Diagonale des Fous 2026: the practical guide (cut-offs, aid stations, kit, live tracking)

On 15 October at 10 pm Réunion time, close to 2,840 runners will set off from Ravine Blanche, in Saint-Pierre, for the 34th Diagonale des Fous. We have already analysed the new course without Cilaos and the favourites. This guide is for those who are running, crewing for a runner or following the race: every checkpoint with its cut-off time, the life bases, where crew support is allowed, kit, logistics and live tracking.

The essentials at a glance

One point that comes up often: the Diagonale does not climb to the summit of the Piton des Neiges. It passes at its foot, at the trail junction of the Coteau Kerveguen, then heads towards the Caverne Dufour refuge instead of dropping down to Cilaos.

⚠️ Watch out: the rockfall at La Brèche

On 7 October, a rockfall occurred between La Brèche and Roche Plate, in Mafate, on the route of both the Diagonale and the Trail de Bourbon. According to findings by the ONF (the French national forestry office) reported by u-Trail and Référence Trail, the guardrail was destroyed, the handrail damaged and boulders are blocking the trail, which has been closed with no reopening date. At the time of writing, the organisers have not announced a diversion. If you are running, keep an eye on official communications right up to the start: any change to this section would alter the distance and potentially the late-race cut-offs.

The course, checkpoint by checkpoint

The table below follows the official 2026 cut-off document. Times show when each checkpoint closes: after that time, runners are stopped. "A" marks a checkpoint where personal crew support is allowed.

Source: official 2026 Grand Raid cut-off table. On crew support at Plaine des Merles, the table and the "assistance" page of the website contradict each other: treat it as not allowed.

Reading the profile

Saint-Pierre → Mare à Boue (km 0 to 55.6): 2,900 m of climbing, at night. This is the familiar part of the course: the long climb up from the coast via Domaine Vidot and Notre-Dame de la Paix, going above 2,000 m at Nez de Bœuf, then the descent towards the Plaine des Cafres. Many runners go too fast here, carried along by the crowds at the start and the cool of the night. The cut-offs leave some margin (Mare à Boue closing at 1 pm on Friday equates to an average of 3.7 km/h), but energy wasted here is paid for in Mafate.

Mare à Boue → Hell-Bourg (km 55.6 to 80.6): the big change. A climb via the Coteau Kerveguen to the highest point (2,475 m), then a descent via the Cap Anglais and the Bélouve forest to Hell-Bourg. Be careful: between Mare à Boue and Hell-Bourg, a stretch of 25 km, there is only water (Coteau Kerveguen, Bélouve). The rules spell it out: Coteau Kerveguen is the "last water point before the Gîte de Bélouve". Leave Mare à Boue with a proper food reserve.

Hell-Bourg → Grand Place (km 80.6 to 107.8). After the life base, the course climbs back up to the Plaine des Merles (1,808 m) and the Col de Fourche before dropping into Mafate via the Scout trail. Hell-Bourg closes at 1 am on Saturday: for the back of the field, that means leaving the life base for a second night.

Mafate and the Maïdo (km 107.8 to 123.9). The heart of the race: heat at the bottom of the ravines during the day, then the climb from Roche Plate up to the Maïdo, "very gruelling" and "along the cliff face" according to the official route description, reaching 2,029 m at Ti Col. The 7 October rockfall is on this section.

Maïdo → Saint-Denis (km 123.9 to 180.8). More than 1,800 m of descent to Ilet Savannah, the second life base, then the final stretch via La Possession, the Chemin des Anglais to Grande Chaloupe and the climb back up to Colorado before plunging down to La Redoute. After more than 140 km, the Maïdo descent and the cobbles of the Chemin des Anglais are brutal on the quads.

To turn this profile into split times suited to your level, use our trail time predictor: it takes into account the elevation gain of each section.

Crew support and drop bags

Personal crew support is only allowed at 15 of the 33 checkpoints, and only within a zone 300 m before and after the checkpoint. Elsewhere, pacers, companions and water carriers are prohibited, with a warning and then a one-hour penalty. Checkpoints where crew support is forbidden: Coteau Kerveguen, Plaine des Merles, the Maïdo and Chemin Ratinaud.

Three drop bags are handed in at the start, at Ravine Blanche, and collected at Hell-Bourg (km 81), Ilet Savannah (km 140) and at the finish. They weigh no more than 5 kg, must not contain any valuables and carry the barcode label provided with the bib. You can send your dirty kit on to the finish in them. Bags not collected are destroyed 24 hours after the races close.

What to put in them? At Hell-Bourg, what you need to face the second night at altitude (Plaine des Merles is above 1,800 m): a dry warm layer, socks, batteries, replacement food. At Ilet Savannah, what you need to cope with the heat and the last night: a light T-shirt, anti-chafing cream, perhaps a pair of more cushioned shoes for the finish.

