92 athletes are already traveling the Via Algarviana, in another edition of ALUT – Algarviana Ultra Trail, the competition of trail running longest continuous in Portugal. They left this Thursday, November 28th, from Alcoutim and the question to be asked is just one: who will be the brave one to arrive, first, in Sagres?
The goal is set in the Farol of Cabo de S. Vicente, in Sagres, in the municipality of Vila do Bispo. The race must be completed within a 72 hour time limit and the prize giving is scheduled for Sunday, December 1st, at 14:30 pm.
The race, which crosses the Algarve from one end to the other and has 6680 meters of positive slope along the 300 kilometers along the tracks of the Via Algarviana – mainly in forested areas and passing through villages and hills rich in the culture and traditions of the Algarve region - , has 92 registered athletes, of which 20 make up the five teams of four elements (which will start the race 30 minutes after the athletes who compete individually).
Of the 92 competitors, ten are female athletes (nine solo) and although the majority of entries are Portuguese (68), ALUT will feature athletes from countries such as Spain (11), France (5), Poland (3), England (2), Scotland (1), Brazil (1) or Uruguay (1).
Among the participants in the third edition of ALUT, a natural highlight for João Oliveira, an old acquaintance from the more inland and genuine ways of the Algarve who won – with strong competition – the two previous editions of the competition.
In 2018, it took only 41 hours and 40 minutes (1h24 less than the previous year) to reach the end of the test – which has 72 hours as the time limit for its completion. This year, he returned to try to beat his best time and defend his two titles.
ALUT is the longest continuous trail running event in Portugal, but this is more than a purely physical challenge. Despite being a route with a relatively low slope (6680 meters of positive slope) for the distance (300 kilometers), the race represents a great psychological challenge and the fact that it is covered at this time of year offers difficulties such as a large thermal amplitude.
«ALUT was designed for the month of November to meet two of its main objectives: the objective of promoting the territory and the sporting and competitive objective. It is a time when the entire Northern Hemisphere is in adverse weather conditions and we want to show that here, in the Algarve, in the middle of the low season, all the conditions for sport are met», says Germano Magalhães, from Algarve Trail Running (ATR) , responsible for organizing the event.
«However, this time is also of great uncertainty with regard to meteorology, because we can never know in advance if we will have a race with heat, cold or rain, for example, and this adds difficulty for athletes in terms of preparation and the management of the test”, he adds.
In addition to the competitive aspect, ALUT returns with the aim of consolidating the event but also continuing to promote the Algarve as a destination, in particular the interior, less well known and more genuine.
«There is an Algarve yet to be discovered and the best way to discover a place is to explore it. This was and continues to be the main motto of ALUT, to make known an Algarve far from the beaches, along the Via Algarviana, covering 300 kilometers», explains Bruno Rodrigues, director of the competition and one of its mentors.
"The genuine and pure way in which the different populations crossed by the course receive the athletes is the greatest reward and the way to make, together with the different landscapes crossed, this event very special", adds the official.
João Fernandes, president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), also considers that «Nature, Sport, Culture and the traditions of the towns and villages in the mountains are important axes for the promotion of Tourism in the Algarve and, due to their characteristics, and by being anchored in all these axes, ALUT is without a doubt a very relevant event for the region».
“This competition will contribute to the projection of a territory rich in experiences, whatever the time of year, and, above all, it will promote the tourist development of the interior of the region”, he adds.
Anabela Santos, coordinator of projects at Almargem and the Via Algarviana project in particular, says that “ALUT demonstrates the potential that “GR13 – Via Algarviana” also has for competition, offering unique terrain conditions”
"The hardness of the competition obviously has to do with the terrain's orography, but also the time that the athletes spend alone in communion with Nature, requiring enormous psychological strength to complete the race", explains Anabela Santos, adding that this is also «a way of getting to know 'the other side of the Algarve' that few people dare to know, is to have the audacity to cross the border to the genuine Algarve, far from the crowds and where the friendliness and authenticity of the people reigns».
Anyone who wants can follow the athletes' positions here
Comments