SaintéLyon

Event Overview

Course & Terrain

Point-to-point at night from Saint-Étienne to the Halle Tony Garnier in Lyon along the ridges of the Monts du Lyonnais, about 65% trail and 35% road. The route changes every year but stays around 80 km with at least 2,000 m of climbing; the 2026 cutoff list ends at km 82. The same course is run as relays for teams of two, three or four. The LyonSaintéLyon (160 km) starts in Lyon at 9:00 AM Saturday with an untimed outbound leg to Saint-Étienne, then a rest and meal, then the timed SaintéLyon back to Lyon from the front of the first wave. Shorter races: SaintExpress (46 km from Sainte-Catherine), SaintéVia (36 km from Mornant), SaintéSprint (25 km from Soucieu-en-Jarrest) and SaintéTic (13 km from Chaponost).

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Night start from Saint-Étienne
• New climb of about 4 km through Valfleury, after about 10 km of road (U-Trail)
• Ridges of the Monts du Lyonnais
• Signal de Saint-André, the high point at about km 42
• Roman aqueduct at Beaunant, about km 74 (U-Trail)
• Finish inside the Halle Tony Garnier

About 65% trail and 35% road, though U-Trail puts the 2026 course nearer 70% and 30%. The course is marked with signs, ground markings and tape, and marshals guard urban crossings; on public roads runners must follow traffic rules. U-Trail’s course preview describes about 10 km of road out of Saint-Étienne, then the new Valfleury climb. A short climb of up to 13% follows the first aid station, then 7 km of trail new to the race before Sainte-Catherine. The Signal de Saint-André is the high point at about km 42: the GPX tops out at 925 m and U-Trail says 934 m. From Le Camp to Soucieu-en-Jarrest the classic route returns, descending to 364 m. A steep climb leads to Chaponost, and the last 14 km include a two-part climb after Beaunant before the road finish in Lyon at 165 m.

The organizer says conditions are often wintry. A cold-weather kit (glasses, hat, warm waterproof gloves, waterproof overtrousers and jacket, an extra warm layer and sturdy trail shoes) can be made mandatory. Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (400 m) has a November average high of 11.4°C (52.5°F) and low of 3.7°C (38.7°F) in the 1991–2020 normals, and the course climbs more than 500 m above that. Snow has shaped the race before: a snowstorm stopped the 1990 edition at Sainte-Catherine, with 96 finishers from 900 starters, and heavy snow returned in 2010.

Entry & Logistics

Why This Race Matters

First run in 1952 as a two-day event, a timed 75 km walk from Lyon to Saint-Étienne with 15 starters, the SaintéLyon calls itself the doyenne of ultra races. It began as a walking event, with running banned in the rules from 1957 until 1977, and the name La SaintéLyon became official in 1991. The organizer says it now draws nearly 8,000 starters, with 20,000 participants across the weekend’s races. The organizer says the 80 km race carries the biggest elite field of the weekend; the first man and woman each win €5,000, and elite start pens are assigned by UTMB Index. Michel Delore holds the record for most wins, eight between 1970 and 1980, and Spain’s Andreu Simon Aymerich became the first non-French men’s winner in 2022.

Historical benchmark notes in the directory record (verify current records with the linked official sources):

• Most wins: Michel Delore, eight between 1970 and 1980 (organizer)
• 2025 SaintéLyon (80 km, 1,950 m+): Sylvain Cachard, 5:36:33; Adeline Martin, 6:42:34
• 2025 LyonSaintéLyon, timed return leg: Elwan Mehl, 7:05:05; Enora Niort, 9:26:49
• The route changes every year, so winning times are not directly comparable

Preparing for a Race Like SaintéLyon

The fixed-distance race guide covers the format as a whole. These guides go deeper:

• Walking strategy for ultramarathons: When and how to walk by terrain, effort and cutoffs.
• Crew and aid-station strategy: Crew tables, aid stops, drop bags and runner preferences.
• Hydration and sodium for ultramarathons: Fluid, sodium, thirst, sweat rate and hyponatremia risk.
• Tapering for ultramarathons: Plan the taper and race week around your own recovery.

Best Fit

• Runners moving up to a long night trail race; the organizer calls it a gateway to long trail
• Ultrarunners wanting a day-and-night double through the LyonSaintéLyon

Planning Notes

• The directory does not mark this as having simpler logistics. Confirm qualification, terrain, support, registration, medical, and withdrawal requirements before planning around it.
• Cutoffs are eliminatory, with an immediate shuttle to the finish
• Barriers are set from the last start at 12:30 AM at 5.2 km/h, so runners in the first wave have an extra hour
• The rules give six waves every 10 minutes but also a last start at 12:30 AM, and the race page says six or seven waves. Follow your assigned wave
• Taking supplies outside aid zones, or throwing litter more than 100 m past an aid station, gets you removed from the race
• Runners missing a timing point are disqualified
• Personal medical cancellation claims under the optional cover are due November 17; separate organizer-cancellation provisions also apply

Event FAQs

Related Preparation

• Compare this race in the full 2026 calendar
• Open the Fixed-Distance format guide
• Compare all race formats
• Use the timed-race pace calculator
• Plan checkpoint arrivals and cutoff buffers
• Print a pace band for your goal time
• Estimate race calories and plan fueling
• Build a crew and drop-bag plan
• Build a race-specific gear checklist