Grand Raid de La Réunion, live.

Across an island, corner to corner

The Diagonale des Fous crosses Réunion from the south coast to the north, over volcanoes and through two cirques, in a single unbroken effort.

The Grand Raid is a whole island’s event. The Diagonale des Fous leaves Saint-Pierre at ten on Thursday night and runs 180 kilometres with 10,191 metres of ascent to the Stade de La Redoute in Saint-Denis, and in 2026 it does it by a new line through the cirque of Salazie rather than Cilaos — the longest course in the race’s history. Around it run the Zembrocal relay, the Trail de Bourbon from Cilaos, the Mascareignes from Hell-Bourg and the Métis Trail from Saint-Paul, all finishing on the same track.

Réunion turns out for it: crowds at every village crossing through the night, and a finish line that stays loud for three days. The problem for anyone following a runner is that the course spends most of its length in terrain with no road and no signal. Livebib puts the route on the map with the runner on it — distance done, the next aid station, and an arrival estimate that moves with the pace — so the people waiting at La Redoute know when to be there.