The 3rd edition of Club La Santa Virtual Series, which involved more than 100 participants from 18 different countries, continued with the novel virtual competition format first launched in June
Lanzarote is a land of volcanoes, beaches and sport. Although the times we are currently living in are not ideal for holding large sporting events in person, Club La Santa continues to devise novel competition formulas through its Virtual Series project. Virtual Series 3 was designed for runners and athletes to strive for the top prize in the marathon and half-marathon categories.
In the 21-kilometre race, the Danish athlete Kasper Laumann once again lived up to his status as favourite to climb to the top of the podium with a time of 1:14:40, recreating his first-place finish in Virtual Series 2. He was joined by Germany’s Hella Haak, whose total time of 1:34:36 crowned her as the champion of this third virtual race. The fastest Spaniard in the event was Dixon Villa, who finished in 19th place with a time of 1:55:41.
The half-marathon also saw competition in the relay pairs and relay teams categories. The fastest pair was Meghan Howell and Jeinis Patel, who finished in a time of 1:17:59, while in the teams category ‘The Italian Job’ – made up of Sara Perani, Stefano Orizio, Karen Grove and Alessandro Degasperi – came in first, with a total time of 1:52:27.
Like in non-virtual athletic events, the premier category was the marathon, where men and women pushed their limits to complete the 42 km distance.
The British athlete Alun Bonello managed to beat the rest of the participants in the race, finishing in a total time of 2:56:42. There was no prize awarded in the women’s race due to the absence of individual participants.
In the 4-person relay teams, the group called Fintrackers, made up of Gisela Reichmut, Silvan Zurbrüg, Damian Tschirky and Kathrin Hagen, managed to come in first with a total time of 3:11:5.
More than 100 athletes participated in Club La Santa Virtual Series 3, with entries in the children’s category all the way to the +75 years category from over 18 different countries, including Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, Estonia, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Switzerland.
This third edition was again supported by Turismo Lanzarote and European Sports Destination. Club La Santa is already working on Virtual Series 4, which will be dedicated to the triathlon.
“We are very happy to see how the Virtual Series is consolidating its position in the sports calendar, attracting a large number of participants in each edition. We are delighted to see how hundreds of people from different countries are coming together to share a common interest: sport and healthy living, two of Club La Santa’s fundamental principles,” said Fabio Cabrera, sports director of Club La Santa.
This event, like the previous ones, will donate 30% of the proceeds to the UNICEF Foundation, to support its various campaigns aimed at overcoming inequality and eradicating child poverty.
