Tinajo’s volcanic trail race delivered drama and podiums in 2026

Plan your race pace

The 12th edition of the La Vegueta trail race took place on June 26 and 27, 2026, in Tinajo as part of the Nuestra Señora de Regla festivities. The programme included a 10.5-kilometre race, a 5.5-kilometre race, a hiking route and the children’s Chinijos Trail. The longer distance, held on Saturday afternoon, counted towards the Tinajo Popular Races Cup.

The event brought competition and local celebration together in a setting shaped by dirt tracks, farmland and Lanzarote’s volcanic landscape. The start and finish were at 18 Calle La Morra, in La Vegueta. The 2026 results named Adrián Hernández Delgado and Anya Lamprecht Alfonso as the winners of the 10.5-kilometre race, while the shorter formats opened participation to other ages and abilities.

A race woven into La Vegueta’s festivities

The event reached its 12th edition in 2026 and once again formed part of the Nuestra Señora de Regla celebrations. The La Vegueta festival committee organised it with Tinajo’s Department of Sports, with support from Sam Parfums and Cronoline Eventos. Its connection to the festivities gives the race the feel of a community gathering: alongside runners, the programme brought together families, walkers and spectators who could follow the action from the village itself.

The competition was spread across Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27. Friday was set aside for bib collection and the children’s race, while Saturday hosted the adult events and the walking route. The afternoon schedule aimed to avoid the hottest hours, which are common in Lanzarote at the start of summer. Even so, sun exposure and temperature were factors participants needed to consider before setting off.

The varied format meant the day did not revolve solely around the elite standings. The children’s event, known as the Chinijos Trail, introduced younger participants to the sport; the walk offered a non-competitive option, and the two running distances presented different levels of challenge. This blend, common at popular local events, makes the race a shared activity rather than just a conventional mountain-running competition.

Distances, start times and a route over volcanic ground

The main event covered 10.5 kilometres and started at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The route headed towards Yuco, crossed areas of sand-covered farmland and completed a loop around a volcanic cone west of La Vegueta, between the village and Tinajo. It combined trails and dirt tracks beside cultivated land, with a surface that alternates between firm ground and stretches whose condition can vary.

The 5.5-kilometre race started five minutes later, at 5:05 p.m., and shared the longer course’s surroundings. The walking event followed on the short circuit. The children’s race took place on Friday at 6 p.m. Although some event listings rounded the distances to 10 and 5 kilometres, the detailed information for the edition gave them as 10.5 and 5.5 kilometres, the more precise reference for the 2026 routes.

The organisers did not publish a confirmed figure for total elevation gain in the rules or available maps. The course’s difficulty therefore cannot be described through an ascent figure alone: the ground, local slopes and running pace also affect the challenge. The rural tracks and open landscape make this different from a high-mountain trail, but uneven surfaces still call for careful foot placement.

The routes used public tracks and roads that were not closed to traffic. This required care and compliance with road rules, particularly at crossings or where runners and vehicles might meet. Course maps were published in JPG and KMZ formats, useful for checking the route on a map and getting a general sense of its direction.

What the course demanded of participants

The rural character of the route did not mean that every section was the same. Dirt trails between fields can be dusty, stony or variable underfoot, while the sand-covered farmland has a different surface from a compacted track. The loop around the volcanic cone provides a recognisable landmark, but the available information did not specify elevation or enough detail to calculate how long each section might take.

The event rules also did not include a detailed map of aid stations. These points doubled as checkpoints, but their number and exact locations were not stated publicly. Since cups were not supplied, each runner had to carry their own water container, along with a race bib and timing chip. That practical detail matters: participants needed a hydration system compatible with the rules.

The organisers recommended a charged mobile phone, suitable trail clothing, a cap, sun protection and photo ID. Poles were the only permitted technical aid. At a June event in Lanzarote, a cap and sun protection are not minor accessories: open ground may offer little shade and late-afternoon sunlight can still be strong. Clothing and footwear also needed to suit unpaved tracks and exposure to the elements.

Only the longer distance had a cut-off time, but the specific deadline was announced during bib collection or the technical briefing. It was not included in the reference information, so no precise time can be stated here. Such limits help organisers manage the event and safety, but participants needed to confirm the final details before starting.

Registration, fees and bib collection

Registration opened on April 10 and closed at 11:59 p.m. on June 24, 2026, unless the participant limit was reached sooner. Prices remained unchanged throughout registration: 15 euros for the 10.5-kilometre race, 10 euros for the 5.5-kilometre event, 6 euros for hiking and 3 euros for the children’s race. The available information stated that refunds and transfers to another participant were not accepted.

