Everything ready for a record edition of Desafío Doñana

The sixth edition of Desafío Doñana arrives tomorrow with record of participants and a consolidated test in the calendar

 

El Doñana Challenge, one of the toughest endurance sports events held annually in Andalusia, under a surprising and exciting new format in the world of long distance triathlon, celebrates its sixth edition on Saturday. A challenge for the most complete athletes that is consolidated in the national calendar of this type of competitions, being one of the most attractive sporting events for the participating triathletes.

The test, which is organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía together with the technical support of the Andalusian Triathlon Federation, beats in this edition all its participation records. A total of 745 athletes, 496 triathletes in the absolute test and 249 boys and girls in the Mini Challenge, promotion triathlon that will be developed in parallel, are the numbers of Doñana Challenge in 2015, a real record. Of the 496 athletes enrolled in the 447 absolute competition are men and 49 women. In the individual modality, 310 will be triathletes - 291 men and 19 women - and in the relay modality 186 triathletes, divided into 62 teams - 43 men, 5 women and 14 mixed -.

El Doñana national park is again the true protagonist of the competition. This multi-adventure challenge comes back one of the best preserved nature reserves in the world.

Eco-friendly tour

Touring the National Park is possibly the most impressive point of competition for athletes enrolled in the event. It is a real adventure for professionals and amateur athletes who compete, since a long distance triathlon has never been developed on a super protected and closed natural space like this until the first edition in 2009.

The inclusion of Doñana in the Green List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), thanks to its continuous conservation efforts, highlights the great organizational work that is done from the Doñana Challenge in support of the protectionist policy of the environment, despite the fact that a large part of the competition runs through the park .

The test will be played individually, both in women and men, and by relay teams.

The cycling sector, the first to be held against the traditional triathlon tests, will once again have the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda as its starting point and end point. At 9.00 hours will start in Bajo de Guía the competition with 90 km of bike tour through the municipalities of Sanlúcar, Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa Maria, Rota, Chipiona and Sanlúcar again. 

Once the bicycle section is finished, participants must swim 1 kilometer - 2,8 km. for relay teams - crossing the Guadalquivir River to Punta de Malandar. The mouth of the Guadalquivir presents a curious mixture of freshwater tides from the river itself and salt from the Atlantic Ocean, which makes it very characteristic and spectacular for sports.

On the Malandar beach we reach the last section, which will consist of a race on foot to be done entirely by Doñana, of 15 one-way km and other 15 km of return. It's time to face the sand of Doñana beach, dodging dunes, and adapting to the changing sands depending on the rising tide, always looking for the best surface to run.

Desafío Doñana is not exclusive for athletes specialized in long distance events. It is also focused on cyclists, runners or duathletes who want to participate in this extreme triathlon formula. In addition, the relay teams test is a great opportunity to participate with friends and colleagues, each of them specialized in a certain segment.

A solidarity challenge

This year Desafío Doñana becomes supportive, supporting causes such as the project Desafío Donando Vidas, from Sanluqueño Eduardo Rangel, one of the most relevant and far-reaching solidarity actions in the history of organ donation in Spain. Donando Vidas articulates its work through unique sporting challenges. This year he competes in Desafío Doñana, among many other tests, and has a stand on his project in the Expo Zone of the competition.

And it also lends its full support to the project 'yonadotudonas', of some Sevillian swimmers, whose final philosophy is to spread, through sports, the reality of cancer patients. And what better than Desafío Doñana for it.

Mini Challenge Doñana

Desafío Doñana once again hosts a parallel promotion activity that will promote a sport such as triathlon, the MiniDesafío, which will take place on the Bajo Lígo beach and promenade in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, starting at 10 hours. And in 2015 all the records of participation have been broken, when 249 enrolls boys and girls.

The youngest between 7 and 17 years can also live their own Doñana Mini Challenge. The modality to be disputed will be a free aquathlon for minors, organized by the Andalusian Triathlon Federation, with categories of age groups and affordable and ideal distances to promote this sport.

The race on foot will be held in Bajo Guía, and swimming in the waters of the beach itself. The distances to cover vary according to the age of the participants: several departures will be made per category, which will oscillate from the 125 m. of running, 50 m. of swimming and 125 m. of the Pre-Benjamins race (7 to 8 years), up to the 1.000 m.-400 m.-1.000 m. of the Cadets (15-17 years). The first three male and female classified by category will receive prizes; the best male and female place by category; the club or school with the most local participation; and the club with the greatest participation.

Sportsman Expo

In the municipal pavilion of Sanlúcar de Barrameda is also the Sports Expo with stands of brands and entities related to the world of triathlon, sports nutrition, nutrition, material, etc., which is open to all publics today Friday throughout the day and tomorrow Saturday until 15.00 hours. In it the athletes also collect their bib number and all the relevant information about the race.

The Doñana Challenge 2015 also has the collaboration of the municipalities of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Jerez, El Puerto de Santa María, Rota and Chipiona and the Doñana Natural Area.

All the information of Desafío Doñana can be followed through the official page of the competition: www.desafiodonana.com and in the social media profiles of the test: www.facebook.com/desafiodonana, http://twitter.com/desafiodonana e http://instagram.com/desafio_donana/.