Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz launches Game of Stones in bid to break GR 20 record in Corsica

At 5 a.m. on Thursday, September 24, French trail runner Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz is due to set off on his attempt to break the GR 20 record in Corsica. Between Calenzana in the north of the island and Conca in the south, he will have to devour a giant, indigestible salad of rocks across 166 km of highly technical terrain and 12,180 m of elevation gain. In July, François d’Haene digested the route in 29:46, becoming the first man to break the 30-hour barrier on the traverse. Accompanied by nine pacers, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz will try to go faster.

A quirk of the 2026 calendar: while François d’Haene was setting a new record on the traverse of the GR 20 on July 9, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz was winning the Restonica Trail (110 km and 7,200 m of elevation gain) on the same weekend, around Corte. For the Frenchman from Savoie, the race was one of the final stages of his preparation for his GR 20 record attempt, which starts this Thursday, September 24.

I’ve been thinking about this project, living it and preparing for it for years. Today, everything is green-lit and the time has come to enter the battle
Aurélien Dunand-PallazUltrarunner

Originally scheduled for 2025, the attempt was pushed back by a year after an injury. Beyond the sporting challenge, this project is the culmination of a deeply personal story. Aurélien has felt a profound connection to Corsica since childhood. He approaches the challenge with complete humility and deep respect for this land of contrasts, fascinated by both its beauty and the mineral harshness of its terrain, almost merciless in places.

His 20th GR 20 traverse, but his first against the clock

Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz has always excelled on difficult, technical trails, as shown by his 2023 victory in the Grand Raid de La Réunion and his third-place finish there last year. Nor is Corsica unfamiliar territory. He has already covered the route that cuts across the island from north to south 19 times, unofficially. The 20th will be a timed attempt, conducted under the rules set by the Corsican branch of the Fédération Française de Montagne et d’Escalade (FFME), making this one of the most tightly regulated FKTs around.

The route normally follows this itinerary:

Calenzana (start) → Ortu di u Piobbu → Carozzu → Ascu Stagnu → Tighjettu → Ciottulu di i Mori → Manganu → Petra Piana → Onda → Vizzavona (midpoint of the route) → Capannelle → Prati → Usciolu → Matalza → Asinau → Paliri → Conca (finish).

Famous mountain passes add spice to the route, including Bocca di Stagnu, Col de Vergio, Bocca alle Porte, Bocca Muratellu, Bocca di Verde, Bocca di Laparo and Bavella.

The first timed checkpoint should come at the Col de Vergio, after around 8 hours of racing if everything goes to plan, with the second at Vizzavona after roughly 15 hours 30 minutes according to estimates based on François d’Haene’s progress. From there, his pacers should be able to keep him regularly updated on the gap to the current record.

Strict rules govern any official record

For a potential record to be ratified, the attempt must meet several requirements, including:

Have no more than two pacers with him, and three on the Grand Cirque de la Solitude
Carry a GPS tracker
Submit the GPX track at the end of the attempt so it can be compared with the official route
Follow the original route, as François d’Haene did
Have the logbook provided at the start signed at every refuge or official checkpoint

Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz will of course abide by the rules and can count on the support of nine pacers, including elite ultrarunners, renowned ski mountaineers and close friends.

Joining him on the route will be:

Diego Pazos on legs 2 and 7
Julien Michelon on legs 1 and 7
Valentin Noebes on legs 3 and 8
Alain and Roland (friends from his in-laws’ family) on leg 5
Sylvain Léonard on legs 4 and 9
Pierre Gapihan on legs 3 and 8
Arthur Joyeux-Bouillon on legs 2 and 9
Theo Detienne on legs 1 and 4

When Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz launched this ambitious project, he probably did not expect François d’Haene to lower the benchmark below 30 hours just a few months before his own attempt. The four-time UTMB winner benefited from three fewer hours of darkness in midsummer, compared with the conditions Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz will face. One more stone in the Savoyard’s shoe, but he is ready for the challenge.