When the wife-and-husband pair of Henriette Albon (Norway) and Jonathan Albon (U.K.) won the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k on Saturday, March 7, it was one of the rare times a married couple won a major ultra. Both executed dominant races through a cold and wet night and a quickly warming day to finish in 15:16:33 and 13:58:06, respectively.
Husband and wife, Jonathan Albon (U.K.) and Henriette Albon (Norway) win the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
Runners set off a minute before midnight local time on Friday night, under cool, cloudy skies. They ran across a sandy strip of Las Canteras beach in Las Palmas, on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, trailing a string of headlamps through the town and toward the trails. Spots of rain began to fall as they headed into the unpredictable conditions of the mountains, which challenged athletes to take care of their layers and nutrition during the race’s early, dark hours. In light of the weather forecast, organizers required racers to carry an additional cold-weather kit. By midday on Saturday, however, they would be picking up ice at the aid stations to stay cool in the sun.
The 126-kilometer (78.3 miles) Classic distance is the flagship race at the five-day running festival and features 6,764 meters (22,190 feet) of climbing, with the course reaching 1,724 meters (5,656 feet) above sea level at the highest point. Gran Canaria is a volcanic island off the northwest coast of Africa, and the course traverses rugged ground through the mountains from the capital city of Las Palmas in the northeast to the town of Maspalomas on the southern coast. The majority of the climbing is in the second half of the race, but it’s also considered the less technical half.
The Transgrancanaria Classic is the third event this year in the World Trail Majors series, after the Hong Kong 100k and Black Canyon 100k, and this was the race’s 27th edition. Landslides caused by heavy rains earlier this year resulted in a course change in the island’s La Manzanilla region. According to organizers, this year’s race distance was one kilometer shorter than the normal route.
The men’s and the women’s races were hotly competitive, with last year’s women’s champion Albon returning to defend her title, as well as Claudia Tremps (Spain), who finished second at the event in 2025, and was returning to the race for an eighth time. Other favorites included Katarzyna Dombrowska (Poland), Eleanor Whyman-Davis (U.K.), and Stephanie Case (Canada).
The men’s race featured a strong British contingent, with Albon and Josh Wade, who placed second and third last year respectively, as well as Tom Evans, who won the event in 2022. They were joined by Hannes Namberger (Germany), while Hayden Hawks (U.S.) suffered an injury while training on the course and wasn’t able to start as planned.
2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k Women’s Race
With last year’s first and second-place women, Henriette Albon (Norway) and Claudia Tremps (Spain), on the start line, and many others looking to challenge them, the women’s race was dynamic from the start and turned into one of attrition with plenty of passing throughout.
Tremps took the race out quickly, initially running with the crowded men’s pack through Tenoya, the first aid station at 10.7k (6.6 miles), in the top 15 overall with 53 minutes elapsed. Less than an hour into the race, she was already five minutes up on Albon and Katarzyna Dombrowska (Poland), and a further minute up on Mélanie Delasoie (Switzerland) and Robyn Cassidy (U.K.).
By Fontanales, 43.6k (27 miles) into the race and with 4:49 on the clock, Tremps led Dombrowska by just a few seconds, with Albon about seven minutes back. Not long after, Dombrowska took the lead as Tremps experienced stomach issues in the morning. Eleanor Whyman-Davis (U.K.), who had moved herself into fourth place by Fontanales, dropped by El Hornillo at 53.6k (33.3 miles).
Henriette Albon wins the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k for the second year in a row. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
Albon arrived at the Tejeda aid station at 79.2k (49.2 miles) just two minutes after leader Dombrowska, who got there with 9:44 elapsed, and left narrowly behind her. With pop still in her legs, she overtook Dombrowska up the narrow, rocky climb toward Roque Nublo, 89.1k (55.1 miles), to assume the lead. With 11:14 on the clock, now leader Albon passed the volcanic monolith with blue skies above and a technical descent ahead. Tremps also passed Dombrowska on the climb, moving up to second place, but got to the top more than 20 minutes behind the leader.
Dombrowska was now reportedly struggling with cramps and slowing down significantly, and she would withdraw before 100k. Delasoie, on the other hand, moved up from fifth to third place between 92.2k (57.3 miles) and 100k (62.1 miles). As positions mixed around her, Cassidy remained in fourth.
Albon stayed comfortably in front, while Tremps was behind in second, looking as if the kilometers were adding up. At 113k (70.2 miles), before the final climb, with 13:58 on the clock, Albon held over an hour lead on second-place Tremps, who was 12 minutes up on Delasoie. Cassidy was in fourth, another 19 minutes back.
Henriette Albon reached the finish with 15:16:33 on the clock to win the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k, more than 1.5 hours ahead of the rest of the women.
