Diagonale des Fous - Elevation Profile, Aid Stations and Cutoffs
- Saint-Pierre, Réunion, France
- 180.6 km
- 10,199 m D+
- 17 aid stations
Map, checkpoints and cutoffs Map · checkpoints · forecast opens Oct 6 Race-day forecast is live
Race-day conditions
Weather, daylight and your arrival time at all 19 checkpoints, set to the 22:00 start.
- Start
- 22:00
- Daylight at the start
- 05:46-18:20
- Aid stations
- 17
Course profile
Saint-Pierre, Réunion, France
- Distance
- 180.6 km Finishes 38 m higher than it starts
- Elevation
- +10,199 m -10,161 m About 56 m of climb per km
- Highest point
- 2,476 m Croisée Coteau Kerveguen
Next edition Thu 15 Oct 2026 · 22:00
- Start
- Sunrise 7h46 after the start
- Sunset 20h21 after the start
- Winner ~23h30 23h30 after the start
- Median finisher 2025 median 50h58 after the start
- Cutoff 66h after the start
A median finisher runs 25h49 in the dark.
The Diagonale des Fous (Grand Raid de La Réunion) is a 180.6km ultra-trail with around 10,199m of elevation gain across volcanic ridges and tropical forest, from Saint-Pierre to Saint-Denis. The overall cutoff is 66 hours, and the highest listed point is Croisée Coteau Kerveguen at 2,476m. Winning times are typically around 23–24 hours.
Heat, humidity, and technical volcanic terrain define the race as much as the vertical. Hell-Bourg and Ilet Savannah are key life bases with drop-bag support; many other posts allow crew but not bags. Night running is inevitable for almost the entire field. Treat fluid and sodium planning as seriously as climbing fitness - tropical conditions inflate finish times beyond what alpine races suggest.
Data is approximate and courses change between editions - always verify against the official race guide.
Plan against the cutoffs
Enter a goal finish time and see estimated arrivals vs checkpoint cutoffs.
Estimate your finish
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Course math
Four numbers worked out from this course's distance, elevation and checkpoints.
TrailMath effort-km
333 effort-km
About 45 h for a mid-pack finisher (index 500). Not a pacing guarantee.
Distance + gain ÷ 100 + loss ÷ 200, beside ITRA's gain-only km-effort. Model TM1.0.
How TrailMath works →UTMB Index category
100M
282 km-effort (distance + gain ÷ 100). Calculated from the course figures, not an official classification.
Estimate your UTMB Index →Biggest climb section
+1,476 m
Domaine Vidot → Notre-Dame de la Paix · km 14–33.4
The largest gain between two checkpoints, not one continuous climb.
Domaine Vidot cutoff: Fri 01:30
Plan against barriers →Biggest descent section
−1,896 m
Maïdo - Tête Dure → Ilet Savannah (base vie) · km 123.7–140.3
The largest loss between two checkpoints. ITRA's km-effort ignores descent; TrailMath counts it: 333 km-effort.
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Diagonale des Fous (Grand Raid Réunion) · 2025
Finish times, 2025 edition
2,727 runners started. 2,064 came back. Half of them took longer than 50:58:10. That left the median finisher 15:01:50 inside the 66h cutoff.
Median finish
50:58:10
Half of the 2,064 finishers were still out there at this point.
15:01:50 in hand before the 66h cutoff
The start line
75.7%
2,064 of 2,727 starters made it; 663 did not.
still moving when a cutoff closed
stopped by choice or by the medics
Organisation stops and disqualifications: 5.
Men and women
Two medians on the same scale. The bars run from the start to the cutoff, so the gap between them is the gap in time.
Men
50:08:40
median finish; average 50:35:52
1,815 finishers, 88% of the field
Women
55:36:11
median finish; average 53:55:33
249 finishers, 12% of the field
5:27:31 separates the two medians, across 1,815 men and 249 women.
