Grand Raid 2026: 2025 Diagonale des Fous winner Blandine L'Hirondel to race the Mascareignes

This return to the island will carry a very different meaning. In 2025, Blandine L’Hirondel made a huge impression on her first appearance at 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 exceptional eighth place overall.

But that victory was only part of a much longer story with Réunion. Ten years earlier, when she first set foot 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 this Diagonale des Fous victory,” she wrote.

© Grand Raid / ImazPress.com

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 repair the unimaginable. But you can be there,” the champion wrote.

So when she learned that she would be returning to Réunion for the Grand Raid, one idea took hold: run. Not for another title or to add another line to her record, but to share a new adventure with a family that has played such an important part 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 Réunion’s trails with a purpose that is above all human. 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 naturally draw attention. The French runner remains one of the leading figures in global trail running, and her previous appearance in Réunion was spectacular.

This time, though, the result and the clock will not be the main story. 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 goes far beyond sporting performance. The Mascareignes will become a new chapter in her Réunion story: a race for Lola, and a way to remain close to those who have given her so much since her first steps on the island.

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