During February, thanks to the association Tri www with whom we actively collaborate, Sands Beach Resort had the pleasure of Marieke Vervoot and her guide dog Zenn as our guests. It’s the second time that Marieke has visited Lanzarote, on this occasion it’s to participate in the Music Marathon in Puerto del Carmen.

Marieke’s amazing zest for life and unerring good humour are both enviable and contagious. At the age of 20 years, Marieke found herself confined to a wheel chair as a result of a rare degenerative disease which she knew little about. But that didn’t stop her from enjoying a variety of sports and fulfilling her dreams by twice becoming World Triathlon Champion in the Paratriathlon category and competing in the Hawaii Ironman competition.

The rapid deterioration of her health has forced Marieke to withdraw from triathlon competition but the Iron Lady doesn’t give up easily and is now looking for new challenges. A great deal of her time now is devoted to motivational talks, swimming lessons for children and practising all kinds of sports. Back in November we had the pleasure of watching Marieke compete in the 2010 Arrecife City Marathon where she won first place in the women’s category with a time of 2:28·36.

Marieke told us that she feels at home in Lanzarote because of the welcome she gets from the people. That welcome is the inevitable response she evokes with her warm smile which makes time spent in her company so life reaffirming.

From Sands Beach, we send Marieke all our love and admiration and we look forward to having her stay with us again during the Lanzarote Ironman competition 2011 when she will be sporting the Sands Beach Active logo on her training and competition wear.

Last weekend our very good friend, sportsman Rafa Botello took part in one of the most eagerly contested Handbike competitions on Lanzarote. The second Vuelta Playa Blanca (tour of Playa Blanca) has become one of the three most important events of this type in the world attracting 63 competitors from 12 countries. Competing in the same category as Rafa was the 2010 world champion.

Rafa shared his experience of the event with Sands Beach.

“It was a good test for me to discover my current fitness levels in the sport but after the World Cup, a week long vacation and then workouts of up to 5 hours per day, two days wasn’t enough to assess  it 100% for sure.
On the Saturday I decided not to go flat out for the 3 kilometre prologue circuit as my main objective was the 2.1 km half marathon circuit on Sunday.

The route was lined with smiling, cheering people and it was looking good as I was in a top 10 position after the first lap. But the leaders were split into two groups. The guys in the first three places had gone off like a bullet and were way in front. The second group stayed more or less together for 38 minutes and on the 9th circuit I decided to ease off on the brakes going around the corner to try to go a bit faster and move up through the group. But when you’re out of practice, sometimes all you can do is hope. I mistimed braking at the corner and all I could do was wait until I hit the hay barrier.

After falling I decided it was time to retire from the race.

However, I was very happy to have competed with the best in the world and to have been amongst the top ten up until just 20 minutes from the end. The top three were in a different category from everyone else, but I believe I could have finished in seventh place in my first major handbike race.”

Rafa is staying on Lanzarote for another week and we’ll be honoured by his presense as well as that of other top athletes Eneko Llanos, Francisco Sola, Ivan Rana, Nicholas Ward and Alejandro Santamaria at the Tri.WWW charity event in aid of helping people with disabilities.

The event takes place on Friday 18th February and promises to be an afternoon jam-packed full of fun with a barbecue, raffles and some great music from the band LZ Sexy Chocolate.

You can pick up your ticket at Sands Beach Resort or through Tri.WWW. For more information call 928.59.58.20/928.59.04.00

This is going to be a fabulous event so don’t miss it.

When you touch down on a sun-kissed holiday island like Lanzarote it can be tempting to dump the luggage in your Lanzarote hotel, slip into the swimwear, slap on some suntan lotion, get prone on a beach and let that big golden orb in the sky kiss your sun-starved body for the rest of your holiday.

If the place you’re soaking up the sun is on the golden shores of the Sands Beach Resort lagoon then tearing yourself away from the sun’s clutches is even more difficult. But if you don’t you might be missing out on one of the most exhilarating holiday experiences you’re likely to have anywhere… and that’s becoming acquainted with Lanzarote’s undersea world.

With body friendly sea temperatures and an abundance of marine life, the waters around Lanzarote draw experienced scuba divers all year round. Given the current political crisis in Tunisia and Egypt, it’s also one of the few locations where divers can currently enjoy excellent diving conditions in winter within a few hour’s flying time from Britain

There’s no need to be an experienced scuba diver to get up close and personal with Lanzarote’s marine life. The expert team at Calipso Diving (BSAC Centre of Excellence and PADI Resort Centre) offer a Discover Scuba course which prepares beginners for their first steps into the big blue. The half day course in Costa Teguise includes thorough preparation and tuition so that beginners know exactly what the drill is when they slip below those invitingly blue waters at Playa Jablillo.

However, no amount of prep can prepare first-timers for that ‘WOW’ feeling that comes from entering this magical undersea kingdom. Even on an introductory dive you’ll be surrounded by brightly coloured fish and may also meet starfish, spider crabs, cuttlefish and possibly even an angel shark. It is quite simply an incredible experience and once tried never forgotten.

Reclining on a sunbed will seem pretty tame afterwards…but no worries, Calipso Diving have follow-up scuba diving courses that are just perfect for another undersea adventure.

In easy flying distance of the UK, year round sunshine, golden beaches, good restaurants and a lively nightlife, Lanzarote has long been known as the ideal winter holiday destination.

But increasingly, it isn’t just holiday makers who are enjoying the delights of this Canary Island. More and more professional athletes are choosing Lanzarote as their warm weather training destination, and for many of the same reasons that have made it such a popular holiday island.

Athletics training requires discipline and routine and any athlete will attest to the fact that time management is an essential part of your required skill set. For a Triathlete, you can multiply those demands by three. Building your performance in each of your disciplines, maintaining aerobic fitness and endurance and ensuring essential rest and recovery time makes for a demanding schedule.

In the UK winter months, short daylight hours and sub-zero temperatures can severely restrict an athlete’s training schedule. Throw into the mix time spent travelling from track to pool to gym and your time management takes a hefty blow to its performance.

Cut to the beautiful Lanzarote hotel of Sands Beach where daylight arrives at 6.30am and stays for 12 hours or more; where the daytime temperatures hover around the 68 -70º F plus mark; where a fully equipped gym, on and off-road bike routes, running trails, flat terrain, hill climbs and of course the beautiful Atlantic Ocean all lie within easy stride of your luxury accommodation and you’ve found the consummate warm weather training base. Which is exactly what triathletes Emma-Kate Lidbury and Rachel Joyce discovered when they chose Sands Beach as their hotel.

Sands Beach caught up with Emma and Rachel and asked them about the highs and lows of their triathlete careers to date, and their plans for 2011.