Subida al Pico Veleta race

Subida al Pico Veleta, endurance running race

Subida al Pico Veleta (the Climb to Pico Veleta) is a 50km endurance race in the Sierra Nevada mountain range including a cumulative altitude gain of 2,705m to the top of the fourth highest peak in Spain.

The Subida al Pico Veleta event as a whole offers a variety of competitions to allow people of all running abilities and profiles to take part. The main event is the 50km endurance race to the summit of Pico Veleta. Alternatively, participants can complete the same distance by teaming up with a partner in a relay format of the race. There is also a competition with a shorter route of 11km, known as the mini-climb.

Full course 50km route: Starts in Granada city at the Templete del Paseo del Salón, heads towards Sierra Nevada along Avenida Carretera de la Sierra passing through the municipalities of Cenes de la Vega, Pinos Genil, Ctra. S. Nevada.

Mini climb 11km route: Begins from the Hoya de la Mora barrier on the road just above Pradollano resort in the Sierra Nevada, contestants will run through the Sierra Nevada Natural Park to the outskirts of Pico Veleta, cliimbing 870 metres.

The Subida Internacional al Pico Veleta begain in 1985 when three runners from Granada and a runner from Valencia set themselves the crazy challenge: to unite Granada city with the Pico Veleta. since then more than 750 participants have sought to emulate the feat. 

Rachid El Morabity is a Moroccan athlete born 3 March 1982 in Zagora. He is a specialist of ultra-trail, and has won the Marathon des Sables 11 times.

Subido al pico Veleta 2026

The 42nd Pico Veleta Climb took place on 9 August 2026. Guillermo Ramos from Salamanca won the men's category in the 50 km section in 3 hours, 49 minutes and 28 seconds, the second fastest time in the race's history. Ana Cánovas retained her title in the women's category with a time of 5 hours and 46 seconds. Around 500 runners set off, finding the heat and complete lack of breeze to be major challenges.

Surprisingly, Rachid El Morabit, the winner of the last three consecutive editions, did not line up for the 2026 Subida al Pico Veleta, thus ending his dominant streak at the event and offering an opportunity to Guillermo Ramos, who finished eight minutes faster than Rachid's best time in difficult conditions.

Local runner Ignacio Morón González, from the organising Maracena Athletics Club, finished third, just under two minutes behind Gallego Pavón in second place, and six minutes ahead of the fourth-placed runner.

Alejandra Sánchez Massa, the women's runner-up from Madrid, repeated last year's position, taking her place on the podium for the third consecutive year with a time of 5:05:56. Third place went to Laia Andreu Trías, an outsider and athlete from Club Atletismo Vic, who crossed the finish line with a time of 5:13:47.

Subido al pico Veleta 2025

The 41st Pico Veleta Climb took place on 10 August 2025, with Rachid El Morabity winning the men’s category and Azahara García the women’s. More than 750 runners took part in this 50-kilometre ultra-distance race linking Granada with the summit of the Sierra Nevada. Winners of the 41st Edition (2025) Men’s Category: Rachid El Morabity secured his third consecutive victory in the race in 3 hrs 56 mins 48 secs. Women’s Category: Azahara García claimed victory on her debut in this climb. Notable Podium Finishers: Jordi Gamito and Alejandra Sánchez also featured among the top finishers in the overall classification.

Subido al pico Veleta 2024

The 2024 edition of Subida al Pico Veleta, the 38th in the event's history, took place on 4th August 2024, with both the competition for individuals and relay pairs on the full course starting at 07:00 hrs and the mini climb of 11km starting at 10:00hrs.

Rachid el Morabity, 'the king of the desert' is crowned again on the Veleta Peak climb. The ten-times winner of the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, Rachid El Morabity was relentless in Europe's toughest race to retain his title, improving on last year's record  for the uphill 50km with 3 hrs 54 mins 43 sec). Alejandra Sánchez Massa from Madrid won the women's race with a spectacular time of 5:02:22. In the 11km Minisubida, the victories went to José Alberto Ramírez and Ana Canovas.

The sunrise in Granada served as a postcard setting for the start of the challenge. From the Paseo del Salón in Granada city, the runners set out at 07.00 hrs to complete these 50 demanding kilometres, with more than 2,705 metres of climb to overcome until they reached the summit.  Before the starting gun was fired, a round of applause was given to the Granada walker María Pérez, recent Olympic silver medalist in Paris, and to the ' founding' father of the La Valeta race, Enrique Carmona, who once again took part.

The first 11 kilometres served as a warm-up, bringing the participants close to the Sierra Nevada. From that point onwards, the steepest slopes began, these make the International Climb to Pico Veleta the toughest race in the world all the way to the finish line at Pico Veleta, 3,396 metres above sea level.

Rachid El Morabity repeated last year's triumph. The mountain pushed the Moroccan Rachid El Morabity to reach the summit, improving by more than 10 minutes his record from last year, to cross the finish line in 3:54:43. "Many thanks to the organisation for doing everything possible for me to be here and to be able to experience this magical race", said the Moroccan athlete.

In the fight for the podium, a legend of the Subida al Pico Veleta. Ignacio Morón (4:03:48) climbed the podium for the ninth time in this race, an example of perseverance and fight, a perfect representation of the participant of this race. The podium was completed by Samuel Palomera Svensson, winner in 2022, who this year had to settle for bronze (4:09:30).

La Subida al Pico Valeta 2024 © Juan Carlos Fajado

For her part, Alejandra Sánchez Massa from Madrid became the new queen of Pico Veleta. With a time of 5:02:22, she beat Esperanza López Centella (5:35:55) and Mayte Vera (5:59:14). "It's a tough but magnificent race. I have adapted very well to the conditions and I have fallen in love with the scenery. It is a totally recommendable race", declared the light athlete from Madrid at the summit.

The Ascent of Pico Veleta can also be done in relays, to share in the personal glory of mastering a major challenge such as this. By relays, each team member running 25 kilometres each. The fastest teams were Atracón Running Pérez-Hoyo (men), BPACCII Mercado-Riquelme (women) and Cárdenas-Sports García Núñez (mixed).

The prize-giving ceremony was held in Pradollano, the Sierra Nevada ski resort.

For more information visit subidaveleta.com/.

For information about other endurance events in Andalucia visit - Endurance Running and Biking.