Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® 2027: routes, distances and key details

Plan your race pace

The Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® once again puts the island at the center of European trail running with a proposal that blends extreme altitude, volcanic landscape and sea on the same map. The 2027 edition takes place from April 8 to 10 and comes with important changes: a new 68-kilometer race, the evolution of the historic 73k into an 82-kilometer course, and a redesign of the Vertical Night Challenge, which adds meters and starts for the first time from a beach.

The race keeps its great hallmarks: the passage through Teide National Park, the contrast between coast and summit, and its place within the UTMB World Series. In practice, that means a benchmark event for mountain runners looking for more than a long race: they are looking for a crossing through an island that changes skin several times in just a few hours.

An island that turns every kilometer into a change of scene

The strength of this race is not only in its numbers, but in how those numbers translate on the ground. Tenerife concentrates in a single route lava deserts, pine forests, laurel forest and natural balconies over the Atlantic. The result is a feeling of continuous travel, almost cinematic, where the runner moves from a harsh, mineral environment to another that is humid and green with disconcerting ease.

Teide, with its 3,555 meters of altitude, acts as the narrative and sporting axis of the race. Climbing to the highest peak in Spain means entering another physical register: the air thins, the cold can really bite, and the body stops negotiating comfortably. The organization and the reputation of the event rest precisely on that combination of beauty and toughness, a mix that has made the race one of the most photographed and talked-about on the international calendar.

The island also offers a singular setting for a sport that lives off relief. The runner does not see a uniform landscape, but a sequence of planes: the open coast, the volcanic trails, the Canary pine forests, the high areas exposed to the wind and, later, the descent toward the north, where the climate and vegetation transform again. Few races condense so clearly the idea of crossing an entire territory instead of merely moving through it.

The 2027 distances and the profile of each race

The 2027 edition brings together several formats designed for very different audiences, from runners looking for a major challenge to those who prefer a more contained experience, though not necessarily an easy one. The flagship race remains the 110k, with 110 kilometers and 6,250 meters of positive elevation gain, a distance that crosses the island from south to north and demands very fine management of effort, hydration and sleep.

Alongside it appears the 82k, which takes over from the old 73k with 82 kilometers and 3,300 meters of positive elevation gain. There is also the new 68k, with 68 kilometers and 3,600 meters of elevation gain, a distance that should not be mistaken for a smaller version of the 110k: in the mountains, fewer kilometers do not always mean less punishment, and the elevation gain reminds you of that right away. Added to these are the 47k, with 2,600 positive meters, the 47k Relay, the 24k with 1,300 positive meters and the Vertical Night Challenge, now 6.5 kilometers and 850 meters of elevation gain.

The structure of distances reveals a clear logic: to offer an entry point into the race universe without diluting its identity. The 24k serves as an access format, the 47k keeps a very high level of demand and the 110k remains the emblem of the event, that version that gathers all the island’s epic character into a single long day. Between one and another, the 68k and the 82k widen the range for those looking for another balance point between ambition and suffering.

Beyond the race catalog, what matters is the kind of effort each one proposes. In Tenerife, the elevation gain has an almost vertical reading in some sections and the terrain forces you to run with caution. Changes of pace are paid for more than in other races, the descents wear you down as much as the climbs, and the surroundings, as beautiful as they are unpredictable, demand constant attention. This is not a pure speed race; it is a test of control, reading the course and mental endurance.

The 110k, the race that defines the event’s character

The long distance is the one that best sums up the personality of the Bluetrail. It is 110 kilometers that start in the southern area, in Los Cristianos, and move toward the north of the island until Puerto de la Cruz, with Teide at the center of the story. The route turns the race into a kind of geographical and atmospheric crossing: heat on the coast, cold at altitude, darkness in certain sections, wind in exposed areas and humidity when the route approaches the northern forests.

In this format, the mountain stops being an isolated obstacle and becomes the guiding thread. The runner climbs toward Vilaflor, one of the highest enclaves in Spain, enters Teide National Park and reaches a landscape that seems detached from the Atlantic: volcanic rock, mineral sand, open slopes and a clear horizon that, with luck, lets you see the so-called sea of clouds. That visual contrast marks the memory of the race as much as the physical effort.

The 110k also carries significant competitive weight within the UTMB circuit, with the 100M category and four Running Stones. That places it in an international sphere of interest, although reducing the race to its qualifying value would be missing the point. Most of those who take it on speak about the overall experience: the journey, the island, the toughness and the feeling of moving through a territory with its own personality, almost a small athletic expedition.

The logistics of a race like this are not improvised. The start in the south and the finish in the north require careful planning for the stay, and the nighttime schedule adds complexity. In return, the symbolic reward is huge: running from the beach to the highest peak in Spain and finishing again near the sea is a sequence that few races in Europe can offer so clearly.

Vertical Night Challenge, 47k and 24k: three different ways to measure ambition

The Vertical Night Challenge, with 6.5 kilometers and 850 meters of positive elevation gain, has earned its own place because it concentrates the tension of the climb in a short, nighttime format. The start from the beach, one of the new features for 2027, adds a very powerful scenic element: a start by the sea, the ascent in darkness and a finish that rewards the ability to sustain effort without complete visual references.

The 47k occupies another territory: enough distance to demand skill, but still manageable enough for those who want to compete in the mountains without entering the ultradistance zone. Its 2,600 positive meters require a combination of pace, caution and fueling. The Relay version, moreover, opens a different door to a collective approach, something quite unusual in races of this profile.