Meanwhile, the race for the remaining podium spots remained dynamic until the end. Delasoie caught up to Tremps in the final 15k of racing, opened up a couple-minute gap, which Tremps closed with a couple of kilometers left. Ultimately, Mélanie Delasoie and Claudia Tremps crossed the line together in a tie for second place in 16:49:20. Robyn Cassidy stayed steady and finished fourth in 17:14, and Zita Kosač (Poland) was fifth in 17:26:08.
Mélanie Delasoie (right) and Claudia Tremps run to the line together to tie for second at the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k Women’s Results
- 1. Henriette Albon (Norway) — 15:16:33
- 2. Mélanie Delasoie (Switzerland) — 16:49:20
- 2. Claudia Tremps (Spain) — 16:49:20
- 4. Robyn Cassidy (U.K) — 17:14:03
- 5. Zita Kosač (Poland) — 17:26:08
- 6. Kelsey Hogan (Canada) — 17:53:28
- 7. Stephanie Case (Canada) — 18:14:52
- 8. Ingrid Lid (Norway) — 18:27:08
- 9. Paula Barbosa (Portugal) — 19:06:06
- 10. Sonja Muittari (Finland) — 19:29:58
Mélanie Delasoie (left) and Claudia Tremps tie for second at 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k Men’s Race
Tom Joly (U.K.) started with an aggressive lead from the gun, alongside pre-race favorites Tom Evans (U.K.), Jonathan Albon (U.K.), Josh Wade (U.K.), and Hannes Namberger (Germany). At Tenoya, 10.7k (6.6 miles) into the race, they ran alongside others, including Borja Fernández (Spain), Abel Carretero (Spain), and Seth Swanson (U.S.). As the cold night wore on, the group whittled down to Albon, Evans, Wade, and Namberger. At El Hornillo, they were all together with 5:31 on the clock. Evans would drop soon after, leaving the others to fight for the podium.
After passing through the highest point of the course and heading down to the Tejeda aid station at 79.2k (49.2 miles), Albon and Wade moved clear of the rest of the pack. Namberger held onto third position but was moving less smoothly, despite seeming calm and composed earlier.
Jonathan Albon waves to the crowd as he wins the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
After a tight race thus far between Albon and Wade, Albon broke loose from Wade on the climb to Roque Nublo, 89.1k (55.1 miles) into the race, summitting the climb with a two-minute gap and 9:39 on the clock. Now in bright, sunny conditions, he made quick work of the technical, rocky downhill sections around the 100k (62.1 miles) mark, but so did Wade, both seeming to find the terrain underfoot similar to their respective training grounds in Norway and the U.K. Namberger reached the top 3.5 minutes behind Wade in third place.
Behind the top three, significant gaps were opening. At the Roque Nublo summit, Fernández was in fourth position, about 21 minutes off the lead, and Victor Richard (Belgium), who was sixth at the event last year, was in fifth, another 17 minutes back.
Hanne Namberger finishes second at the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
As the leaders made their way down from the mountains and toward the coast, Albon seemed firmly in control, and the battle for the final two podium spots was heating up. At the final aid station at Ayagaures, 113k (70.2 miles) into the race, Albon had 11:47 on the clock and a seven-minute lead on Wade. Meanwhile, Namberger had closed the gap significantly and was now just over a minute behind second place, and his arrival at the aid station seemingly caused Wade to rush out. At Ayagaures aid, Albon and Namberger picked up ice in their packs before beginning the final climb in the heat of the day, but Wade, leaving in haste, didn’t appear to do so. Last year, Fernández dropped soon after this point after not taking enough water, so he also duly took on ice and water this year.
Albon continued to move economically, but amongst the leaders, the challenge seemed to be the athlete who faded the least before the finish line. Namberger had been steadily catching up to Wade, and with an ice pack bobbing around his neck, he made the pass into second place on the rocky river bed toward the finish line, with a sportsmanlike high-five between the two.
Josh Wade finishes third for the second year in a row at the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Carlos Díaz-Recio
After the rocky riverbed near the finish line, Jonathan Albon found his final stride and won the 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic in 12:58:08, giving the finish-line crowd high fives as he came down the chute. Hannes Namberger finished second, holding his son in his arms as he crossed the finish line in 13:03:10. Josh Wade held firm to finish in third position for the second year in a row with a time of 13:07:54. Borja Fernández finished in fourth in 13:34:08, and Victor Richard was fifth in 13:58:55.
Early leader Joly finished just outside the men’s top 10, in 11th place, and Swanson was the 16th man.
2026 Transgrancanaria Classic 126k Men’s Results
- Jonathan Albon (U.K.) — 12:58:08
- Hannes Namberger (Germany) — 13:03:10
- Josh Wade (U.K.) — 13:07:54
- Borja Fernández (Spain) —13:34:08
- Victor Richard (Belgium) — 13:58:55
- Abel Carretero (Spain) — 14:31:54
- Pau Rius (Spain) — 14:41:22
- Dylan Dame (Belgium) —14:52:05
- Robin Fournier (Switzerland) — 15:14:19
- Łukasz Sum (Poland) — 15:28:52
