Survival of the Fittest…or Maddest – Canarias Infinity Xtreme Race in Puerto de la Cruz

Written by Jack Montgomery on 06 March 2010 | 4 Comments | Happenings, Other Sports

Hands up who was aware that there is an S&M (that’s sadists & masochists for the innocents amongst you) gathering in Puerto de la Cruz in March.

The masochists are the competitors in the Canaries Infinity Xtreme race which takes place in the car park beside the harbour on Saturday 13th March and the sadists are everyone who turns up to watch people willingly put themselves through hell.

For one day the car park is turned into a sort of SAS version of It’s a Knockout where competitors push their bodies to the limit. The course involves running 10 kilometres and tackling 15 obstacles which include foam and water filled containers, fields of rubber tyres, mud slides and concrete tunnels…and all within two hours.

By the time runners reach the finishing line (those who manage to survive the course that is) sopping wet, covered in foam, bruised, battered and exhausted, every energy-sapping obstacle is clearly etched into faces which veer between painful grimaces and beaming smiles filled with pride…and a lot of relief that their personal endurance test is finally over.

Anyone out there who fancies finding out if they’ve got what it takes to complete Tenerife’s most extreme race can find out more information at WWW.CANARIASINFINITYXTREME.COM

However, if you’re like me and prefer to watch others slip, trip and tumble in the name of entertainment and charity (part of the registration fees are donated to the María García Foundation) the race begins at 4.30pm, but the fun starts much earlier at 10am with aerobic displays, kangoo jumps, Xtreme biking and all sorts of jackass type activities.

Do not forget to bring your camera.

UPDATE: This year’s event turned out to be a much more gruelling event than last year with mud crawls under barbed wire, which took the backside out of a few pairs of pants, and slippery walls placed at the end of the course when contestants just didn’t have the energy. It was exhausting…to watch that is and clearly a killer to take part in.  Have a look here to see a handful of photos of the survivors in action.

Tags: Canarias Infinity Xtreme, events on Tenerife, extreme sports, race, What to do Puerto de la Cruz, What to do Tenerife