Mandatory kit

The official 2026 list:

• the bib (worn on the front), the wristband and the personal pack with its electronic chip, which cannot be swapped during the race;
• a head torch with spare batteries;
• a water reserve of at least 1.5 litres;
• a whistle;
• a charged mobile phone with the Sara Event app (mandatory under the rules);
• two adhesive elastic bandages at least 2.5 m long and 6 to 8 cm wide;
• enough food to last between two aid stations;
• a waterproof jacket with a hood and heat-sealed seams (a windproof is not enough);
• a long-sleeved "second skin" warm layer;
• a reusable cup;
• ID (original or a France Identité certified digital version);
• a survival blanket of at least 1.4 × 2 m.

Kit is checked at bib collection ("without complete, compliant kit, no bib"), then at random in the start pen and during the race. Penalties range from a warning to disqualification; running without your pack means immediate disqualification.

Poles are banned, with a one-hour penalty. The medical team also issues a warning to take seriously: never take non-steroidal anti-inflammatories during the race, because of the risk to the kidneys over such a long effort.

The organisers also recommend the roadbook, a second head torch, a second cup, a jumper, sunscreen, Vaseline and a little cash. To pack your bag without forgetting anything, start from our ultra checklist.

Final steps before the start

• Bib collection: Wednesday 14 October, 7:30 am to 6:30 pm, at the Salahin site in Ravine Blanche, Saint-Pierre. You must attend in person with ID and your confirmation letter; kit check on site. No proxies.
• Runner buses on Thursday 15 October, with a gendarmerie escort, arriving at Ravine Blanche around 8 pm: West line leaving Saint-Denis at 5:10 pm (via La Possession, Le Port, Saint-Paul, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Leu, l'Étang-Salé and Saint-Louis); East line leaving Sainte-Marie at 4:15 pm (via Saint-André, Saint-Benoît, Sainte-Rose, Saint-Philippe and Saint-Joseph). Booking via the Espace Coureur (runner area).
• Start pen opens at 6 pm.
• If you drop out, hand your bib to the checkpoint manager. If you cannot reach a checkpoint, alert Race HQ via Sara Event or the number printed on your bib.

What previous editions tell us

RunRun calculations based on LiveTrail rankings and statistics.

Three takeaways:

1. One runner in four drops out, every year. 2025 was the "kindest" edition of the series, at 24.3%.
2. The median runner takes around 50 hours, meaning two nights out. That is the real Diagonale for most participants: a race that ends on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
3. The last finishers cross the line within minutes of the 66 hours every year (65h56 to 65h59). The final cut-off is not theoretical: people hit it.

As the 2026 course is longer than previous ones (180 km versus 175 km last year), these benchmarks are only indicative, and all course records start again from scratch.

How to follow the race

• Official app: LiveInfo by LiveTrail (iOS, Android), with search by name or bib number.
• On the web: grandraid-reunion.livetrail.net, where all five 2026 races are already set up.
• On TV: France Télévisions covers the event on the La 1ère network, on Réunion La 1ère's web TV and live on france.tv sport, with special programmes and a 26-minute magazine show after the race.
• Time difference: Réunion is on UTC+4, i.e. two hours ahead of Paris at this time of year. The 10 pm start corresponds to 8 pm in mainland France.

According to the organisers' estimates, the first man is expected at La Redoute on Friday 16 October around 8:45 pm, after roughly 23 hours of racing, and the first woman during the night, around 1 am on Saturday. The last runners will arrive on Sunday before 4 pm, and the prize-giving is at 5 pm.

The other Grand Raid 2026 races

The Trail de Bourbon is now the only Grand Raid race to pass through Cilaos, where it starts.

And for 2027?

If the Diagonale is your dream, here is how you earn your place. In 2026, the entry fee was €260, and the 3,000 places were split between Réunion residents (1,250, by ballot), residents of mainland France and the French overseas territories (1,250, of which 950 via organised travel packages and 300 by ballot), international runners (250) and partners (250). To register, you needed to have finished two trail races worth at least 85 points each (1 km = 1 point, 100 m of elevation gain = 1 point) in the previous eighteen months, with no combining of several races. A medical certificate using the official template and a PPS (the French race prevention pass) or an FFA licence are required.

As for budget, travel packages include at least the bib, the return flight and three nights; the specialist press estimates them at between €1,500 and €4,000 depending on what is included, with no official price list published.

For preparation, allow a full season: our trail training plans are built backwards from your race date, and our Grand Raid 2026 page brings together all the races of the event.

Sources: Grand Raid — La Diagonale des Fous · 2026 cut-off times (PDF) · 2026 route description (PDF) · Programme · Crew support · Mandatory kit · Drop bags · Registration terms · Rules · LiveTrail · France Télévisions · u-Trail — rockfall · Référence Trail — rockfall