TRANSVULCANIA HISTORY: 16 YEARS ACROSS LA PALMA'S VOLCANIC SPINE
The Transvulcania Ultramarathon started in 2009 with 378 runners on the start line at the Fuencaliente lighthouse. Sixteen editions later, the race ranks among Europe's signature mountain ultras and has produced a list of winners that reads like a roll call of the sport's defining figures across the past two decades.
The 2009 Founding
The first edition ran on May 16, 2009. Salvador Calvo of Spain won the men's race in 9:00:36. Marta Prat, also of Spain, took the women's title in 13:37:51, a time that reflected both a smaller field and a course still being learned.
The race route ran the length of La Palma from the Fuencaliente lighthouse on the southern tip of the island to a finish in Los Llanos de Aridane on the western coast. The 73-kilometer distance and roughly 4,400 meters of elevation gain were ambitious by 2009 standards, when ultras of that profile were uncommon outside of a handful of established events. The volcanic terrain, including extended sections of loose ash, distinguished the race from typical mountain ultras held on rocky alpine paths.
The Early Years (2010-2011)
Miguel Heras of Spain won the second edition in 2010 in 8:09:32, a substantial improvement on Calvo's debut time but still well off what the race would eventually produce. Nerea Martínez took the women's title in 10:53:33. Heras returned in 2011 to defend his crown in 7:32:11, lowering the men's record by more than 30 minutes. Mónica Aguilera won the women's race in 10:00:03.
The dropping times reflected what was happening across mountain running globally. Athletes were learning how to pace volcanic ash sections, when to push the climb to Roque de los Muchachos at 2,421 meters, and how to attack the long descent to Los Llanos. The course was rewarding aggressive runners who treated it like a marathon with vertical added rather than a slow mountain march.
The Skyrunner World Series Era (2012-2019)
Transvulcania joined the Skyrunner World Series in 2012, immediately raising the international profile of the race. Dakota Jones of the United States won the men's race that year in 6:59:07, the first sub-seven-hour finish in race history. Anna Frost of New Zealand won the women's title in 8:11:31, beginning a relationship with the race that would produce a second victory.
The 2013 edition produced what remains the most discussed race in Transvulcania history. Kilian Jornet of Spain won the men's race in 6:54:09. The Catalan ultra-runner, already established as the dominant figure in mountain running, ran what observers described as a controlled effort, never appearing pressed across the technical sections or the climb. Jornet has not returned to win the race, making 2013 his only Transvulcania victory in the men's elite division. Emelie Forsberg of Sweden took the women's race in 8:13:22.
Frost returned in 2014 to win her second title in 8:10:41, with Luis Alberto Hernando of Spain taking the men's race in 6:55:41. Hernando's emergence began three consecutive men's titles. He won in 2015 in 6:52:39, the time that still stands as the men's course record more than a decade later. He completed his three-peat in 2016 in 7:04:44, slightly slower than his record but still convincing.
Ida Nilsson of Sweden claimed three consecutive women's titles in 2016, 2017, and 2018, running 8:14:18, 8:04:17, and 8:40:43 respectively. Her three-peat ranks alongside Hernando's as the most dominant streaks in race history.
Timothy Freriks of the United States won the 2017 men's race in 7:02:03, his only Transvulcania victory but a significant breakout performance that established him on the international circuit. Pere Aurell of Spain won 2018 in 7:37:26, and Thibaut Garriver of France took 2019 in 7:11:04. Ragna Dabats of Belgium-Netherlands won the 2019 women's race in 8:09:25.
The Pandemic Gap and UTMB World Series Years (2020-2023)
The race did not run in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the only multi-year gap in race history. The race returned in 2022 with a revised positioning, joining the UTMB World Series. Peter Engdahl of Sweden won the 2022 men's race in 7:10:29. Abby Hall of the United States took the women's title in 8:29:10.
Dakota Jones returned in 2023 to win his second Transvulcania men's title in 7:02:16, more than a decade after his 2012 breakthrough. Martina Valmassoi of Italy won the women's race in 9:09:13. The UTMB World Series years drew elite trail runners under the new global series structure, but the race's organizers eventually chose to step away from that affiliation.
The Independence Era (2024-Present)
Transvulcania ended its UTMB World Series affiliation after 2023, opting to operate independently with adidas TERREX as title sponsor beginning in 2024. The decision was framed as a return to the race's roots and an effort to recover what organizers called its essence.
Jonathan Albon of the United Kingdom won the 2024 men's race in 7:03:10. Ruth Croft of New Zealand set the current women's course record at 8:02:49, lowering a benchmark that had held since the previous decade. Croft's run was an aggressive effort across a course that had largely produced women's winning times in the 8:10-9:10 range.
The 2025 edition saw Peter Fraňo of Slovakia win his first Transvulcania title in 6:55:36, the third-fastest men's time in race history and within three minutes of Hernando's course record. Anne-Lise Rousset Séguret of France won the women's race in 8:18:17.
Course Records
Luis Alberto Hernando's 6:52:39 from 2015 has held for over a decade. Five different men have come within ten minutes of the record across the years, but no one has matched it. The combination of pacing, weather, and competition required to break the mark has not aligned. Ruth Croft's 8:02:49 from 2024 sits as the women's record, the first significant update to that benchmark in years.
The men's record runs are concentrated in years when the race held strong international fields and weather cooperated. Cool conditions in the central ridge sections and the absence of summit cloud have correlated with the fastest times. The 2026 edition, with sold-out half-marathon and marathon categories and the Ultra still drawing a deep field, will test whether the conditions can produce another record-attempt run.
Place in the Sport
Transvulcania occupies a specific role in European trail running's hierarchy. It is not the longest event on the continent, nor the most technical. What sets it apart is the combination of length and vertical terrain on volcanic gravel, the point-to-point format that runs across an entire island, and the deep history of elite winners spanning three decades of the sport's evolution.
The race has produced winners who went on to define mountain running globally, including Jornet, Frost, Hernando, Croft, and Jones. Its position in the racing calendar, falling in early May before the European mountain season opens fully, has made it both a fitness test and a season-defining target for many athletes. The 2026 edition will be the 16th running of an event that has weathered series changes, a pandemic, and shifts in the sport's commercial structure to remain a fixture on the international calendar.