Baptiste Dugué outlasts the field at the Chartreuse Backyard Ultra with 36 laps

329 starters and nearly 400 people on the waiting list: the Raidlight Chartreuse Backyard Ultra 2026 confirmed its popularity. A younger crowd, highly motivated support crews and plenty of PBs sum up this race, run in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont from last Friday.

© Chartreuse Backyard

© Chartreuse Backyard

© Chartreuse Backyard

© Chartreuse Backyard

© Chartreuse Backyard

© Chartreuse Backyard

The strongest, mentally and physically, turned out to be Baptiste Dugué, 39, who ran 36 laps, and without any support crew at that.

© Chartreuse Backyard

But he came within a hair of throwing in the towel on the final loop. Baptiste admitted he had seriously considered quitting, but when he didn't run into his last rival on the course, he realized he was now alone in the race… and about to win!

Christophe Louet, Baptiste Dugué's last rival, had in fact pulled out during his 34th lap, forced to stop by hallucinations. He finishes second in this 2026 edition, ahead of the remarkable Franck Derrien, a familiar face of trail running and of the Adaptive team, who has Asperger's, and who ended up third.

© Chartreuse Backyard

Running alongside Charlie Rivoire, the two men had planned to stop together after 33 laps. But when the moment came, Franck Derrien changed his mind, turned around and launched into an incredible sprint to catch Christophe Louet and Baptiste Dugué, already off on the 34th loop. One last push to grab third place, in his first backyard.

26 runners had crossed the symbolic 100-mile mark, nearly 161 km, and the field thinned out as the hours went by. 11 runners set off on a 29th loop, three of them women, then 10 went past 200 km. Two-time winner Liess Makhlouf, had to drop out early, after 18 laps.

© Chartreuse Backyard

The women's victory went to the duo of Charlotte Goutorbe and Camille Domanger, with 31 laps on the clock. Both set a new personal best at 208 km.