François D’Haene reclaims the GR20 record in under 30 hours

The GR20 is no walk in the park. Crossing Corsica from north to south, the iconic route covers 160 km with 12,000 m of elevation gain. Ten years after setting the first benchmark on the legendary GR20 (31:06 in June 2016), François D’Haene has reclaimed the record in 29 hours and 46 minutes, improving the previous mark by 39 minutes. The four-time UTMB champion (2012, 2014, 2017 and 2021) is now the first athlete to complete the route in under 30 hours, with his family and close supporters by his side throughout.

Originally scheduled for earlier in the week, the attempt was postponed twice because of poor weather. François D’Haene, 40, eventually set off from Calenzana at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 9, making the most of cooler temperatures before another spell of extreme heat returned to the island. From the opening kilometres, the Salomon athlete set a brisk pace on one of Europe’s most demanding long-distance trails. By the halfway point in Vizzavona, he had already built a lead of more than 50 minutes over the previous benchmark.

Although he covered almost the entire southern section of the GR20 at night, over particularly technical and demanding terrain, he maintained his pace all the way to Conca, crossing the finish line in 29:46 and setting a new benchmark. The previous record was 30:25, set by Lambert Santelli in 2021. Throughout the spring, François D’Haene returned to Corsica several times to recce key sections of the route, assess trail conditions after an especially snowy winter and fine-tune every aspect of his strategy.

“Breaking 30 hours on a route like this is incredibly rewarding”

“ Coming back to the GR20 ten years after my first record meant a great deal to me, François D’Haene said at the finish. I wanted to see what experience, patience and a more methodical preparation could bring to such a demanding project. Breaking 30 hours on a route like this is incredibly rewarding. It’s an adventure that demands total commitment from start to finish, and I’m grateful to everyone who supported me along the way. ”

As Xavier Thévenard did during his 2020 attempt (32:32), almost an hour and a half behind the previous benchmark set by François D’Haene, the runner from Beaufortain shared his adventure in real time on social media. The achievement became an event, the performance a spectacle. A real boon for the sponsors, whose names appeared at every stage of the effort. Gone are the days when records were set in complete secrecy, with only the stopwatch counting…

The GR20 is also emerging as one of the most sought-after proving grounds for trail runners this summer. Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz, winner of the Diagonale des Fous and Hardrock 100 in 2023, has also announced plans to take on the record sometime in September.