François D'Haene sets FKT of GR20 trail in Corsica

French trail runner François D'Haene has set a new Fastest Known Time on the famous GR20 in Corsica, completing the legendary trail in 29 hours and 46 minutes. Thanks to this performance, the 40‑year‑old has became the first athlete in history to cover the course of approximately 180 kilometres and nearly 13,000 metres of positive elevation gain in less than 30 hours. The previous record was set on 26 June 2021 by Lambert Santelli in 30 hours and 25 minutes, while in 2016 D'Haene had completed the course in 31 hours and 6 minutes.

After two postponements due to bad weather, the Frenchman set off from Calenzana on 9 July at 4:30 am, taking advantage of mild temperatures before the arrival of a heatwave. At the halfway point, in Vizzavona, his lead over the old record was already over 50 minutes. D'Haene held on through the long night and across technical terrain until the finish in Conca, stopping the clock at 29:46.

This result is the fruit of months of meticulous preparation. Throughout the spring, D'Haene returned to Corsica several times to study the most challenging sections of the route, assess trail conditions after a particularly snowy winter, and refine every aspect of his strategy.

"Ten years after my first record here, 20 years after my very first ultra-trail back in 2006, and as I am 40, knowing that I still have that deep hunger inside, that pure joy of taking on this trail… that is undoubtedly what matters most to me" said D'Haene before concluding "A massive thank you to everyone. Corsica is definitely magical."