The 73-kilometre Transvulcania ultramarathon rolls out from Faro de Fuencaliente at 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, and the women's race is shaping up as one of the deepest fields on the Canary Islands volcano in several editions. Race organisers confirmed the final women's startlist on Friday afternoon at the technical meeting in Tazacorte, with the lineup centred around two distinct racing identities — a 2025 podium finisher who knows the climb to the Roque de los Muchachos better than almost anyone, and a French debutante whose 2025 season suggested she should be racing the longer distances by now.
Ekaterina Mityaeva, the highest returning finisher from last year, is the most experienced face on the start sheet. Mityaeva ran 8:36 in 2025 to take the runner-up spot and has spent the spring training between Andorra and the Sierra Nevada, opening her season with a strong performance at a smaller European skyrunning event in late April. Mityaeva has spoken openly this week about the demands of the long, technical descent into Tazacorte that has historically broken the back of the women's field, and her experience handling the long volcanic ridge between El Pilar and the Roque is the kind of asset that does not show up in track-style entry standards.
The most-discussed name on the startlist, however, is Blandine L'Hirondel. The French runner finished fourth at the 2025 CCC and won the Mont Blanc 90k as the closing chapter of a season that established her among the most consistent women's distance trail runners in Europe. Saturday's race will be her first start at Transvulcania, and her debut on La Palma's volcanic spine will offer the first real read on whether her trail-running speed translates onto the long, exposed runnable sections that define the second half of the course. L'Hirondel has spent the past fortnight on the island reconnoitring the descent into Tazacorte and the closing climb to the Mirador del Time finish above the cliffs.
The supporting cast adds further depth to a field that organisers describe as the strongest women's startlist in three editions. American Hillary Allen returns to a course she has spoken about for years; Spanish national team selection Núria Gil arrives off the back of strong winter form on the Canary Islands; and Romanian-based mountain runner Denisa Dragomir has built towards the race with a focused six-week block at altitude in Andorra. Several other European national-team athletes will use the race as a Mountain and Trail Running World Championships selection event later in the summer.
Saturday's forecast is favourable for the early kilometres, with cool low-cloud cover expected at the southern lighthouse start and only a light onshore breeze across the central ridge. Conditions are expected to warm noticeably during the long descent into Tazacorte and back up the final climb to El Time, where temperatures last year exceeded 27°C and produced significant attrition in the lead group. The women's race winner will, again, be decided in that closing climb — Transvulcania's signature pinch point — and Mityaeva, L'Hirondel and the chasing European pack will all be acutely aware of how much their finishing position depends on what they have left for it.