Bib collection took place from 4 p.m. on Friday, June 26. The collection deadline was 5:30 p.m. for the children’s event and 8 p.m. for all other formats. The schedule allowed participants to collect their race materials before their respective starts, although those in the children’s race had a shorter window. A bib and timing chip were compulsory for competitors.

Categories were based on the age reached by December 31 of the race year and applied to both the men’s and women’s standings. They included Infantil, ages 12 to 14; Cadete, 15 to 16; Juvenil, 17 to 18; Júnior, 19 to 20; Promesa, 21 to 23; Sénior, 24 to 39; Veterano A, 40 to 49; Veterano B, 50 to 59; and Veterano C, age 60 and over. The range of groups reflected the aim of welcoming participants from different generations.

Results and podiums from the 2026 edition

A total of 125 runners finished the 10.5-kilometre race. Adrián Hernández Delgado of CAT Alcorcón won the men’s event in 40 minutes, 54 seconds. Tanausú Cabrera Albelo of C.M. El Jable finished in 41:17, while Raúl Caraballo Santos of Los Chic@s del Norte completed the podium in 41:36.

Anya Lamprecht Alfonso of CD Latitud 29 led the women’s race over the same distance in 51:02. Sara Rivas Guerra of Club Atletismo Bahía de Cádiz came second in 54:36, and Cris Molina of Todo por un Sueño finished third in 55:17. The gap between first and third place was just over four minutes, while the three men on the podium were separated by less than a minute.

The 5.5-kilometre race had 140 finishers. Aurora García Guerra of San Isidro Rugby Club won the women’s event in 29:32. Evelyne Maya Torres-Másik was second in 30:20, and Madalina Miclea finished third in 33:21. In the men’s standings, the available record shows a first-place time of 21:40 but does not include the runner’s name; Nelson Santana Castellano recorded 24:24 and Samuel Lariño Fernández, 24:34.

The missing name in that first result means the information should not be completed by guesswork. Full results were published in the event report. The available historical record lists Adrián Hernández Delgado and Anya Lamprecht Alfonso as the 2026 winners of the longer race, with the same times shown in their respective categories.

An event for runners, families and walkers

The programme combined competition with more accessible ways to take part. The walk on the short circuit let participants experience the landscape without competing, while the children’s event had a dedicated place of its own. At an event linked to local festivities, this range allows people to join in for different reasons: running, walking, cheering or supporting family members.

With the start and finish in La Vegueta, much of the activity stayed close to the village. Spectators could follow the race from the finish area and stay for the awards ceremony, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. The local scale makes the event feel close-knit, though visitors still needed to consider traffic and shared public space during the busiest hours.

The longer distance counted towards the Tinajo Popular Races Cup, connecting the event with the municipality’s wider sports calendar. That ranking adds competitive interest for runners following the series but does not change the open nature of the programme. The shorter race, children’s event and walking route each had their own appeal for participants focused on finishing the course or enjoying the surroundings.

Tinajo’s landscape as part of the course

The route crossed a landscape where volcanic soil and farming sit close to the village. Sand-covered fields, a characteristic feature of parts of Lanzarote, create dark, porous surfaces that retain moisture, while dirt tracks connect plots and trails. The loop around the volcanic cone provides a clear geographic reference, although the route is best understood as a rural race rather than a high-mountain traverse.

The setting creates a different experience from an urban race. The course is not a continuous succession of streets and tarmac; runners must adjust their pace to the surface and pay attention at crossings. The absence of road closures also makes sharing the area part of the event. For spectators, the proximity of the village centre to the finish made it possible to follow the race without long transfers.

The reference information did not specify elevation or describe every turn in detail, so it would be misleading to assign technical characteristics that have not been confirmed. The JPG and KMZ maps provide a visual basis for getting familiar with the route, but a map does not replace course markers or instructions issued for each edition. In an event using public roads, awareness of the route is part of staying safe.

The next edition will require a new event announcement

The start times, fees, routes and conditions described here apply to the edition held in June 2026. They should not be treated as confirmed details for a future event: distances, dates, participant limits and rules may change. The information for the 12th edition places the event on Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, with the longer and shorter races on Saturday and the children’s event on Friday.

Tinajo’s calendar also includes the Tinajo You Trail, listed for September 4 and 5 and scoring in the local cup. That is a separate event, not a continuation of the La Vegueta course. Keeping the two races distinct helps avoid confusion when checking results, routes or registration deadlines for different events in the municipality.

The 2026 edition offered a full picture of a popular race combining sport, landscape and local life: two competitive distances, a walk, a children’s race and runners representing clubs from different places. In La Vegueta, the course remains connected to the village and its festivities; it winds through fields and shared tracks, with the volcanic cone in the background and the community visibly part of the day.