Running in the Canary Islands

Running in the Canary Islands

Many of you know I love running. If I can, I prefer to run every day. When we went to the Canary Islands at the end of 2020 to hibernate, I thought to myself: “How will that actually go with all those vulcanic hills”? The answer to this is actually very simple. Because running in the Canary Islands is great..., isn't it? In this blog I will tell you about my running experiences on the islands of La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro

On our Activities page you have already read something about my running and how I started running. In 2020 I gained the necessary experience with running in the Netherlands but abroad I did not have much experience. Before I tell you about running in the Canary Islands, first some information about my running clothes and accessories.

I prefer to walk in Odlo clothing. When I started walking I started with this brand and I really like the Odlo clothing. I usually buy this from Hardloopshop.nl. My shoes are still the New Balance Vongo 4 from the beginning. After excellent advice, I had this measured at Runnersworld.

When I'm back in the Netherlands soon, I'll treat myself to a pair of new running shoes (maybe 2 pairs). I will go to Runnersworld again because I really like the advice there. I wear a Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music on my wrist. Very handy, because together with my wireless bluetooth earphones I can run with music without a phone and the data from running is registered. Think of the distance, average speed, speed per kilometer and heart rate information. But you have to bring all your running stuff with you when you travel.

My New Balance shoes

After great advice from Runnersworld I have purchased two pairs of these running shoes

Well, and what does or does not fit in your backpack. If you want to run while traveling, you also have to bring running gear with you in addition to your regular clothes. Now running clothes are not much or heavy, but yes, for a set of running clothes you have to leave a set of regular clothes at home. And then in addition to my hiking shoes and flip flops, two pairs of running shoes are added. You will say “two pairs”?… Yes, because if you run every day you need two pairs of shoes. Why? One day you run on pair 1 and the next day on pair 2, so that the cushioning of pair 1 can rest and vice versa.

I have a 56 liter Osprey Kyte backpack and can assure you that it will all fit in there. The advantage is that the weather on the Canary Islands is always nice, so that saves on warm and thicker clothes. We will see how things will go later when we go to colder places. For the time being, I am still enjoying the nice weather and running here.

As you can read in our blogs on this page, we went from Tenerife to La Gomera for six weeks after our short visit to Tenerife. There are 2 main roads on La Gomera, one from East to West and one sort of around the island. These roads and the side roads take you over the hills to the small villages in the mountains and ravines. The roads are well-paved, but anything but safe. People drive quite fast and it has many narrow hairpin bends. Here came my challenge because if I wanted to run I first had to drive for about 45 minutes to be able to run safely and flat. I then drove to Valle Gran Rey so that I could walk there along the boulevard and the small streets. Easy to do but it took quite some time. In the end I gave myself more rest at La Gomera and focused more on yoga and hiking.

Running Canarias

Running in the Canarias is great because of the fantastic surroundings and very mild weather

I was really looking forward to La Palma because this is a larger island with more villages with better roads in the hope that I could pick up running again there. Sure enough, I was rewarded with a kilometer-long asphalt road that is mostly about 700 meters above sea level, close to the accommodation where we stayed most of the time. On La Palma, the old road from south to north along the west coast is being replaced. This road is wide, well paved and there is a bicycle / walking path next to it so that you can run safely. This road offers beautiful views of the sea, vulcanoes and valley.

In addition, La Palma has two athletics fields with a good running track. I walked regularly on one of these tracks in Fuencaliente. Sometimes I had to drive a bit to run, but that was completely fine. After La Gomera I started running again on La Palma. And because running here went so very well, partly inspired by the beautiful surroundings, I quickly ran (almost) every day.

And then we went to the smallest Canary Island, El Hierro. How would it be there? Can I run there too, is it too mountainous and is it safe? As on the other islands, there are a few main roads. In addition, El Hierro on the north-west side of the island has a 15 km quite good asphalt road. This road practically along the coast is lower than the main road, so you are running almost at sea level. The road is hilly but managable. Generally quite safe, there are fewer inhabitants so fewer cars on the road.

12k Arenas Blancas run

On April 25th 2021 I ran my thoughest run so far, from Arenas Blancas through the hills for 12k in total

You can also run on El Hierro with beautiful views of the sea on one side and the enormous green vulcano on the other. Because the temperature rises quickly in the spring, I walk around 8 a.m. every morning. Then the sun is still behind the vulcano. Because I run at the same time every morning you will of course encounter the same people. Which makes life on a small island fun again because there is a cheerful wave.

On Sunday April 25th 2021 I ran my toughest run so far, 12 kilometers through the hills of El Hierro. Geert dropped me off at Arenas Blancas in the morning with the aim of running home. I started at sea level and after 3 kilometers it slowly starts to rise with the occasional steep climb. After about 6 or 7 kilometers it became quite hard but I knew that Geert was waiting for me on the hill with water and to encourage me. When I finally reached my last hill and Geert was there again waiting for me, it was the last 3 kilometers to run home at a nice pace. Once home and after a nice breakfast I was proud of myself 😊. Next Sunday I will run it again, but then the other way around, see how I like it.

Happy runner

Running every day makes me happy, gives me energy and I am so much fitter then ever before

Running in the Canary Islands is fine! You can make it as tough as you want in terms of hills, that's completely up to you. The best part is running in these beautiful surroundings, along the sea, through the hills, a view of vulcanoes, walking through the vulcanic landscape, you name it. And the weather is mostly good, mild in the morning. The surroundings and the weather make me happy and motivate me. So much so that I now run almost every day. Who would have thought that a year and a half ago?

If you have any questions about running in general or running in the Canary Islands, feel free to send me an email at ellaandgeert@gmail.com.

And for our stories and beautiful photos about the Canary Islands, take a look at our Instagram or Polarsteps accounts.

Ella.