Grand Raid
The Grand Raid is an ultra marathon in La Réunion .
The route varies slightly each year. The start is always in one of the cities in the south of the island, the mountain range of the Piton de la Fournaise has to be crossed, the destination is the La Redoute stadium in Saint Denis . The competition, which was held for the first time in 1986, takes place on the island every October. The route is 162 km long. Men and women take part. The number of participants is limited. 1350 residents of Reunion Island and 1000 who are not resident on the island are eligible to participate.
The course record for men is held by J. Philippe Marie-Louise (1995) with 14 hours and 41 minutes, and for women by Corinne Favre with 20 hours and 56 minutes (2001).
Categories
The race is currently held in three categories:
- Grand Raid or Diagonale des Fous (= diagonal of the crazy) - 167 km, 9700 meters of altitude to be overcome in 2016
- Semi-Raid or Trail Bourbon - 111 km; 6430 meters of altitude have to be overcome in 2016
- Mascareignes Raid - 65 km; 3500 meters of altitude have to be overcome in 2016
