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After three participations at the 75km race I wanted to aim a bit higher for this year's edition of the
Ultra Trail du Mercantour. Unfortunately the next race is 120km (+8000 elevation gain) which is above my level. So I decided to do a bit of my own race: enrol for 120km, but stop at 94km and 5200m elevation gain at the magnificent Relais des Merveilles. I am so glad that I was realistic about my objectives: in the blistering heat of this July day more than 40% of participants had to give up. I reached my goal in 22h35min. Let's see if I can come back for more next year.
Pictures from KM30 to KM69.
Check out the difference in pace between KM30 and KM58 !
This year I participated for the first time at
Grand Trail des Millefonts. Although I know this area quite well I was amazed by the breathtaking views of the Mercantour.
The time barriers were very demanding, so we were in a bit of a hurry. In the end it worked out well with 53km and 3743m elevation gain in 11h41 min.
As every year the
Marathon de la Vesubie 2026 was just great. Relaxed atmosphere, challenging, but not too hard. Cheers to the organisers for taking such great photos of all the participants! 42km and 2700m elevation gain in 7h45min.
On the
Trail des Balcons d'Azur 2026 I participated in the ''Défi du TBA'' which means challenge (I was on the small challenge last year): on Saturday
I ran 23km+700m elevation gain in 3h08min, on Sunday 67km+2700m elevation gain in 11h14min. All this takes place in the beautiful Esterel hills near the seaside, a perfect start for the season.
This year I finished the season with the new Aigle parcours on the
Trail du Soleil 2025 : 58,8km and 3400m elevation gain.
Lucky as always the race happened during an unusually cold weather period, so we were running around at roughly 0 degree with ice and a small layer of snow on the summits and north faces of the mountains.
292 at the start, I was happy to be among the 220 at the finish, although it took me 12h47min. Did I mention that after the race I was coughing and shivering for three hours ? Cheers to the organisers and volunteers which were great at keeping up my spirits.
This year's edition of the
Ultra Trail du Mercantour really had everything: blistering heat in the valley, thunderstorm near the Relais des Merveilles. We started with 247 participants, but only 180 made it to the end. Therefore I am quite proud to have finished
the 75km and 5000m elevation gain, although it took me 19h40min (and six large blisters caused by wet shoes).
On the way to the to the first summit.
Things are good at kilometer 34, but trouble is preparing in the mountains.
Arrival at the Relais de Merveilles (Kilometer 48 - this is where we really enter the high mountains), getting ready for the last part.
My second participation
Marathon de la Vesubie 2025 was a bit more painful (these mountains seem to become higher every year),
But I managed to do the 40,9km and 2550m elevation gain in 7h12min. Check out the cool gift we received from the organisers - I really deserved that one.
Actually the
Marathon de la Vesubie 2025
was part of a double feature of the competitions in eight days: the second part was the
Trail des 3 Monts 2025 which takes place on the 3 hills closest to Nice.
The third ascent is really crazy steep, so I was happy to finish the 42km and 2500m in 8h11min.
On the
Trail des Balcons d'Azur 2025 I participated in the ''Petit défi'' which means small challenge: on Saturday
I ran 23km+900m elevation gain in 3h10min, on Sunday 47km+2200m elevation gain in 7h41min. All this takes place in the beautiful Esterel hills near the seaside, a perfect start for the season.
This year the weather conditions at the
Trail du Soleil were slightly Scottish.
I had a great time accompanying my friend Michael who did his first serious trail run (28,8 km and 1800m elevation gain in 5h35min). Check out our totally non-intentionally matching outfits !
This year at the
Ultra Trail du Mercantour things didn't quite work as planned. After some severe stomach problems on the first half I had to switch to hiking mode. Still I am proud to have finished the 67,5km and 4400m elevation gain in 18h16min.
Sunset on the Mercantour. You can see small bits of the remaining snow which forced the organisers to shorten the race from 75km to 67,5km.
As part of the preparation for
Ultra Trail du Mercantour 2024 I participated in the
Marathon de la Vesubie 2024.
Very friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
As the name says, it is 40,9km and 2550m elevation gain which took me 7h21min.
Been up there, done that.
I also participated in the
Trail des 4 Cantons 2024 which is short new trail in a village nearby.
30km and 1800m elevation gain which took me a mere 4h54min.
I don't have any photos, but the rain stopped 10 minutes before departure, so we had a really good time.
In 2023 finally returned to the lovely
Ultra Trail des Balcons d'Azur, this time I did 68km and 3270m elevation gain in 11h34min. Perfect weather conditions, not too steep.
I am back at the
Ultra Trail du Mercantour, this time I did 75km and 5100m elevation gain in 18h16min. It was simply awesome.
On the way to the second summit.
View from the Cime de la Vallette de Prals, 2496m above sea level.
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As part of the preparation for the Trail du Mercantour 2022, I had a `shock week': two mid-range races in one week.
In terms of speed I was not great, but I feel now more confident for the long distances.
Trail des Millefonts 2022 (25km, 1880m elevation gain) in 5h05min.
Photos taken by Helene Pedemonte and Eric Barbier.
Trail de Rimplas 2022 (20km, 1900m elevation gain) in 4h15min.
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The Trail du Soleil is finally back. As usual I did the Parcours de l'Ours (28,8km, 1750m elevation gain)
I finished in 4h58min.
My first participation at the Ultra Trail du Mercantour: I participated in one of the shorter races : 53km and 4100m elevation gain in 13h26min.
If you think that this is slow, it is. But after the ascent of Mont Archas (1000m+ in 3km), I am just glad I made it to the finish. Organisation and staff was great, the soup on kilometer 39 really saved the day for me.