Finish time by age group
Every track runs from the start to the 66h cutoff, so the empty part of a bar is the time that group's median finisher still had. Men and women are drawn on the same scale.
| Age | Median finish | Median against the cutoff | Finishers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES | 47:26:22 | 7 - small sample, read with care | |
| SE | 46:46:32 | 391 | |
| M0 | 46:56:26 | 319 | |
| M1 | 49:49:55 | 388 | |
| M2 | 51:10:16 | 278 | |
| M3 | 53:47:48 | 251 | |
| M4 | 55:52:39 | 126 | |
| M5 | 57:23:19 | 43 | |
| M6 | 53:30:21 | 11 - small sample, read with care | |
| M8 | - | 1 - too few finishers to publish a time |
| Age | Median finish | Median against the cutoff | Finishers |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE | 49:43:50 | 52 | |
| M0 | 52:49:39 | 44 | |
| M1 | 55:43:44 | 50 | |
| M2 | 58:43:39 | 51 | |
| M3 | 57:47:25 | 34 | |
| M4 | 54:45:35 | 12 - small sample, read with care | |
| M5 | 55:52:55 | 4 - small sample, read with care | |
| M6 | - | 2 - too few finishers to publish a time |
Full bar: 20 finishers or more. Tick alone: fewer than 20, too few for a median to say much. The shaded row is the biggest group.
Where the finishers came from
90% of the finishers came from France alone.
| Nation | Finishers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| France FR | 1,856 89.9% | |
| Belgium BE | 70 3.4% | |
| Switzerland CH | 27 1.3% | |
| Réunion RE | 22 1.1% | |
| Canada CA | 14 0.7% | |
| Mauritius MU | 14 0.7% | |
| United Kingdom GB | 7 0.3% | |
| Portugal PT | 6 0.3% | |
| Germany DE | 5 0.2% | |
| United States US | 5 0.2% | |
| Spain ES | 4 0.2% | |
| Poland PL | 4 0.2% | |
| Italy IT | 3 0.1% | |
| Morocco MA | 3 0.1% | |
| Australia AU | 2 0.1% | |
| Algeria DZ | 2 0.1% | |
| Hong Kong SAR China HK | 2 0.1% | |
| Madagascar MG | 2 0.1% | |
| Martinique MQ | 2 0.1% | |
| Netherlands NL | 2 0.1% | |
| Brazil BR | 1 0.0% | |
| Chile CL | 1 0.0% | |
| Colombia CO | 1 0.0% | |
| Egypt EG | 1 0.0% | |
| Finland FI | 1 0.0% | |
| Hungary HU | 1 0.0% | |
| Ireland IE | 1 0.0% | |
| Comoros KM | 1 0.0% | |
| South Korea KR | 1 0.0% | |
| Peru PE | 1 0.0% | |
| French Polynesia PF | 1 0.0% | |
| Senegal SN | 1 0.0% | |
| 22 other nations 12 other nations 2 other nations | 38 1.8% 12 0.6% 2 0.1% |
Showing 20 of 32 nations. Showing 30 of 32 nations. Showing 32 of 32 nations.
Bar length is against the largest nation. The smallest counts are drawn at a minimum visible width, so their bars are not to scale.
How these numbers were computed
These are times for runners who finished. They exclude everyone who started and did not, so they describe how long finishing took, not how long the race takes. Bands with only a handful of finishers move a lot from one edition to the next.
We plot the median, not the average. A handful of very quick runners drags the average well below the time half the field actually beat, so the median is the honest number to plan against.
Nationality here shows who travels to this race, not who runs it best. That alone is why a host nation tops almost every list.
Computed from the full official results, verified September 13, 2026 - Official results
Ask the course
Ask Diagonale des Fous anything about climbs, pacing, crew or cutoffs.
Answers come from this course's data, your plan and your training.
Which climb should I respect most?
Domaine Vidot to Notre-Dame de la Paix: +1,476 m over 19.4 km, from km 14. Hike the steep sections at an effort you could hold for hours - the race is decided after this climb, not on it.
Where can my crew meet me?
Domaine Vidot, km 14 - the first of 13 crew points. The next is Notre-Dame de la Paix, km 33.4. Have them bring warm layers: the course tops out at 2,476 m, through the night, in October.
Is 50h a realistic finish for me?
50h would put you in the faster half of 2025 finishers - the median was 50:58:10. It means holding 16:37/km overall.
The assistant answers that once it can see your training.
Build your Diagonale des Fous plan and your question is the first thing waiting in the TrailMath Assistant. Your first 5 questions are free, no card.
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To answer this for you, the Course Assistant uses your training and your race plan.
Example answer
Your long runs peak at 30 km, so the plan builds to 4-hour long runs, two of them at night. Cutoff buffer at Plaine des Merles: 7h22.
