The Half Marathon closes the great weekend of Ultra Sierra Nevada

• Pablo Bautista (2:10:12) and Elena Cambil (2:41:47) win on a demanding 25 kilometre route with 2,150 metres of elevation gain between Pinos Genil and Pradollano.

The eighth edition of Ultra Sierra Nevada completed its programme of races on Sunday with the celebration of the Half Marathon, a distance that is a priori more accessible and whose premiere last year was a real success in terms of participation. On this occasion, the bibs for the Half Marathon were also easily sold out, even though the route is by no means easy. We are talking about a demanding route of 25 kilometres in distance and 2,150 metres of positive difference in altitude. Practically the entire route is uphill from the town of Pinos Genil to the finish line in Pradollano.

At 9:00 in the morning around 300 participants took the start under a sun that accompanied the runners throughout the day. The fastest to complete the course were Pablo Bautista, whose finishing time was 2:10:12, and Elena Cambil, with a time of 2:41:47. The rest of the participants continued to arrive until 14:00 in the afternoon, completing the party and putting the finishing touch to an intense weekend of mountain, sport and snow.

Positive balance

Without a doubt, this edition was the most difficult in the almost ten years of the Andalusian event's existence. The heavy snow that fell on Thursday made both the logistics of the organisation and the athletes' progress on the terrain difficult, especially the participants in the EXTREME category (100-mile distance).

José Manuel Toledo, CEO of TerraIncognita, made this assessment of the course of the event: "Despite the harsh weather that the runners endured, especially the participants in the EXTREME and Ultra categories, the race was once again a success in all aspects. For us, the safety and integrity of the athletes is an absolute priority and that is why we took the decision on Friday to shorten two sections that could be dangerous. We are very proud to continue to grow and we greatly appreciate the commitment of all the participants year after year. Without a doubt, Ultra Sierra Nevada is an ultramarathon of reference not only in the national but also in the international calendar, as has been seen in the diversity of nationalities that have filled the podiums in this edition".

Press release: Daniel Sanabría - Communication Ultra Sierra Nevada. Sporting event organised by the TerraIncógnita Global Group with the support of Cetursa Sierra Nevada and the Granada City Council.

PHOTOS: BlackCoffeeStudio / TerraIncognita Sport

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)