping to watch from a fixed point.

How to read the rules and schedule

The published rules were prepared for the original Feb. 28 date and had not been replaced by a December-specific version in the documents reviewed. They therefore include deadlines and schedules that no longer match the current event, although they also provide useful technical information about the format. For example, current registration does not close in February: the active deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 7.

One rule to note is a 32-minute cutoff for starting the final running leg. If a competitor is still in the transition area when that time is reached, the referee may prevent them from starting the final section. This matters in a short event, where a slow transition or mechanical issue can use up a significant share of the available time.

The old programme listed morning number collection, a bike check from 10 to 11:30 a.m., call-up at 11:45 a.m. and starts from noon. It also included youth races, finals and an awards ceremony at 4:30 p.m. However, the documents themselves differed on number-collection times and were prepared for February. The noon start is listed on the current event page; the remaining times should be confirmed against an updated programme before making plans.

Semifinals, finals and age groups

Whether semifinals are held depends on the number of entrants in each gender. The rules provide for a direct final with fewer than 30 entrants; higher numbers call for qualifying heats and advancement based on results. The documents are not entirely consistent: the descriptive section mentions 40 finalists, while the rules section specifies different criteria. The competition rules and technical officials’ announcements will determine the final format for race day.

The age groups for the regional championship should also be distinguished from the participation races. The children’s category starts at age 12 for the championship described, but the previous day’s programme included races for younger athletes in the Alevín, Benjamín and Prebenjamín groups. The fee information also covers children’s entries from Prebenjamín through Infantil, confirming that the event includes several age brackets.

The sequence of semifinals and finals in the February programme may help explain the planned structure, but it should not be treated as a definitive December timetable. The number of entrants can change the heats. For competitors, the age group, assigned start time and route to the final depend on updated technical information, not just the old calendar.

Registration, fees and eligibility

Entries are handled through the federation’s registration platform. The published period opened at noon on May 6, 2026, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 7. The event page lists the race as open and sets the fees before management charges; the published amounts include taxes.

The supersprint entry fee is €25 for federation-licensed athletes and €35 for those without a licence. For youth categories, fees are €5 for licensed athletes and €10 for non-licensed athletes. The difference reflects federation status and age group; the final payment may be higher because the platform’s management charges are not included.

The documents say that athletes with a valid 2026 triathlon licence may compete, as may those without a licence who purchase one-day insurance during registration. The old rules contain a February deadline that became outdated after the postponement and should not be used to determine the current closing date. No entry-cap figure is specified in the available information.

What is confirmed and what remains unpublished

The current event page lists the date, announced start time, general distances, fees and registration deadline. It also identifies the championships, organizers and licence or one-day insurance requirement. Those details make it possible to understand the event and estimate basic costs without confusing it with the RCNA triathlon in July, which is a separate race with different distances.

By contrast, the precise start and finish location, final course map and December timetable are not settled by the older documents. The technical briefings and rules reviewed were for the February date; some information may remain valid, but it should not be assumed that every detail does. The main practical caution is to separate useful technical rules from an outdated schedule.

A traffic-free urban course could make the event easier to follow: because it uses laps, spectators may be able to see competitors several times from a nearby spot. That advantage depends on the final route, which has not yet been specified in the available information. Visitors travelling from outside Lanzarote should confirm the location and schedule before booking around a map or programme from the postponed date.

A December race day on the streets of Arrecife

The December edition turns a race postponed because of severe weather into a late-season fixture on the Canary Islands calendar. In a supersprint, there is little room to hold back: the legs are short, transitions come quickly and each turn demands a return to pace. The mix of running and cycling calls for constant attention on the course and in transition.

Arrecife will host an event combining regional competition, youth categories and club participation. That gives it a broader character than a race limited to the elite field, while the traffic-free course and repeated laps could bring the action closer to spectators. The confirmed date is Dec. 12, 2026; final course and schedule details will complete the picture of a race day whose sporting framework is already in place.