Two Women Break the Transvulcania Course Record in the Same Race

Blandine L'Hirondel and Lucy Bartholomew both finished under the old women's mark on La Palma, while American David Sinclair took 20 minutes off the men's record in his own redemption run.

Published: May 10, 2026 9:18 am

Jessy Carveth

Jessy Carveth

Jessy is our Senior News Editor, pro cyclist and former track and field athlete with a Bachelors degree in Kinesiology.

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Two women crossed the finish line of the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon on Saturday, May 9, faster than anyone before them. France’s Blandine L’Hirondel won the 75-kilometer race on the Spanish Canary island of La Palma in 7:43:47, with Australia’s Lucy Bartholomew right behind in 7:49:26. Both came in well under Ruth Croft’s 2024 course record.

The race started at 6 a.m. local time from the Fuencaliente Lighthouse on the southern tip of the island. Runners climbed almost continuously to the high point at Roque de los Muchachos, 2,421 meters (7,959 feet) above sea level, just past the 50-kilometer mark. From there, the course dropped back to sea level and finished with a sharp climb into the town of Los Llanos.

Conditions were mild and dry, a contrast to last year’s race, when rain, wind, and cold forced multiple top runners out of contention.

Two Women Break the Transvulcania Course Record in the Same Race 1

A Race-Long Duel at the Front of the Women’s Field

As reported by iRunFar, Bartholomew set the early pace, leading through Los Canarios at eight kilometers in 45:42. L’Hirondel sat just behind her, with two-time Transvulcania champion Emelie Forsberg of Sweden a minute back in third.

L’Hirondel moved into the lead on the climb to Deseadas at 17.5 kilometers and stretched her gap on Bartholomew to four minutes by El Pilar at 23 kilometers. The Frenchwoman, a two-time world champion, looked in control through the long climb to the high point.

Bartholomew refused to let her run away. She closed the gap on the final stretch to Roque de los Muchachos and briefly took the lead with about a minute on L’Hirondel. The Frenchwoman responded on the long descent, regaining control by Torre Time at 62.7 kilometers and reaching the sea at Tazacorte more than seven minutes ahead.

L’Hirondel held that lead through the final climb to Los Llanos. Her finishing time of 7:43:47 took 19 minutes off Croft’s previous mark. Bartholomew finished 5:39 later in 7:49:26, also under the old record.

Forsberg, in her first appearance at the race in more than a decade, took third in 8:14:40. Her time was just over a minute slower than her winning time of 8:13:22 from 2013. The veteran Swede has been a fixture of skyrunning for years. Spain’s Gemma Arenas was fourth in 8:35:47, and compatriot Beatriz Parrón moved through the field on the final descent to finish fifth in 8:39:07.

Two Women Break the Transvulcania Course Record in the Same Race 2

Sinclair’s Redemption Run

The men’s race produced its own course record. American David Sinclair finished in 6:32:24, a full 20 minutes faster than the men’s mark set in 2015. He told organizers at the finish line that this was the best race of his life.

The win marked a complete reversal from 2025, when Sinclair was forced to drop out with hypothermia.

As reported by iRunFar Frenchman Damien Humbert pushed the early pace and held a slim lead through the first hours of the race. By El Reventón at 32.6 kilometers, Sinclair and fellow American Ben Dhiman had moved past him. The decisive shift came on the long climb to Pico de la Cruz at 48.1 kilometers, where Sweden’s Petter Engdahl pulled level with Sinclair. The pair crested Roque de los Muchachos together, with Engdahl just ahead.

Sinclair broke the race open on the descent to Tazacorte at 70.2 kilometers. He reached sea level in 6:04, nearly seven minutes ahead of Engdahl and 11 minutes ahead of Humbert. He never gave the lead back.

Engdahl held second in 6:41:19. Italy’s Nadir Maguet, who had been just behind the leaders all day, passed Humbert on the final climb to take third in 6:42:31. Humbert finished fourth in 6:43:54, Dhiman was fifth in 6:48:42, and Italy’s Andreas Reiterer rounded out the top six in 6:49:52. All six finishers came in under the previous course record.

The result added another American win to a strong year for U.S. trail runners, following on from Katie Schide and Jim Walmsley’s wins at the 2025 World Trail Championships and the country’s recent UTMB results.