The 24k is the most contained option within a framework that is still tough. Its 1,300 meters of elevation gain do not allow you to relax, because Tenerife’s profile rarely gives away easy meters. It is a distance designed to discover the terrain without entering the extremes of ultradistance, although in the mountains the adjective easy usually lasts very little when the elevation gain bites or the heat and wind take turns wearing you down.

Altogether, these formats work as a stepped entry map. Anyone arriving at the event for the first time can choose a shorter format and see firsthand how the island behaves. Those looking for a serious challenge without going to the longest distances will find in the 47k or 68k an ideal terrain. And those pursuing a long-distance experience have in the 82k and 110k two hugely demanding bets. The variety does not dilute the race: it expands it.

UTMB World Series, Running Stones and the weight of qualification

Since 2024, the race has been part of the UTMB World Series, a leap that further strengthened its international projection. That integration has not only increased the event’s visibility, but also consolidated its role within the trail calendar as a race capable of attracting runners from many different countries with a common interest: running in an extreme environment and earning useful results for other sporting goals.

The relationship with the Running Stones and UTMB qualification has also changed the conversation around the race. For some runners, the event is a strategic stop in their season; for others, it is the main reason for the trip. Both views coexist naturally because the race has enough identity to stand on its own. It does not depend only on the circuit: the circuit benefits from it.

That tension between the competitive and the scenic is one of the keys to the Bluetrail’s success. In high-level mountain running, the surroundings matter, but the race also has to demand something. Tenerife brings both things together. There is a very strong visual narrative, yes, but there is also elevation gain, technical terrain, sudden changes in temperature and sections where managing the body matters more than any impulse. That is why the event keeps its prestige even among those who are not thinking about points or rankings.

The 2027 edition, with its new configurations, reinforces that mix. The race adapts without losing character. It modernizes its offer without softening its essence. And it keeps an element that should not be underestimated: the feeling of being in a race where geography weighs as much as the bib.

The terrain, the climate and the real reading of the mountain

Tenerife is not a comfortable island in sporting terms, even if it may seem so at first glance because of its mild climate and tourist image. In the Bluetrail, that perception breaks quickly. The route can move from dry, abrasive volcanic surfaces to wooded areas, from the warm coast to the high altitude with cold wind, and from open sections to narrower, more technical paths. The variety of the terrain is part of the challenge, not just a decorative touch.

The passage through Teide adds an almost alpine dimension in an Atlantic context. At 3,555 meters, the body responds differently and the effort reference changes. The runner must take into account altitude, cold, solar radiation and the possible accumulated fatigue of long hours of racing. That is why this race is so memorable: you are not only running far, you are also running high, and that introduces a layer of complexity that the clock does not always reflect.

The famous image of the sea of clouds sums up well the kind of experience the island proposes. From certain elevations, the view falls onto a thick, silent white mass, while the peaks rise above it like islands within the island. It is a landscape that dazzles, but it can also deceive; beauty does not reduce the toughness of the terrain. On the contrary, it intensifies it, because the runner knows that behind every postcard there are meters, heartbeats and pace decisions.

That balance between spectacle and demand is what keeps the event’s legend alive. In other races, the surroundings accompany. Here, the surroundings lead. And they do so in several languages: heat, cold, rock, wind, darkness and altitude. The Bluetrail is not understood only as a race, but as a complete reading of the island.

What changed in 2027 and why it matters

The 2027 changes are not cosmetic. The arrival of the 68k broadens the range of options without breaking the event’s logic, while the transformation of the 73k into an 82k points to a more ambitious race, more in line with the profile of a major mountain event. The redesign of the Vertical Night Challenge, for its part, brings it even closer to the athletic and scenic experience that defines the race.

The continuity of the emblematic distances also matters. Keeping the 110k, the 47k and the 24k preserves the backbone of the event and prevents the new features from taking away personality from the edition. The organization seems to have understood that growth should not come at the expense of the runner’s memory. Change, yes, but without erasing identity.

In editorial terms, that says a lot about the race. The events that survive and grow over time usually do so because they know how to combine tradition and fine-tuning. Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® fits that category. It has a clear story, a very recognizable territory and a system of distances that allows the mountain to be interpreted from several angles. It is not a festival of races without a common thread; it is the same universe with different entry points.

That is why its interest does not end on race day. The event shapes the trail imagination in the Canary Islands with special force: volcano, altitude, coast, forest, night and ocean coexist in a single experience. And that density of stimuli explains why so many runners look back toward Tenerife with the feeling that there the mountain does not just go up and down. There, the mountain also tells a story.

An event that keeps growing without losing its own accent

The Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB® has gone from being a singular race to becoming an international reference with its own voice. Its prestige does not come only from the circuit it belongs to, but from the material it is made of: a volcanic island, a severe elevation profile and a staging that mixes toughness and beauty without apologizing for either of them.

In 2027, the race reaffirms that identity with measured changes and a richer offer. The runner will find new distances, updated routes and the same great backdrop: Teide as a symbolic summit, the Atlantic as the horizon and Tenerife as a territory that forces you to look at trail running from another perspective. This is a race that does not just add kilometers; it adds landscape, altitude and competitive memory.

The greatness of this event lies in the fact that each format tells a different version of the same island. The 24k shows it in a brief format. The 47k shows it with more harshness. The 68k and 82k widen the conversation. The 110k turns it into a complete crossing. And the Vertical Night Challenge brings the vertigo of pure ascent. Together they build a sporting portrait that explains why Tenerife, far from being just a sun destination, has earned a top place on the European trail map.