David Sinclair and Blandine L'Hirondel break both Transvulcania course records

Transvulcania starts at 6 a.m. at the lighthouse in Fuencaliente, on the southern tip of La Palma, and climbs the spine of the island to the Roque de los Muchachos at 2,421 m, just past 50 km. Then it drops to the sea at Tazacorte and climbs again to the finish in Los Llanos. On Saturday 9 May the weather was mild and dry, nothing like the rain, wind and cold of last year, and both course records went.

Damien Humbert led the men early. David Sinclair and Ben Dhiman went past him near El Reventón, around 33 km, and Petter Engdahl was first over the high point. On the long descent to Tazacorte, 70 km in, Sinclair pulled away and did not give the lead back. He finished in 6:32:24, roughly 20 minutes under Luis Alberto Hernando's old record of 6:52, and nearly seven minutes clear of Engdahl, 6:41:19. Nadir Maguet was third in 6:42:31, Humbert fourth and Dhiman fifth. Sinclair called it the best race of his life.

Lucy Bartholomew led the women into Los Canarios before Blandine L'Hirondel took over on the first climb. Bartholomew came back and was about a minute ahead at the Roque, but L'Hirondel regained the lead on the descent, was seven minutes clear at Tazacorte and held it over the last climb. She ran 7:43:47 to Bartholomew's 7:49:26. Emelie Forsberg was third in 8:14:40 despite a wrong turn near El Reventón.

The organisers counted eight records across the weekend's distances, six of them on Saturday. The vertical kilometre on Thursday went to Richard Omaya Atuya and Joyce Muthoni Njeru.

Sea level to 2,421 m and back to sea level, on volcanic ground. Twenty minutes off a record on that course is not a good day. It is a different sport.

Sources: iRunFar; Transvulcania.