Quadruple Success at Transgrancanaria 2024
ETT athletes Meryl, Kris, Catalin and Hugh all had fantastic races during The North Face Transgrancanaria 2024, in the Marathon and Advanced events.
©️ @capturesbycookie / @runningtofeel - Meryl finished 7th in the Marathon
From windy tops to hot valley floors, this year’s TGC events threw lots of different challenges at the runners. The legendary event, now part of the World Trail Majors series, attracted a world-class roster of athletes and delivered fantastic atmosphere. It was also the setting for some superb early season performance for the Elite Trail Team athletes.
Starting on the Friday, Kris Jones ran a strong race in the Marathon, fending off the competition and holding on to a blistering pace in the heat. He took home a superb 5th place as reward. He was shortly followed at the finish line by Meryl Cooper, whose fourth appearance on the island was crowned with a fantastic 7th place in the women’s Marathon. Both Meryl and Kris were the first British runners to finish, in a race that attracted a strong British field as it was a recommended race to compete in for those looking to show fitness to the GB selectors for the European Athletics Off Road Running Championships. They both had to contend with the heat, but had followed a heat mitigation plan set by Performance Coach Doug that we’ll be sharing more about on the blog shortly.
Saturday saw Catalin Sorecau and Hugh Chatfield toeing the start line in the Advanced 84km race. Hugh started fast, passing the first time check in 6th, before moving up to finish in a fantastic 4th position. Catalin started in 14th and steadily passed runners to finish in a strong 7th place.
All four overtook runners in of the final 10km of their races, putting in well judged performances and showing the importance of pacing, nutrition and hydration strategies and adopting a mindset that allowed them to push all the way to the finish.
©️ @shitinthewoods - Kris working through the Marathon heat to head to a 5th place
Hugh after crossing the Advanced finish line in 4th
Catalin heading to the finish in 7th