CxM Ruta del Agua – El Gergal 2024: date and location

Plan your race pace

CxM Ruta del Agua – El Gergal was born as a mountain race with its own identity: a demanding route around the El Gergal reservoir, in Guillena, which has earned a reputation for its balance between physical toughness and scenery. The event, driven by Club Deportivo Hijos del Viento, has settled into the calendar as a date where the terrain, the elevation gain and the rural atmosphere matter just as much as the clock.

The edition held in April 2024 set the start on Avenida de la Vega, 27, in Guillena, Seville, with a morning schedule and the unmistakable stamp of an Andalusian mountain race: trails, sustained climbs, technical sections and an organization that, according to the reference information, paid special attention to course marking and aid stations. In this kind of event, the details matter as much as endurance, because a well-solved route completely changes the runner’s experience.

A route that revolves around water and mountain

The El Gergal reservoir is not just a setting; it is the narrative axis of the race. The itinerary embraces an environment where water, earth and slope cross paths in the same scene, and that mix gives meaning to the race’s name. This is not an urban circuit or a comfortable route for racking up kilometers, but a course in which every section forces you to read the terrain carefully.

The mountain, in this case, does not appear as background decoration, but as the real battlefield. The data found in competitor references describe a main route of 26.5 kilometers with 950 meters of positive elevation gain in one of the versions observed, while other later edition sheets mention distances of 14 kilometers and 28 kilometers, with elevation gains ranging from 200 meters to 1,240 meters D+. That evolution shows a flexible event, with different proposals depending on the edition and the organizational approach.

Technique is what rules in this kind of race. A narrow trail, a broken climb or a rocky descent turn every kilometer into a small test of balance and strategy. The runner is not only competing against the clock: also against effort management, reading the turns, foot placement and the ability to save energy for the final stages.

What makes this event different on the Andalusian calendar

Guillena and its surroundings offer a very recognizable landscape for Sevillian trail running: temperature, dry ground for much of the year and a topography that forces you to work with your head. In that setting, the race gains personality because it does not try to resemble other, more alpine or more forested events. Here the character is Mediterranean, with a very direct relationship between runner, heat, elevation and surface.

There is also an organizational side worth highlighting. The Trail Run Advisor reference highlights a race created by the C.D. Hijos del Viento with great care and affection, well marked and with complete aid stations. That kind of assessment is not just decorative praise: in mountain running, clear signage reduces route errors, gives participants peace of mind and prevents effort from being wasted on unnecessary doubts.

A race’s reputation is built like that, with small certainties repeated. A visible ribbon, a water station at the right moment, a section free of confusing crossings. These are details that are not easy to photograph, but they hold the experience together. In a race like this, trust in the organization becomes part of performance.

The distances and the type of runner it attracts

The presence of several distances opens the door to different profiles. The oldest edition detected by competitors was around 26.5 kilometers, a distance that already demands serious endurance work and some familiarity with the mountains. Later editions, with options of 14 and 28 kilometers, seem to broaden the range without losing the competitive DNA.

The short version, which in the reference data is described as short trail + hiking, can serve as an entry point for runners less seasoned in long-distance racing or for those who prefer a more contained challenge, though no less demanding for that. The long distance, with its greater elevation gain, calls for a cooler pace management and a greater tolerance for accumulated wear.

This is not a race to improvise in. Even in its most accessible version, the elevation gain and the nature of the terrain force you to think in terms of efficiency. Anyone arriving with road-running mentality soon discovers that linear paces break down here, that power-hiking uphill is sometimes smarter than jogging badly, and that descending hard without control punishes more than it speeds you up.

The value of elevation gain in a race like this

Positive meters are, in mountain running, a kind of real currency. They determine the energy cost, the effective duration of the effort and the relationship between power and endurance. In El Gergal, the figures observed in different editions show exactly that logic: a short race is not necessarily easy, and a longer distance is explained not only by the kilometers, but by how the climbs and descents are distributed.

An elevation gain of 950 meters over 26.5 kilometers already forces you to combine jogging, fast walking and active recovery. When the route climbs to 1,240 meters D+ in a 28-kilometer version, the demand shifts toward controlling muscular expenditure. The legs do not fail only from general fatigue, but from the buildup of tension in the quadriceps, calves and glutes.

In this context, reading the profile matters just as much as the official distance. Two races with the same number of kilometers can feel radically different if one concentrates the elevation gain in the first half and another spreads it out until the end. El Gergal moves within that logic of real mountain running, where the relief does not accompany you: it decides.

