The 2026 LPA Trail Marathon, Gran Canaria
Marathon # 559
Maspalomas Dunes Marathon # 119
Date: March 15, 2026
My Time: 7:35:16
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
The network of guaguas of Gran Canaria is a comfortable tool serving the vital activity of the Stone Age and the modern era.
My 559th marathon included an 11 km official race: The 2026 LPA Trail Media. My wife and I took three guaguas (buses) to reach the start of the LPA Trail Media at the Las Palmas University Stadium in Tafira. Having arrived an hour too early, we walked 4 km along the Barranco (dry canyon) of Santa Brigida, then we joined the other participants and ran mostly on the Barranco of Guiniguada to Plaza Santa Ana—the finish line—in the old town of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We walked afterwards a few kilometers to the Santa Catalina bus station and took another guagua to Playa del Inglés, where I finished the marathon.
Gran Canaria has an extensive, efficient, comfortable, and cheap network of public guaguas (buses). The service is even free for residents who use the guaguas at least 30 times in 90 days. This network of guaguas is therefore a modern tool that can be used by those who want to practice, anywhere on the island, the vital activity of the Stone Age and the modern era, namely long-distance running and walking, which is what marathons, trails, etc., are anthropologically about.
One last point: guagua is the word for “bus” not only in the Canary Islands, but also in Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc., whereas it means “baby” in Chile, Argentine, etc.
My book Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Maspalomas Dunes Marathon # 119
Date: March 15, 2026
My Time: 7:35:16
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
The network of guaguas of Gran Canaria is a comfortable tool serving the vital activity of the Stone Age and the modern era.
My 559th marathon included an 11 km official race: The 2026 LPA Trail Media. My wife and I took three guaguas (buses) to reach the start of the LPA Trail Media at the Las Palmas University Stadium in Tafira. Having arrived an hour too early, we walked 4 km along the Barranco (dry canyon) of Santa Brigida, then we joined the other participants and ran mostly on the Barranco of Guiniguada to Plaza Santa Ana—the finish line—in the old town of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We walked afterwards a few kilometers to the Santa Catalina bus station and took another guagua to Playa del Inglés, where I finished the marathon.
Gran Canaria has an extensive, efficient, comfortable, and cheap network of public guaguas (buses). The service is even free for residents who use the guaguas at least 30 times in 90 days. This network of guaguas is therefore a modern tool that can be used by those who want to practice, anywhere on the island, the vital activity of the Stone Age and the modern era, namely long-distance running and walking, which is what marathons, trails, etc., are anthropologically about.
One last point: guagua is the word for “bus” not only in the Canary Islands, but also in Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc., whereas it means “baby” in Chile, Argentine, etc.
My book Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Gisele Diallo and Sidy Diallo on the course of the 2026 LPA Trail Media
Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo’s 2026 LPA Trail Marathon Garmin data
Gisele Diallo and Sidy Diallo’s 2026 LPA Trail Media Results
Gisele Diallo and Sidy Diallo completed the 2026 LPA Trail Media.
Flowers and colors on the course of the 2026 LPA Trail Media
Gran Canaria has an extensive, efficient, comfortable, and cheap network of public guaguas (buses).