Grand Trail de Serre-Ponçon

To tide you over until the Grand Trail de Serre-Ponçon returns in June 2026, here's a look back at the 2024 event:

To each his own! The Grand Trail de Serre-Ponçon has been reinvented for its 4th edition, which takes place on 8 and 9 June in the Hautes-Alpes. A new route, a new programme, to concentrate the pleasures and offer everyone a challenge to suit them, with 1,200 runners registered out of the 1,500 taking part in the event.

The new President of the organisation, Franck Bernard-Brunel, tells us more:
"For this 4th edition, we wanted to tighten up the programme, both to make the event more dynamic and to ease the commitment of our 200 volunteers. There will be 5 races and 6 different classifications. The first start will be on Saturday 8 June at 6.30am from Espinasses for 64km, followed by a 46km race at 8am from Chorges, and finally a 28km race at 10am in the centre of the Réallon resort. This third event on Saturday will be one of the 4 legs of the Golden Trail National Series, which brings together the best French runners in the discipline. On Sunday 9 June, the Rendez-vous en trail inconnu, a popular formula for trail runners, will set off at 8.30am for 30km, on a totally new course far removed from other routes. Finally, the last race of our event will set off from the heart of Embrun, from the Place Barthelon in front of the town hall, for 15km and 800m of ascent, in the direction of Mont-Guillaume. All 5 races over the two days will have one thing in common: the finish on the beach of Embrun's Plan d'Eau, with its festive atmosphere. A 6th classification will be offered: the Grand Défi du Trail de Serre-Ponçon. This replaces the 154km ultra organised in the three previous editions, and allows trail runners to cover 94km over two days, combining the 64km and the 30km of the Rendez-Vous en Trail Inconnu... A real challenge for strong runners! I'm delighted to see the enthusiasm for this event, which has already attracted 1,200 registrations from more than 80 French departments and around ten nations! There are still 300 race numbers up for grabs, especially for the short 15km format"

The Aiguilles de Chabrières and Mont Guillaume are on the menu!

On the course, this year's event is also a new one. Jean-Michel Faure-Vincent, the event's sporting director:
"After three years on the same route, we wanted to offer trail runners the opportunity to discover other nuggets of this region. The first two races on Saturday will take in the Col de la Gardette before heading towards the foothills of the Aiguilles de Chabrières and then down to the resort of Réallon. Then it's on to the wild and sublime Mont Guillaume! On Sunday, the two routes are completely new, both for the Rendez-Vous en Trail Inconnu and for the 15km."

www.grandtrailserreponcon.com