The start in Guillena and the role of the local setting

Guillena, in the province of Seville, gives the race a clear logistical base and a recognizable setting for runners from Andalusia and from other parts of the country. The start location on Avenida de la Vega, 27 places the event in an accessible framework, with the town as a support point before the route heads into the natural landscape.

That transition between urban center and open terrain helps build the atmosphere of the day. At the beginning there is movement, higher heart rates, measured nerves and the usual noise of a large start; afterward, the route gradually loses human references and the natural surroundings take on more weight. The race changes skin and goes from being a sporting event to becoming a physical crossing through the reservoir’s environment.

Local identity also matters. In many mountain races, the bond with the host town is the real engine of continuity. There are no great artifices or unnecessary staging: there are volunteers, a club, familiar trails and a community that recognizes the race as its own. That closeness, far from reducing ambition, usually reinforces the event’s authenticity.

What the reviews from those who have run it reveal

The opinions collected in the available reference point to a very well-regarded experience, with a rating of 5 out of 5 in the consulted record. Beyond the number, what is interesting is the content of the review: it speaks of a race made with care, of a beautiful route around the reservoir and of very complete aid stations. These are three elements that, together, explain much of the event’s appeal.

The beauty of the landscape does not by itself make up for weak organization, and correct organization does not save a bad course. What stands out about El Gergal, from what those ratings suggest, is that both things seem to have worked at the same time. Landscape and service support each other, and that is what usually turns a race into a lasting memory.

In trail running, a runner’s memory is fed by concrete images: a ridge, a bend by the water, a climb where the air feels heavy, a timely aid station. If the race leaves those marks, it gains prestige. If the course is also well marked, the result is an experience that recommends itself almost on its own, without big campaigns or embellishments.

What the runner can expect on the terrain

The route around the reservoir invites you to think of a mix of surfaces and paces. There is rarely just one texture in a race like this: tracks, paths, rocky areas, gentle slopes and ramps that break the rhythm all alternate. That variety is part of the appeal, but also of the punishment. The runner never fully settles in.

The aid stations, described as complete, take on special relevance here. In events with elevation gain and possible environmental exposure, hydrating and replenishing energy stops being a secondary gesture. A gel, water or an isotonic drink at the right time can prevent a sharp drop in performance in the second half. There is no magic in that, only basic physiology and accumulated experience.

There is also a mental dimension. Mountain races in settings like this require accepting that progress will not always be elegant. There will be moments of fluid running and others of short stride, high heart rate and rough breathing. The virtue lies in not fighting that reality, but adapting to it. That is one of the reasons why El Gergal is interesting for those looking for more than just another bib number.

A race with its own name within Sevillian trail running

Not all mountain races leave the same mark. Some survive through tradition, others through toughness, others through the charm of the place. CxM Ruta del Agua – El Gergal combines those three factors in fairly balanced doses. It has a recognizable setting, a technical enough approach to demand effort and a format that has adapted across different editions without losing its essence.

The available information on competitors also shows a certain interest from specialized platforms in placing it within a broader European trail map. That speaks of a race that, although local in its roots, goes beyond the municipal sphere and connects with a community of runners looking for distinctive routes, well organized and with their own character.

In practice, its value lies in that mix: a manageable distance for many mountain runners, elevation gain that gives nothing away and a landscape that justifies the effort from the very first kilometer. A race does not have to be huge to be memorable. Sometimes it is enough for it to be coherent, honest and well executed from start to finish.

El Gergal and the modern logic of mountain races

Modern trail running increasingly rewards events that offer more than just numbers. Distance matters, elevation gain too, but today runners look for routes with personality, clear logistics and an environment that adds visual and sporting value. In that equation, El Gergal fits well because it does not sell artifices: it offers terrain, demand and scenery.

The race also reflects a very widespread trend in Spain: the consolidation of mountain events linked to local clubs that know the terrain and know how to read the needs of amateur runners. That organizational fabric, less flashy than the big brands but much closer to the ground, supports a large part of the national calendar.

That is why CxM Ruta del Agua – El Gergal deserves attention. Not only for its kilometers or its elevation gain, but for what it represents within the trail ecosystem: a race that relies on its surroundings, takes care of the course and gives runners a complete experience in return, the kind that is remembered for the landscape, the effort and the feeling of having run in a place with its own identity.