Race Review: 3 Días Trail Ibiza 2024 (10k Starter)

Ibiza is known as a party destination, but I went to do the opposite: to run a trail race. The 3 Días Trail Ibiza is a choose-your-own-adventure, multi-day trail race. The first and third days are 10k distance, while the second day ranged from 10k to 73k. You could also participate in individual races.

I did the 10k Starter, which was 3 days of trail 10ks, and it was a fantastic time (though not without some hiccups). Here’s my review of the event.

Overview of the 10k Starter

Just as the name in Spanish implies, the 3 Días Trail Ibiza is a 3-day trail race. It’s a “chill” multi-day trail race though; instead of camping between each leg, you get to go home and rest.

The 10k starter was a night 10k in the old town of Ibiza on Friday, a morning 10k to Sant Josep de sa Talaia on Saturday, and a morning 10k from Santa-Eulalia on Sunday. Each day was approximately 10k and sometimes a bit longer or shorter, and each day had around 400m (1312ft) of elevation gain.

In 2024, the event took place end of November and beginning of December. The weather is still very pleasant in Ibiza and you can see I work shorts and tees/tanks.

Registration/Packet Pickup

Registration was a little confusing since there were two websites. I ended up going through the main one, and it was pretty easy to follow after translating the browser into English.

I had to pay an extra 20 euros since you needed trail insurance, and I also paid an extra 20 euros for bus transport for the second and third days. All in all, it was around 110 euros, which I couldn’t complain about given that it was 3 races in one.

Packet pickup was at Trideporte, a triathlon store in Sant Jordi de ses Salines. You could also pick up before the races. Going to Trideporte was a bit inconvenient from Ibiza Old Town, and I ended up running one way and taking an Uber back since the bus never came, so plan ahead. There was no expo and packet pickup was just a few tents outside the store.

The shirt was also SUPER small, so make sure to size up (maybe even twice). I got my standard women’s small and it was child size. I switched with another woman and the large fit well.

Mandatory Equipment

For the 10k starter, the equipment you needed each day were trail shoes, an emergency whistle, emergency blanket, and cell phone. They actually checked these things after each race and you got a 3-minute penalty for missing one item, and you could get disqualified if you missed more than that.

For the night race, you also needed a front and tail light (which I got at Decathlon, an affordable sporting goods store all around Spain). On the second day, you also needed a jacket.

It did feel a bit excessive to need all these things, especially for the night 10k in the city, but it wasn’t too hard to carry these things in a vest or in your pockets.

Poles were also allowed, but only with rubber tips. If they had metal tips, you could get a penalty. I had poles in my luggage but without rubber tips, so I left them at home. I barely saw anyone with poles for the 10ks anyways.

Day 1: Ibiza town

The night 10k had the best party atmosphere! It was really special to go through the old town with our headlamps and have the locals cheer us on.

The course was a double loop, and most of it was actually on roads or cobblestone. There was a small section on trails (and through cacti!) but I’d estimate it was less than 2k total.

You’d think that this would be one of the easiest days, but the cobblestones were quite slick at night and I almost slipped a few times. We also did get backed up a couple times on the narrower parts of the race, but it was nothing too noticeable (unlike the last day).

I ended up finishing in 1:22, which was a big surprise for me. I thought it would take me a lot longer since I was just getting back into shape from a long break, and there was a lot of elevation gain.

At the finish, there was water and pizza, but I ended up just grabbing my stuff from bag check and heading back to my Airbnb.

Day 2: Sant-Josep-de-Talia

Getting up for the second day was a STRUGGLE. We barely had 12 hours between the two races, and this course was basically a straight uphill the whole way.

There were a couple bus pickup points, but there was some miscommunication and a bunch of us showed up at a hotel only to be told to walk 15 minutes to the city to be picked up by the beach. I feel very grateful that I showed up when that group was leaving since I otherwise could’ve been left behind!

The bus dropped us off at the side of the road, and we had to walk around 1k downhill to the start line. This day was the least crowded since each race distance had their own starting location, so it was only us 10k folks.

This day was brutal, but I appreciated having more space to go my own pace, and I also made good use of the aid station midway to refuel on fruit/crackers and refill my bottles.

I was so glad I had downloaded the GPX tracks of the races, since knowing how much elevation gain we had covered already made it easier mentally to keep going. This day actually had 520m/1700ft of gain, so it was the most brutal in terms of elevation.

The final stretch was downhill and a bit treacherous in spots (you could hold onto a rope luckily), but it was great to sprint into the finish, which was the same for all distances. This day had the most fun finish line, with tons of food (including meat or veggie paella, luxuriously-thick hot chocolate, beer for purchase, and a flan-like dessert).

I finished this day in 1:37, which I was also super happy with because I really thought each day would take me at least 1:45 or even 2 hours (most of my trail runs are very leisurely).

Day 3: Santa-Eulalia

My body was really feeling it this last day. The bus dropped us off at Santa-Eulalia by the beach, and I just wanted to curl up and sleep instead of run a trail 10k.

This day also had a fun party atmosphere, and they even had decorations and a photo arch with props. We started from the town center, ran along the beach, and then started climbing.

The climb was treacherous on this one—it was so steep and narrow that we got backed up for 10+ minutes in the first few kilometers. Even worse, parts of the course were out-and-back, so by the time I’d done maybe 1/3 of the race, the winners were coming back and having to weave through the traffic jams.

Once we were out of the huge traffic jam, things were a lot smoother, but we got backed up again when there was a literal climb up the side of the cliff. Going back down the steep trail was also ridiculous, and I was basically shuffling and even waddling like a duck at some points.

This trail was also particularly rocky, so I had to kind of dance around and stay cautious even on the nicer downhills. I had no idea how the teams pushing someone in a wheelchair and guiding a blind woman managed this course; it was ridiculously impressive.

I was so tired on this day that I actually tripped off a ledge halfway through and rolled and hit my head. My knee and hand took a bloody beating, but I was okay enough to just get up and keep running. First aid washed me up at the finish line, so I was grateful for that.

I ended up finishing in 1:40 on the last day, which I was also fine with given how brutal the course was and how tired I was.

At this finish, there was basic fuel (jelly sandwiches, fruits, nuts), and we all got a mug and finisher’s jacket.

Final Thoughts

The 3 Días Trail Ibiza is a unique race, and I’m glad I made it through the challenge! I wasn’t ready at that point for anything longer than a one-day half marathon, and I felt silly rearranging a whole trip around a “for funsies” half marathon, so the 10k Started felt like just the right kind of thing for my time in Ibiza.

I never wanted to visit Ibiza since I’m the total opposite of a party girl, but I also loved discovering the island through the races. And I met the sweetest locals during my stay.

I would recommend this event for sure. It’s a good enough size to keep things interesting—there were around 250 total 10k series starters, with several hundred more runners on the first and last days since we were grouped together with people doing other distance series. It’s mostly local, but there are also some internationals. I became friends with another American and a Scottish woman. The night/day and city/trail combinations also keep things interesting.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments, and happy running! You can follow along my running adventures on Strava if you want to see where I go next.