Subida al Pico Veleta race

Subida al Pico Veleta, endurance running race

Subida al Pico Veleta (the Climb to Pico Veleta) is a 50km endurance race in the Sierra Nevada mountain range including a cumulative altitude gain of 2,705m to the top of the fourth highest peak in Spain.

The Subida al Pico Veleta event as a whole offers a variety of competitions to allow people of all running abilities and profiles to take part. The main event is the 50km endurance race to the summit of Pico Veleta. Alternatively, participants can complete the same distance by teaming up with a partner in a relay format of the race. There is also a competition with a shorter route of 11km, known as the mini-climb.

Full course 50km route: Starts in Granada city at the Templete del Paseo del Salón, heads towards Sierra Nevada along Avenida Carretera de la Sierra passing through the municipalities of Cenes de la Vega, Pinos Genil, Ctra. S. Nevada.

Mini climb 11km route: Begins from the Hoya de la Mora barrier on the road just above Pradollano resort in the Sierra Nevada, contestants will run through the Sierra Nevada Natural Park to the outskirts of Pico Veleta, cliimbing 870 metres.

The Subida Internacional al Pico Veleta begain in 1985 when three runners from Granada and a runner from Valencia set themselves the crazy challenge: to unite Granada city with the Pico Veleta. since then more than 750 participants have sought to emulate the feat. 

Subido al pico Veleta 2024

The 2024 edition of Subida al Pico Veleta, the 38th in the event's history, took place on 4th August 2024, with both the competition for individuals and relay pairs on the full course starting at 07:00 hrs and the mini climb of 11km starting at 10:00hrs.

Rachid el Morabity, 'the king of the desert' is crowned again on the Veleta Peak climb. The ten-times winner of the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, Rachid El Morabity was relentless in Europe's toughest race to retain his title, improving on last year's record (3:54:43) for the uphill 50km. Alejandra Sánchez Massa from Madrid won the women's race with a spectacular time of 5:02:22. In the 11km Minisubida, the victories went to José Alberto Ramírez and Ana Canovas.

The sunrise in Granada served as a postcard setting for the start of the challenge. From the Paseo del Salón in Granada city, the runners set out at 07.00 hrs to complete these 50 demanding kilometres, with more than 2,705 metres of climb to overcome until they reached the summit.  Before the starting gun was fired, a round of applause was given to the Granada walker María Pérez, recent Olympic silver medallist in Paris, and to the ' founding' father of the La Valeta race, Enrique Carmona, who once again took part.

The first 11 kilometres served as a warm-up, bringing the participants close to the Sierra Nevada. From that point onwards, the steepest slopes began, these make the International Climb to Pico Veleta the toughest race in the world all the way to the finish line at Pico Veleta, 3,396 metres above sea level.

Rachid El Morabity repeated last year's triumph. The mountain pushed the Moroccan Rachid El Morabity to reach the summit, improving by more than 10 minutes his record from last year, to cross the finish line in 3:54:43. "Many thanks to the organisation for doing everything possible for me to be here and to be able to experience this magical race", said the Moroccan athlete.

In the fight for the podium, a legend of the Subida al Pico Veleta. Ignacio Morón (4:03:48) climbed the podium for the ninth time in this race, an example of perseverance and fight, a perfect representation of the participant of this race. The podium was completed by Samuel Palomera Svensson, winner in 2022, who this year had to settle for bronze (4:09:30).

For her part, Alejandra Sánchez Massa from Madrid became the new queen of Pico Veleta. With a time of 5:02:22, she beat Esperanza López Centella (5:35:55) and Mayte Vera (5:59:14). "It's a tough but magnificent race. I have adapted very well to the conditions and I have fallen in love with the scenery. It is a totally recommendable race", declared the light athlete from Madrid at the summit.

The Ascent of Pico Veleta can also be done in relays, to share in the personal glory of mastering a major challenge such as this. By relays, each team member running 25 kilometres each. The fastest teams were Atracón Running Pérez-Hoyo (men), BPACCII Mercado-Riquelme (women) and Cárdenas-Sports García Núñez (mixed).

The prize-giving ceremony was held in Pradollano, the Sierra Nevada ski resort.

For more information visit subidaveleta.com/.

For information about other endurance events in Andalucia visit - Endurance Running and Biking.