Desafío Octava Isla 2019. The amazing La Graciosa sporting event.
On March 9th and 10th, La Graciosa will host the Desafío Octava Isla event. La Graciosa is known as the eighth Canary Island, hence the name of the competition. Desafío Octava Isla is an event that mixes extreme sport with the beautiful nature of the island. In this unique island, that belongs to a Natural Reserve, the participants will compete in two modalities: Triathlon-Cross and Trail. And it’s not going to be an easy tournament, hence it’s named by ‘Desafío’ which means ‘challenge’.
The deadline for inscriptions to this event for this year is February 27, 2019.
Calendar and races
On Saturday, March 19th, the challenge will start at 11 am with the Triathlon-Cross, both individual and by teams. This Triathlon will consist of 1000 meters swimming in the waters of the dock of Caleta de Sebo in La Graciosa. After the swim, the race will continue with the 20km mountain bike challenge through a circuit that starts in the village towards Llanos de la Mareta, passing through Pedro Barba, Playa del Ámbar and Las Conchas beach. and returning through the Llanos de la Mareta to Caleta de Sebo where, to finish, the triathletes will have to run the 6km of the race on foot through a sand course that will hinder their race, in the direction of Playa Francesa until they reach the finish line. This triathlon can be done individually or in teams, through relays. At 14:30 the trophies will be awarded to the winning athletes of the Triathlon.
The participants will hardly have time to recover their strength, because on Sunday, March 10th at 10:30 am, the Trail race will begin from Caleta de Sebo, with the modalities of 31 km, 20 km or 8 km. This year a new 8 km Company Trail has been incorporated, consisting of a team race of three people from the same company that will do the short 8km route.
The route of the 31km Trail modality has its exit at the dock of Caleta de Sebo and runs through the town until it connects with the path that surrounds La Montaña del Mojón, then continues to Montaña Amarilla where it turns to the intersection of the Llanos de la Mareta. With Las Conchas Beach, the route continues along the Bermeja Mountain to Playa del Ámbar, bordering the coast to the village of Pedro Barba, Baja del Ratón and ending at the finish line located in Caleta de Sebo.
As for the route drawn for the 20km Trail modality, the departure takes place at the Caleta de Sebo pier connecting the route through the town with the main road in the direction of Playa de Las Conchas, the Montaña Bermeja will also be bordering to the Playa del Ámbar, continuing the route to the finish as in the Trail 31km.
For the two modalities of Trail 8 km, the route is similar to that of the 20 km Trail, but on the main road you will take the path that leads to the ravine of Lo Conejos. Here is a meeting point with the runners of the other modalities.
It should be noted that there on this day another trail is hosted – a Trail for children“La Graciosa Trail Kids” for younger athletes, younger than 16 years old. This Trail will not take place during the adult modalities. Children who want to participate in this race, will have to start their Trail the day before, on Saturday March 9th at 4:00 pm in Caleta de Sebo (La Graciosa).
Organization of the event
This event, organized by Island Sports Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Sports, will end with only a winner. This champion will be the one who obtains the best classification between the Triathlon-Cross and the Trail 31 (and who has been registered in this modality) and he will be crowned the winner of the Desafio Octava Isla 2019
If you want to know everything about the routes of each competition, on the website of the Cabildo de Lanzarote you will find the maps of each circuit, the rules of the competition and the list of confirmed entries.
In this video you can see how the experience of this “Desafio Octava Isla” in 2017.
Come to visit La Graciosa during the Desafío Octava Isla
The island is full of participants as well as spectators, children and adults. A large crowd willing to experience this event, famous among the Canary Islands and among the sporting world in general.
You will enjoy both the thrilling atmosphere during the days of the competition and the wonderful scenery and spectacular weather of this extraordinary island.
If you feel that the dates of Desafío Octava Isla do not allow you to travel to La Graciosa, do not forget that there is also another competition that takes place annually between September and October and it is of great repercussion, the Travesía a nado EL RÍO. This race consists in crossing the El Río River, the Marine Reserve that connects Lanzarote with La Graciosa Island. Although the start of the competition is from Playa de Bajo Risco in Lanzarote, the whole initial organization, parade, warm-up, etc., is done at the Caleta de Sebo wharf. From there, the boats depart to take the competitors to the starting line at the Playa de Bajo Risco, to finish the race again on La Graciosa. Registration deadlines are usually published in mid-June.
We take you to La Graciosa island
Two days of intense competition between the dunes and the sandy streets of La Graciosa. You cannot miss out this opportunity! Do you want to go to La Graciosa to experience these intense days of excitement and sport? Book your ferry online now and board directly without queues or waiting. Make sure you have your ticket to witness the Desafío Octava Isla live event!
If you wish to participate in future editions, you should bear in mind that registrations are opened months before the event due to the large number of participants. See you on board!
