Grand Raid Réunion
Diagonale des Fous |
|---|
 arrival at 2011 edition |
| Genre | Ultra-marathon |
|---|
| Date(s) | October |
|---|
| Frequency | annually |
|---|
| Location(s) |  Réunion |
|---|
| Inaugurated | 1989 |
|---|
| Participants | 2350 competitors |
|---|
| Website | grandraid-reunion.com |
|---|
The Grand Raid de la Réunion, also called La diagonale des fous (The Bishops'/Madmen's Diagonal) is a mountain ultramarathon race. The race takes place annually in October on Réunion island, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean, situated between Madagascar and Mauritius. The 166 km route with 10,000 m of elevation gain is reputed to be highly challenging, brutally difficult and one of the hardest footraces in the world.
Category of course
Three races are held at the same time:
- the Grand-Raid or Diagonale des Fous — 162 kilometres (101 mi) with 9,643 metres (31,637 ft) of altitude gain
- the Semi-Raid or Trail of Bourbon — 93 kilometres (58 mi) with 4,920 metres (16,140 ft) of gain
- Mascareignes Raid — 61 kilometres (38 mi) with 3,036 metres (9,961 ft) of gain
Death
This race has recorded three deaths since its inception.[2]
The 2002 edition was marked by the death of Gérard Bordage in the descent of the Kerveguen hillside and that of the Dutchman Guus Smit in the rampart of the Roche Écrite; while that of 2012 sees the death of Thierry Delaprez after a fall in a ravine at the Col de Fourche.[3]
