Vertical Montaña Blanca

Event information

About the event

The Vertical Montaña Blanca is the uphill race of the Montaña Blanca village festival, in the rural interior of San Bartolomé. It is organised by San Bartolomé council and Senderismo Lanzarote, and in 2026 it ran its 14th edition on Saturday 16 May, with 350 participants.

The best thing about this race is what its distances are called. Not “long”, “medium” and “short”, but Fanega, Almud and Cuartillo, largest to smallest, which are grain measures from Lanzarote’s farming vocabulary. It is the kind of detail a race invented to sell entries never comes up with.

In 2026 the Fanega was won by Sergio Machín Bernal (C.D. Latitud 29º) in 1:38:50 and Belinda Guillén Callero (Club Azarug Tinajo) in 2:28:39. The Almud went to Rubén Rodríguez Caraballo (1:05:21) and Nuria Muñoz Malagón (1:16:37), and the Cuartillo to (name withheld) (25:26) and Marika Medaglini (32:42).

Route and distances

Three distances, all starting and finishing at Montaña Blanca: Fanega over 20.4 km, Almud over 11 km and Cuartillo over 6 km. The programme is completed by a hiking route and a race for the youngest categories, so it is a full village day rather than just a race.

The ground is volcanic and the climb dictates everything. In the Cuartillo, six kilometres are settled in a little over twenty-five minutes: that tells you there is no room to ration effort here, you go out fast and hold on. In the Fanega the problem is the opposite, holding a rhythm once the gradient has already taken its cut.

Registration and status

The 2026 edition has been run and entries are closed. That year’s prices ran from 3 to 25 EUR depending on distance, among the lowest fees on the island calendar.

Entries were handled through RockTheSport, which is also where the next edition, the rules and the results will appear. No 2027 date has been announced.

Winners by edition

The times shown are for the Fanega, 20.4 km. The organisers published the winner of each distance, not the full podiums. The full write-up is in the 2026 race report.

Planning notes

It is a short but demanding race, good for anyone who wants intense trail running without committing to long distance. Bring shoes with real grip: climbing on loose ground, slipping costs more than going slowly.

Because it is tied to the festival, timings and entry caps are published at short notice and the shorter races fill quickly. If you are interested, watch RockTheSport as May approaches.