Trail Running · La Palma

🇪🇸Transvulcania:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

74km with 4260m of gain and 3927m of loss, opening with a 17.9km climb of 1872m from near sea level to 2376m before a punishing 17.4km descent shedding 2363m.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Transvulcania — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

74.0 km

Distance

+4,210 m

Vertical Gain

−3,880 m

Total Descent

May 8, 2027

Next Edition · 297 days out

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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 74.0 km / 46.0 mi and 4,210 m / 13,830 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 74.0 km / 46.0 mi and 4,210 m / 13,830 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Segments

Daylight

Terrain summary

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

74.0km

Distance

+4,260m

Gain

+0.0 km−50 m

GPS-Measured

74.0km

Distance

+4,210m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+4,210 mTotal Gain

−3,880 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

24%

Flat

≤3% grade

29%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

12%

Steep Climb

>15% up

35%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Descent

KM 52.0–69.3 · −2,363 m

-13.6%

ClimbCRUX

KM 0.1–18.0 · +1,872 m

+10.5%

Climb

KM 30.3–38.3 · +676 m

+8.5%

Descent

KM 19.8–25.4 · −459 m

-8.2%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

Reference finish times from past results — use them to set a realistic goal pace.

6h 32m

Winning time

6h 49m

Top 5

7h 06m

Top 10

13h 52m

Median finisher

16h 00m

Back of pack

What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Descending carries 50% of the scoring weight on this course — the terrain makes that the deciding factor.

Weighting shows where readiness is won or lost at this distance — not whether you need each pillar. An aerobic base is a given for a race this long, so it carries little deciding weight even though it's essential — the gaps open on the climbs, descents and the back half.

AerobicSustained engine

Foundational

Sustained effort across 74km with 10 climbs; steady engine required over long duration.

ClimbingVertical power

22%

4260m total gain across 10 climbs, including a single 1872m ascent at 10.5% average.

DescendingEccentric / braking

50%

3927m of loss over 6 descents, headlined by a 2363m drop at -13.6%.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

28%

Long day of repeated steep transitions; legs must survive massive descending late.

The Profile in One Line

A relentless up-and-down course where a massive opening climb sets up an even bigger, quad-destroying descent.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 22%Descending 50%Durability 28%

Here's how CourseRecon reads a course and an athlete

Sample Readiness Analysis

What a readiness result looks like for this course

This is a worked example for a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete — not your score. Connect your own training and the same analysis runs on you.

Sample

OUT OF 100

MOSTLY READY

For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

This is a sample — connect your Strava to see your own result.

Pillar Breakdown

Aerobic

With 74km and 10 climbs, the aerobic system must hold a steady output across a long day, though the course's demands lean toward strength over pure endurance.

Climbing

Very steep climbing dominates at 31.5% of the course, and the opening 17.9km ascent gaining 1872m at 10.5% forces sustained uphill power early.

Descending

Descending carries the heaviest demand at 3927m total loss, with a 17.4km, 2363m descent at -13.6% that requires braking control and eccentric strength.

Durability

Ten climbs and six descents totaling over 8000m of vertical change punish the legs, with the biggest descent arriving after 52km when fatigue is highest.

km 0–18

The Opening Ascent

From near sea level at 19m, the course climbs 1872m over 17.9km at 10.5% straight to high ground, demanding controlled uphill pacing before any descending begins.

km 52–69

The Long Descent

A 17.4km descent shedding 2363m at -13.6% average tests braking control and eccentric leg strength after 52km of accumulated fatigue.

whole course

Relentless Vertical

With 4260m gain and 3927m loss across 10 climbs and 6 descents, there is almost no flat relief—only 8% of the course sits at 3% grade or less.

That was a sample