Blandine L'Hirondel returns to La Réunion for the Mascareignes at Grand Raid 2026

This return to the island will carry a very different kind of significance. In 2025, Blandine L’Hirondel made a huge impression on her first appearance in the Diagonale des Fous. The French champion won after 178 km and more than 10,000 m of elevation gain, finishing in 27:26:09 and taking an outstanding eighth place overall.

But behind that victory was a long-standing connection with La Réunion. Ten years earlier, when she was taking her first steps on the island, David and Valérie introduced her to trail running. Their bond has grown stronger over the years.

“ They have always been there for me, throughout those years when I was far from my family circle,” Blandine L’Hirondel wrote on Instagram. Last year, the couple welcomed her into their home for two months, supported her training and followed her at the aid stations during the Diagonale. “Carried, in their own way, all the way to that Diagonale des Fous victory ,” she wrote.

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Running for Lola

Then, this summer, David and Valérie’s lives were turned upside down by the loss of their daughter, Lola. Faced with such a tragedy, Blandine L’Hirondel says she felt the helplessness that comes when words are no longer enough. “You can’t take away the pain or fix the unthinkable. But you can be there,” the champion wrote.

So when she learned that she would be returning to La Réunion for the Grand Raid, one idea took hold: run. Not for another title, nor to add another line to her record, but to share a new adventure with a family that has played such an important role in her story. “Something that feels like us and brings us together: running. Running for Lola.”

That is why the choice of the Mascareignes makes perfect sense. On a shorter course than the Diagonale des Fous, Blandine L’Hirondel will return to La Réunion’s trails with a fundamentally human purpose. The two-time trail world champion wants to “try, for a few hours, to give them back a project, an adventure to experience together, aid stations to prepare, a finish line to share and emotions to feel .”

A different way to experience the Grand Raid

From a sporting perspective, Blandine L’Hirondel’s presence will of course attract plenty of attention. The French athlete remains one of the biggest names in global trail running, and her previous appearance in La Réunion was spectacular.

But this time, the result and the clock will not be the main thing. A year after the rush of a historic Diagonale des Fous victory, the KIPRUN athlete is returning to the island for a race whose significance extends far beyond sporting performance. The Mascareignes will become a new chapter in her La Réunion story: a race for Lola, but also a way of standing by those who have given her so much since her first days on the island.

The Mascareignes will start on October 16 at 1:00 a.m. (11:00 p.m. on October 15, French time).