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Over 500 runners participated in this year’s Eurafrica trail, a test of endurance spanning Gibraltar and Northern Morocco, which passed through Los Alcornocales Nature Park.
They say that sport is a response to mankind’s innate drive to excel; the need to push beyond our own limits while, at the same time, connecting with those who pursue the same challenge, turning it into a shared experience… This endeavour was shown once more by over 500 runners who participated in the Eurafrica Trail, a special test of endurance that took participants through Gibraltar, Spain and Morocco. The most recent event was held between 31st October and 4th November.
The promoter of the race, Aitor Calle, was very pleased with the media coverage and the interest it had ignited, as well as the public response. Once again this year the athletes used up all the competitor registration numbers, not just in the local stages, but also the trans-continental ones.
This year’s Eurafrica Trail kicked-off on Wednesday 31st October. Stage one, the “Vertical Race” took place entirely in Gibraltar, starting at three o`clock in the afternoon from Europa Point, and ending in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. That afternoon, despite adverse weather conditions throughout the Straits of Gibraltar the race went ahead. That inclement weather did however caused the “Europe camp” which was going to be set up in the open air to be moved to the Andrés Mateo sports centre in Algeciras where the participants were able to recover their strength and spent the night indoors.
Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd November saw much better weather conditions. The participants ran through the autumnal scenery of Los Alcornocales Nature Park with two stages, one of 50 kilometres and another of 27, starting and ending in Botafuegos, in the municipality of Algeciras.
Finally on Saturday, the Eurafrica Trail crossed the Straits to Africa in an FRS ferry, landing in the fishing village of Belyounech and at the foot of Jebel Musa…the other half, together with The Rock of Gibraltar, that makes up the mythical Pillars of Hercules. Thus, sport and mythology joined hands in a test which goes beyond a simple sporting event. Aitor Calle said. “The Moroccan stage is a very significant one for us, not only for its symbolism, but also for the technical and geographical attractions: it runs though some untouched paths, over a very demanding rocky terrain with stunning views of the north shore, our land, on the other side of the Straits “.
In keeping with current day fashions, the Eurafrica Trail is an event which has captured the imagination of social networks, where photographs, comments and opinions on the event, it’s organization and even the participants themselves are posted. So, for example, the (hashtag) #Hazhistoria on Twitter has established itself as a valuable tool… Tweets such as those which refer to FRSBelyounech25 as “the hardest, most beautiful and wildest in the entire history of Eurafrica18. Skyrunning in its purest form “has encircled the world, serving as an incentive for those who, without a doubt, are already starting to think about the 2019 event”.
