The Provincial Council of Almeria, the Town Council of Purchena and the Andalusian Federation of Mountain Sports have presented the new edition of the Media Legua Gruesa de Purchena, which will be held on March 23rd.
The Vice-President and Provincial Councillor for Sport, José Antonio García; the Deputy Mayor of Purchena, Joaquín Navío; and the organiser, Juan Miguel Merlos, have given more details of this event which returns as the main sporting attraction that this municipality offers to the province.
José Antonio García invited all the people of Almeria to take part in this race, which is a benchmark at provincial level and from the Provincial Council we would like to highlight the value of this type of event which combines tourism, sport and nature.
For his part, the Deputy Mayor of Purchena, Joaquín Navío, stressed that «this year we are taking another step in the consolidation of the Vertical Kilometre, which has become the Andalusia Cup and will attract athletes from all over the region. We are ready to welcome more than 150 participants and make them enjoy one of the most emblematic areas of the province, the Sierra de los Filabres. In addition, this year, anyone will be able to participate in the Open category or through the Desafío de la Cantera, an 11 kilometre trail».
Juan Miguel Merlos pointed out that this is the second edition of this Vertical Kilometre and that this year it forms part of the Andalusian Cup: «We will set off on 23 March with the aim of climbing one kilometre of ascent over a five-kilometre course», he explained.
This race is a mountain running event that will be held exclusively in the municipalities of Purchena and Laroya, passing through different areas such as Gevas, Barranco de las Zorreras, Cuerda de los Pelaos de García, Cerro Pelao, belonging to the municipality of Purchena, and Piedra Juan Felipe, in Laroya.
The start will be timed from the Barranco de Gevas at 10:30 am and the finish at the Piedra Juan Felipe (1584 metres). This is a vertical race over a distance of 5 kilometres with an accumulated positive difference in altitude of 900 metres. In addition, an open race and a half-kilometre vertical race will be held in parallel, starting at the Barranco de Gevas ravine and finishing in the Alamín-Tornajos area, where participants will cover a distance of 2.4 kilometres and an accumulated vertical drop of 502 metres. The finishing point will coincide with the first refreshment point of the Vertical Kilometre.
Athletes over 15 years of age, who meet the appropriate physical conditions to finish the race correctly within the established maximum time, can participate in the different races. Participants aged between 15 and 20 may compete in the specific race for the cadet and junior categories with a short distance.