Running in Maspalomas: Playa del Inglés to Meloneras

Now that I have started using SportTracks to monitor my training, I am going to introduce a new running route in the south of Gran Canaria.

I spend quite a few weekends in this area, training in the park at Campo Internacional de Maspalomas. Small parks are not ideal for long runs, however—at least not if you want to preserve what little sanity remains while training for a marathon.

So I put on my Garmin Forerunner 405 and set off from Playa del Inglés towards the park, taking the route down to Faro de Maspalomas and through Meloneras.

An 18 km route through Maspalomas and Meloneras

The route turned out to be a fairly tough, rolling course. Although it begins favourably, the climbs start after Maspalomas Lighthouse, making your pace fall as quickly as your heart rate rises.

I had covered just over 14 km by the time I reached the park entrance, so I completed my 18 km run with three laps of the park. They are represented by the final three peaks in the elevation profile.

The best thing about this route is that you can run more peacefully around Maspalomas than in the capital. There are fewer cars, and people stroll at a relaxed pace—they are on holiday, after all. The views are also incredible, especially along the Meloneras promenade, which makes the climb a little easier to bear.

Training data from SportTracks

Since I was exploring the capabilities of SportTracks, here are a few examples of the training data that the software could analyse.

The first shows the distance and time spent climbing, descending and running on flat ground, together with the pace for each type of terrain. It seems to classify too much of the route as flat, because it felt as though I spent a long time going up and down. I imagine this could be configured.

We can also view heart-rate data, which is more common in this kind of training software. I kept my heart rate at a reasonable level considering the rolling terrain.

Finally, the route can be analysed in individual sections, with the selected interval highlighted on the map. As usual, I finished by speeding up over the final kilometres.

Who this route is for

This route is highly recommended if you are staying in the south of the island and want to make a training run a little tougher. I would not suggest doing it every week, but it can be useful occasionally.

View the activity on Garmin Connect.

Originally published in Spanish on 8 October 2009. Read the original article. English translation prepared on 6 September 2026.