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TRAIL DU GRAND BALLON - 26-27 APRIL 2025

Click on the “play” button above to watch our magnificent film and enjoy breathtaking drone footage of the Vosges.

ÉDITION 2025
ÉDITION 2024

THE TRAIL DU GRAND BALLON STARTS IN 

157Days 18Hours 42Minutes 57Secondes

GENERAL INFO TRAIL DU GRAND BALLLON

The start and finish is at Hotel Wolf in Le Markstein. (Route des Crêtes, Le Markstein.)

Parking is provided 500m from the start (follow the yellow arrows).
Do not park directly at the start/finish itself, this area must be kept free
for the participants.

Wrong parking may be fined.

Start and finish location on Google Maps

Friday

18.00 – 20.00: Race office open, pick-up bib numbers at Hotel Wolf.

Saturday

05.15 – 07.00: Race office open, pick-up bib numbers at Hotel Wolf.
06.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 70km
07.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 49km
09.00 - 10.00: Race office open, pick-up bib numbers at Hotel Wolf.
10.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 37km
13.00 - 14.00: Race office open, pick-up bib numbers at Hotel Wolf.
14.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 19km
19.30: End

Sunday

09.00 - 12.00: Race office open, pick-up bib numbers at Hotel Wolf.
10.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 33km
11.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 16km
12.00: Start Trail du Grand Ballon 24km
16.30: End of the event.

Award ceremony (per distance) is provided 15min after arrival of the 3rd athlete.

This schedule is not final and is subject to change. The final schedule will be confirmed in the briefing one week prior to the event

Each participant receives ALL the GPX files one week before the event.
Courses are indicated with signs of the organization.
Please respect the start time of your distance as the opening hours of our refreshment points are based on the start times.

Water, isotonic drinks, coca-cola, Etixx energy bars, sandwiches, sweet and savoury snacks and other goodies will be available at the refreshment points.

Showers will be available in the City Wash trailer in the parking lot opposite registration.
This trailer also has changing rooms.
Please wear clean shoes only.

We offer storage facilities inside the Wolf Hotel, next to the race secretariat.
No clothing will be accepted. Only (sports) bags will be accepted.

More information under the tab "distances"

One or two timing chip(s) will stick to the back of your chest number. Do not fold the chip(s) and make sure you wear your bib number above your clothes on your belly or chest. The chips ensure that your (intermediate) times are registered when you pass a checkpoint.

Checkpoints are scattered around the course, usually at the supply point. Some checkpoints beep when you walk through them, but not all. So don't panic if you don't hear anything, you will still be registered.

All split times and finishing times of all participants can be followed live online on the SQM Time website. On the day of the event, the results can be followed live at www.sqmtime.com/live.
Through this live coverage, supporters on site can follow the progression of their favourite runners via their smartphones. Of course, fans at home can also follow everything closely.

There are even participants who, during the race, like to check how much position they are in and how much time their buddy is ahead or behind!

You can find a selection of photos on our Facebook page a few days after the event. These photos can also be viewed by people who don't have a Facebook account.

During the Trail du Grand Ballon, the Sportograf team will be on hand to take the best photos of you in action. You can find your personal photos via the link below or by clicking on the icon next to your name in the results list.

As from 1 April 2024, the Fédération Française d'Athlétisme has introduced its Parcours Prévention Santé (PPS), a system that replaces the traditional medical certificate of eligibility for all adults.

This represents a major simplification of the enrolment process: Participants will be able to complete a Parcours de Prévention Santé (PPS) online, instead of the traditional medical examination to provide a medical certificate stating that there are no counterindications to participate.

You don't need to go to the doctor anymore ! Then you upload this PPS into your SQM Time account and that's it

In practice, this means that runners, when registering for the race of their choice, must log on to the dedicated web platform pps.athle.fr during the three months prior to their race and follow the various steps designed to make people aware of the risks, precautions and recommendations associated with running, through educational content (text and video).

Watch some online prevention videos (5 min), download a PDF , Deliver it to the organiser and you're done.

Participants with a French licence, who already had to take the health prevention course when obtaining their licence, will be exempted from these PPS procedures for each competition, as it was already the case in the past with the system of medical certificates.

Concretely this means that you can choose between

    • uploading your valid French athletics licence on sqmtime.com

    • uploading your valid PPS certificate as from 3 months before the event via sqmtime.com as the PPS is only valid for 3 months

To Do

Go to the website https://pps.athle.fr – fill in all the details and watch the videos. Then you can download the PPS.
Then you still need to upload it in your SQM account.

  1. Log in to your account https://www.sqmtime.com/index.php?route=account/login
  2. At the top right of the menu, click on ‘upload medical certificate/licence'
  3. On the left, upload your PPS where you would normally upload the medical certificate

See an example of what such a certificate looks like below.

Since the 2024 edition, we have been working with the association Les Amis de Luisa.
They help us perform various tasks during the event: supplies, luggage storage, signage, etc.

To support them, we ask each participant to donate at least one euro to the charity at registration. You can of course give more. All contributions go to Amis de Luisa, which is dedicated to children with multiple disabilities and their families.

Visit the website

Visit the Facebook page

THE DISTANCES OF THE TRAIL DU GRAND BALLON

In 2025, we have completely changed our courses. However, we would ask you to allow a margin of 5-8% as we are still awaiting feedback and the necessary authorisations from the forrest Rangers and the relevant authorities. Thank you in advance for your understanding and as soon as the courses are finalised, we will publish all the details here on the site.

"TIP: Run 2x and combine the 19km on Saturday with a distance on Sunday, as the courses are completely different"

GRAND BALLON 70K

Date : 26 april 2025

Start : 6.00 am

Distance : 70km

Elevation gain : 3200/3600

Last arrival : 19.30 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone, 1l water..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

GRAND BALLON 49K

Date : 26 april 2025

Start : 7.00 am

Distance : 49km

Elevation gain : 2200/2500

Last arrival : 19.30 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone, 1l water..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

GRAND BALLON 37K

Date : 26 april 2025

Start : 10.00 am

Distance : 37km

Elevation gain : 1600/1800

Last arrival : 19.30 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone, 1l water..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

GRAND BALLON 19K

Date : 26 april 2025

Start : 2.00 pm

Distance : 19km

Elevation gain : 750/900

Last arrival : 19.00 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

GRAND BALLON 33K

Date : 27 april 2025

Start : 10.00 am

Distance : 33km

Elevation gain : 1450/1650

Last arrival : 4.30 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone, 1l water..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

GRAND BALLON 24K

Date : 27 april 2025

Start : 12.00 am

Distance : 24km

Elevation gain : 950/1100

Last arrival : 4.30 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone, 1l water..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

GRAND BALLON 16K

Date : 27 april 2025

Start : 11.00 am

Distance : 16km

Elevation gain : 700/800

Last arrival : 3.30 pm

Mandatory equipment : survival blanket, whistle, jacket, smartphone..

Aid stations and cut-off : More information soon

The GPX will be available to download and the route will be viewable in detail only through the buttons below 5 days before the event.

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