Update : I just found this official video on youtube. You can see me suffering at 4min50 and 5min29.
Corona break is over. I participated in the first edition of the Trail des Millefonts: 22km and 1650m elevation gain in 4h10min.
We got a great view from the summit of Mont Prépoiri, I hope to come back next year.
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Photos by Christophe Sigaud.
This year the Trail du Soleil 2 0 19: had to be cancelled mid-race due to the
'Red Alert Weather Conditions'. So I had to stop after 20kms and 1000m elevation gain.
Still, thank you to the organisers and the incredibly upbeat volunteers. I will be back next year !
Valbergtrail 2 0 19: 29 k m , 1600 m e l e v a t i o n g a i n i n 4h44m i n .
Good organisation, very nice views. Don’t let the picture deceive you, it was extremely warm (June 30th !).
T r a i l d u Soleil Levens 2 0 18: 29,3 k m , 175 0 m e l e v a t i o n g a i n i n 4h27m i n .
Very good organisation, tough and sometimes technical race. After a difficult start of the season due to the
palm tree incident, I have finally returned to reasonable shape.
T r a i l d es Baous 2 0 18: 20 k m , 100 0 m e l e v a t i o n g a i n i n 2h30 m i n .
Semi-nocturnal run in the hills, pretty cool.
Trail des Baous 2018 from Département des Alpes-Maritimes on Vimeo. You can 'see' me on the video at 1:22.
T r a i l d es Violettes 2 0 18: 1 6 k m , 75 0 m e l e v a t i o n g a i n i n 2h02 m i n .
Very good organisation, nice, short trail .
Photos by Eric Rodriguez et Vincent Joulié
Trail du Pays de Grasse 2017: 36 km, 1600m elevation gain in 4h53min.
Beautiful landscape, great views, not too steep, but extremely warm weather.
Photo by Claude Monaco
Trail des Baous 2016: 30 km, 1500m elevation gain in 3h52min.
Very interesting landscape (check out the cool video), not too steep.
Trail des Baous 2016 from Trail des Baous on Vimeo.
Foulées Roquettanes 2016: 10 km, 400m elevation gain in 48min40.
Short and nice race around my village, La Roquette-sur-Var.
Trail de Rimplas 2016: 21 km, 1900m elevation gain in 3h51. Short, but really tough race. The
view from the top of Mont Giraud is totally worth the pain.
After some shorter stuff in the last years, I am finally back. Trail des Balcons d'Azur 2016: 47 km, 2200m elevation gain in 7h14, beautiful landscape, awesome race.
The 12h de Bures 2013, that's
…departure at 5 am...
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...as many rounds of 2,635 kilometres as you like…
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…incredible supporters...
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…friends keeping track of your number of rounds...
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…100,1 km (38 rounds) in 11h51min !
Photos by AtomicJF.
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Course des Terrils : 68 km in 8h14, very friendly organizers, beautiful track, a great event. By the way, here is a photo of a Terril:
12h de Bures 2012 : 65,8km in 8h, it was a terrific day.
Trail des remparts lillois : 22 km going up and down all the time, I had lots of fun !
Raid 28 2010: departure 16th January 10pm, arrival 17th January 4pm, 5 people per team, 97kms,
no food supplies on the way. It's totally crazy !
NB: Some of these photos are taken from Raid 28:.
Les Templiers 2009 : 70km and 3000m elevation gain in 10h48min !
Here are some pictures from the Paris Marathon 2009 (it was really a terrific day).
NEW ! I am getting serious about discovering the realms of Ultradistance running.
Competition
12 heures de Bures 2008
12 heures de Bures 2009
12 heures de Bures 2012
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Time
5h00min
7h10min
8h
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Distance
52,6 km
65,8 km
65,8 km
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Here is a list of the marathons I have done so far. The comments are very subjective. Organisation, weather and
spectators may vary from year to year.
Marathon
Regensburg 2000
Berlin 2000
München 2000
Fichtelgebirgsmarathon 2001
Lyon 2001
Monaco 2001
Paris 2002
Lausanne 2002
Berlin 2003
Nürnberg 2004
Fichtelgebirgsmarathon 2004
de Kust Marathon 2004
Marathon d'Annecy 2006
Paris 2008
Paris 2009
Fichtelgebirgsmarathon 2009
Freiburg Marathon 2011
Nice Marathon 2014
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My performance
3h32min
3h29min
3h50min
3h17min
3h07min
3h25min
3h09min
3h01min
2h59min
3h40min
3h35min
3h25min
3h29min
3h13min
2h59min
3h53min
4h04min
4h03min
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Comment
Nice city, very well organized.
Flat and fast, spectators are great.
Poor organisation.
Difficult, but it is really worth the pain.
Heavy rain.
Beautiful, but more difficult than expected.
Great city, no spectators !
Beautiful landscape, not really flat.
Flat, fast, great.
Lots of fun with my friends.
Still one of my favourite marathons.
Poor organisation.
Beautiful landscape, rather flat.
My coldest marathon ever.
It is getting better every year (but not easier)!
Preparation for my first Ultratrail. Rotten weather - great day.
Lots of music bands on the way.
Unbelievable - my wettest marathon ever.
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The running season 2007 went pretty well. Due to heavy restriction on my time schedule, I decided to do some short distance competitions (with a certain preference for the ones with hills) instead of a marathon. It was even more fun than I expected !
Here are some impressions from the very nice Annecy Marathon 2006 in the French Alps.
NEW ! I just did my first Ultra-Marathon (strictly more than 42,195 km). At the '12 heures de Bures', I managed to
run 52,6 km in exactly 5 hours.
Here are some pictures from the Paris Marathon 2008.