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~1 weeks · peak ~4 h/week · 5 run + 1 strength days
For a 180.6 km race, aim for about 12 h/week at peak. Set your availability to 14 h/week in the app for the headroom to build there gradually.
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Aid stations and checkpoints
| Checkpoint | Km | Cumulative gain (m) | Cumulative loss (m) | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start - Saint-Pierre (Ravine Blanche) Services not published | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Domaine Vidot Crew | 14 | 672 | 32 | Fri 01:30 |
| Notre-Dame de la Paix Crew | 33.4 | 2,148 | 468 | Fri 07:00 |
| Nez de Boeuf Crew | 45.4 | 2,798 | 782 | Fri 10:30 |
| Mare à Boue Crew | 55.6 | 2,894 | 1,295 | Fri 13:00 |
| Croisée Coteau Kerveguen | 67.6 | 3,890 | 1,421 | Fri 17:30 |
| Gîte de Bélouve Crew | 76.4 | 3,966 | 2,469 | Fri 20:30 |
| Hell-Bourg (base vie) Crew Drop bag | 80.4 | 4,032 | 3,044 | Sat 01:00 |
| Plaine des Merles | 93.6 | 5,309 | 3,518 | Sat 06:00 |
| Départ Sentier Scout Crew | 95.8 | 5,353 | 3,724 | Sat 07:00 |
| Grand Place les Bas Crew | 107.6 | 5,845 | 5,181 | Sat 11:30 |
| Roche Plate - Plateau Cerf Crew | 116.2 | 6,902 | 5,651 | Sat 16:30 |
| Maïdo - Tête Dure | 123.7 | 7,966 | 6,060 | Sat 20:30 |
| Ilet Savannah (base vie) Crew Drop bag | 140.3 | 8,084 | 7,956 | Sun 00:15 |
| Chemin Ratinaud - Kalla | 147.7 | 8,736 | 8,306 | Sun 03:00 |
| La Possession Crew | 154.9 | 8,939 | 8,922 | Sun 06:30 |
| Grande Chaloupe Crew | 164.3 | 9,310 | 9,308 | Sun 09:00 |
| Colorado Crew | 173.6 | 10,140 | 9,461 | Sun 13:30 |
| Saint-Denis - La Redoute (Finish) Crew | 180.6 | 10,199 | 10,161 | Sun 16:00 |
Data is approximate and courses change between editions - always verify against the official race guide. Source: official race guide, verified July 17, 2026 - Official race website
FAQ
How long is the Diagonale des Fous?
The Diagonale des Fous covers approximately 180.6km from Saint-Pierre (Ravine Blanche) to Saint-Denis (La Redoute) on Réunion Island.
How much elevation gain does the Diagonale des Fous have?
The race has around 10,199m of cumulative elevation gain and a similar amount of loss over 180.6km of volcanic and forest trails.
What is the cutoff time for the Diagonale des Fous?
The overall cutoff is 66 hours, with eliminatory barriers at major checkpoints from Domaine Vidot through to the finish in Saint-Denis.
What is the highest point of the Diagonale des Fous?
The highest listed point on the course data is Croisée Coteau Kerveguen at 2,476m, reached around km 68.
Where are the main life bases on the Diagonale des Fous?
Hell-Bourg (about km 80) and Ilet Savannah (about km 140) are the principal life bases with drop-bag access. Multiple other checkpoints allow crew - check the checkpoint table for flags.
What is the average Diagonale des Fous finish time?
Across the 2,064 finishers of the 2025 edition the median finish time was 50:58:10 - half the field took longer than that - while the average was 50:59:57. The two sit under two minutes apart, which is unusual: most races of this length have a fast front that drags the average well below the median. Men finished in a median 50:08:40 and women in 55:36:11, and the median finisher crossed the line 15:01:50 inside the 66-hour cutoff. Note that 2025 was run on the old route through Cilaos, over 178 km rather than the 180.6 km of the 2026 course.
How many people finish the Diagonale des Fous?
2,064 of the 2,727 starters finished the 2025 edition, a finish rate of 75.7 per cent. Of the 663 who did not finish, 608 withdrew, 50 were timed out at a cutoff and 5 were stopped by the organisation - so almost all of the attrition was runners stopping rather than the clock stopping them.
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