The Team Jimbee runner reached the summit of Mount Teide in a time of 3h47'40" and descended in 2h6'. It is the best time of the Route 040 homologated by the FEDME.
On 17 December, Route 040 hosted a new record. The runner Zaid Ait Malek wanted to close 2020 by completing this very special route, which covers the biggest difference in altitude in Spain and one of the biggest in Europe. His objective was not to beat any time, but to complete this personal challenge that he had been thinking about for a long time, as he said minutes before his departure on the beach of El Socorro: "I'm really looking forward to this challenge, I've been thinking about it for a long time".
The clock started at 7:00 in the morning, Canary Islands time, and Zaid knew that he would not have an easy time, especially after participating a few days earlier in the Spanish Trail Championship by Autonomous Federations. But the ascent records showed the opposite, so Zaid passed La Fortaleza in just under 1h50', a time 15' better than that officially recorded by Pau Capell and similar to that of Manu Merillas. The next pass we had reference to was Montaña Blanca, here Zaid set a time of 2h28', that is to say 28′ of margin with respect to the time that Pau Capell did at this point last November 10th (02:56:15).
Little was left for him to climb to the summit of Teide, at 3,718 m., a summit he reached with a time of 3h47:40. Less than Pau Capell (4h6′) and almost 20 minutes more than Manuel Merillas (3h28'). Once at the highest point in Spain it would be to drop down to complete the 56 kilometres of this Tenerife Route 040 which is not only a sporting challenge, but also a leap into nature in its purest state, a different way of exploring the largest of the Canary Islands, discovering with each stride the essence of the north of Tenerife, its different landscapes, villages and people.
Zaid took a short break on the Teide and flew down the dizzying descent that leads back to Los Realejos, to the beach of El Socorro, clocking 4h25' at Montaña Blanca and 4h50' at La Fortaleza. In the images that we were able to see in the live broadcast as he passed through the Asomadero, Zaid was looking good as he faced the last kilometres of Route 040.
The Atlas runner had to go under 6:13:25 if he wanted to beat the best time approved by the FEDME referees, achieved by Pau Capell on 10 November. In the end, Zaid stopped the clock in 5:53:02, 20' ahead of Pau Capell and 17' behind Manu Merillas. Thus Zaid Ait Malek achieved the best time of the Route 040 validated by the FEDME.
"I'm very happy because I've been looking forward to this challenge for a long time and having achieved it will stay with me forever. I had a margin of about 15 minutes on the ascent to Pau and I knew that on the descent I could cut back, but on the last part, in the Asomadero area, it was very wet and very slippery, so I lost a bit of time," said Zaid on arriving at El Socorro beach.
Zaid sent a message of thanks to all his supporters: "Thank you very much to the whole trail world for all the encouragement in the races and in these remains!
All eyes during Zaid's #Reto04Zero were on the times of Pau Capell (6h13'25") and Manuel Merillas (5h36'28"). Rogelio Macías, responsible for the FEDME, declared during the live broadcast why Zaid's time was compared with Pau Capell's and not with Merillas'.
"In the case of Pau and Zaid, some referees have certified some specific points of the route of the Ruta 040, start, summit and finish. Likewise, when they arrived at El Socorro beach, the referees downloaded the track and validated the route, their times being official and approved by FEDME referees. For the time of the 040 route to be official, not only the track is not enough, it is also necessary to be registered and validated by FEDME referees".
We also leave you the documentary video written, directed and produced by Joaquín Clares, filmed during the days of the #Reto04Zero by Zaid Ait Malek. A small window to the trajectory of a sportsman to whom nobody has given anything, but who has known how to fight to achieve his goals. With the help of Jimbee we want to transmit all that life and the values that make Zaid the example of a sportsman that this sport needs. Because let's not forget that this is only sport and they are and must be the protagonists.
