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Trail Run Spain - Trail Running. |
Trail running is running on surfaces other than tarmac and this can include, grass, canal tow paths, sand, forest tracks and fire breaks, open moorland and dirt roads.
During the late 1990's trail running was the biggest growth area of the sport. Road runners, many who had started running as a result of the big city marathon " craze " discovered the benefits of running off-road but trail running isn't a new discovery. Many experienced distance runners have always used the softer, more forgiving, trail surfaces to train on and in fact the earliest evidence of organized running dates back to 3800BC in Egypt.
Of all forms of off-road running which includes fell racing and cross country, trail running is probably the most common world wide and runners travelling abroad can always find great trails to run on - this part of Andalucia is no exception.
There are many tracks and trails which, until fairly recent times, were the only way to travel between remote mountain villages and towns. Some trails or cañadas, have now become tarmac roads or have been " lost " to agricultural or home development. Some have recently been marked with signs saying " Via Pecuarias " ( drover's routes, marked by green posts with V.P. painted in white where they go off road or as a road sign with a cow on it ), others are marked by paint splashes or coloured bands and some are only known through local knowledge and / or many hours of " exploration ".
Alhama de Granada, our closest main town, has a history going back to Neolithic and Roman times, ( for more info please see The Area ). It has always been an important town due to its strategic position on the edge of a huge gorge and because of its hot springs and abundant water supply. It is a mid point between the coast and Granada.
There are numerous trails crossing the Axarquia region from the Mediterranean coast over the mountains of the Sierra Almijara, Tejeda and Alhama natural park and on via the town or nearby villages of Jatar, Jayena, Fornes and Arenas del Rey en-route for Granada, Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarra.
The GR7 long distance path, which begins in Tarifa at the southern most tip of Spain and crosses Andalucia on its way to Athens, passes through Alhama and sections between here and the Alpujarra are used as part of a number of trail run variations.
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Poniente Granadino, Andalucia, Spain. |
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