The legendary GR20 mountain route in Corsica is reputed to be both the most beautiful and the most difficult in Europe. So it’s only natural that it should attract record-breakers! While it takes an ordinary hiker more than 2 weeks to complete the famous route, top-level runners can cross the finish line in less than 2 days. Who are the men and women who have left their mark on the history of the GR20? Find out here.
The record for crossing Corsica via the GR20 is30 hours 25 minutes since 25 June 2021, held by Lambert Santelli! Find out more about records, crossing times and archives below!
It’s done: 35 HOURS AND 50 MINUTES is simply incredible!
2022: Anne Lise Rousset Séguret goes for the women’s record
The trail champion is well on her way. We’ll be publishing the article, but she’ll probably arrive around 6pm. You can follow her progress at https://www.scott-sports.com/fr/fr/gr20-record-attempt-by-anne-lise-rousset
It’s 6am on Monday 13 June and Anne Lise Rousset, a 33-year-old mum, is setting out to break the women’s record. She was in very good company, as Lambert Santelli himself, the record holder for the men’s GR20, opened the way for her: trail running really is a good state of mind. Further along the route, she will be joined by Guillaume Peretti, another Corsican who has held the GR20 and who is well used to the Corsican mountain trails!
On 13 June 2022, Anne-Lise Rousset Séguret will tackle the GR20 record. This record has been held for 10 years by raid and trail champion Emilie Leconte. Will it fall this year? You’ll have to do better than the 41 hours 22 minutes and 10 seconds set by the former champion, who will be keeping a close eye on it, just like us!
2021 : Lambert Santelli holds the GR20 record
Edit: record in 30h25 (or 26, we’re waiting for the official time) for Lambert Santelli!!! François d’Haene’s record (31h06) has therefore fallen by 40 to 41 minutes.
On 25 June 2021, Corsican runner Lambert Santelli will tackle the record for crossing Corsica via the GR20. It was around 9.25pm when the Corsican runner entered Conca, by the light of his headlamp, in a completely crazy atmosphere! More than 3,000 people followed his long-awaited arrival on live instagram!
With 35km to go, i.e. the 145th km, he was still 1h15 ahead of François d’Haene’s record. Live coverage was available at: https: //ntrak.net/race/1266 / live finish here: https: //www.instagram.com/lambertsantelli/live/
- Lambert Santelli’s record figures: Northern section completed in 16 hours
- Passage to Bavella: 27h35 (François d’Haene passed in 28h33)
- his track on strava: https: //www.strava.com/activities/5535108643
Santelli, D’Haene, Jornet: GR20 times!
Men’s GR20 records
The defending champion was French athlete François D’Haene, who in 2016 covered the 180km GR20 in just 31 hours and 6 minutes. Previously, it was Corsican runner Guillaume Peretti who covered the route in 32 hours: a mere handkerchief! Now it’s Corsican Lambert Santelli who is bringing the record back to Corsica, by clocking up 40 minutes less: official record in 2021: 30 hours 25!
In third place was the Spaniard Kilian Jornet, who ran the GR20 in 32 hours and 54 minutes.
31 hours and 6 minutes! Can you imagine? It’s like watching the whole of Lord of the Rings 3 times! Champion François D’Haene is no stranger to records. An ultra trail specialist, he has already won numerous races, including the Grand Raid on Reunion Island (three times), the Mount Fuji Ultra Trail in Japan and the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc, for which he also holds the record. He set off from Calenzana in Haute-Corse at 4am on Friday 3 June 2016, arriving in Conca at 11.06am the following day after covering 180km and 14,000m of ascent. His times are impressive: for example, he covered in 3 hours 40 minutes what a hiker would take two days to do (Carrozu refuge). He reached the Asco station (30th kilometre) in 5 hours, and emerged from the cirque of solitude in 6h05 in the mist and rain!
He reached the Capitellu spit in 12h30. At vizzavone, he was 30 minutes ahead of Guillaume Peretti’s record. USciolu in 24h00! In 26h44, for sunrise, he will pass Mont Incudine (153rd kilometre). The difficult conditions of the previous days had made the rocks very slippery, especially on the descent from Bavella, where the champion lost precious minutes.
Quite a performance when you consider that the weather conditions didn’t look good when he set off: wind, storm, low temperatures. The GR20 record is not a solo adventure, it’s a collective adventure, with a staff at the service of the runner during his journey: they have the task of guiding François on the GR20, carrying his supplies, etc
Here’s the video of his achievement
Women’s GR20 records
The title holder is Émilie Lecomte, who literally smashed the previous record of plus 9 hours by crossing the GR20 in Corsica in 41 hours and 22 minutes. The top-level runner set off on 21 June 2012 and had to face up to the difficulties of the terrain and the vagaries of the weather. She crossed the finish line in Conca, well ahead of former GR20 record holder Stéphanie Samper. A top-level runner, Emilie Lecomte has twice won the legendary Diagonale des Fous and also Le Grand To Grand Ultra in the USA.
Video of Emilie Lecomte
The GR20 winter record
In winter, the GR20 is a completely different race. The snow, freezing wind, fog and humidity make the challenge even tougher than it already is. This feat was achieved in 2013 by Jean-Louis Cinqui, who covered the GR20 Corsica trail in winter in 63 hours and 16 minutes. The crossing was particularly tough, with gusts of wind and near-zero visibility due to thick fog slowing his progress considerably. In any case, well done to him for this extraordinary crossing!
In the same style of challenge, that of surpassing oneself and intense effort, we invite you to discover the ultra trail project on the GR20 in 2020.