Hawker and Iturrieta Win Gran Canaria Ultra

News Release / 09.03.2011

The North Face athletes Zigor Iturrieta (ESP) and Lizzy Hawker (GBR) were both victors at the 123km Transgrancanaria ultra race, held in Gran Canaria, Spain recently. The North Face Transgrancanaria took place in unusually cool and wet weather conditions for the time of year. To the sound of the starterâ€™s gun at midnight (GMT) Friday 4th March 2011, 282 ultra-runners from Spain and Europe took part in the headline 123km race. Starting at Playa Del Ingles, in the south of the island, it was a long nightâ€™s run through the islandâ€™s national park exposing spectacular and varied mountainous terrain. Runners climbed to an accumulated height gain of 8,500m, to a maximum height of 1,949m at the highest point of the island, then back down to sea level through Saturday morning to the finish line at the capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the north. Spanish ultra-runner, and newest addition to The North Face performance athlete team, Zigor Iturrieta (ESP), was ecstatic to take 1st place, finishing strongly with a time of 13h:22m:37s. After his win Iturrieta said: â€œThe race was fun, and entertaining but very, very hard.â€ Hungarian runner Csaba Nemeth was pipped at the post for 2nd place by just seven minutes, whilst renown French athlete (and another The North Face team athlete) Sebastien Chaigneau (FRA) took a very respectable 3rd place with a time of 13h:45m:05s. Both Iturrieta and Chaigneau wore trail-running shoes from The North Face Single Track series. Iturrieta also wore the newest addition to The North Face product running range, compression socks. In the womenâ€™s category another North Face athlete too the win. Accomplished multi-sport athlete, Elizabeth â€˜Lizzyâ€™ Hawker (GBR) ecstatically claimed the 1st place win and 13th overall, as 2011 unfolds to be a successful year for her. Arriving at a time of 15h:55m:47s, nearly a full hour ahead of second place finisher, Nerea Martinez (ESP), smiling and in a relaxed mood, and despite a few falls, Lizzy explained: â€œMy knees took a bit of a bashing but Iâ€™m happy to be here and share the race with everyone.â€ The North Face Transgrancanaria featured races for all levels of runners at various distances: from the full 123-km race; a coast-to-coast 96-km race; a 42-km marathon; and a starter run of 24-km. Over 1400 competitors took part. The remaining North Face ultra-running events in Europe are: The North Face® Laveredo Ultra-Trail, 2nd-3rd July 2011 The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®, 22-28th August 2011 To see a video of the course and a pre-race training camp go to the next page.