Les Balcons de la Durance

For experienced middle-distance trail runners, come and challenge yourself on this 35K "les balcons de la Durance" (35km and 1500 D+).

Like its two smaller brothers, "Pierre plantée" and "les Tourdeaux"You'll set off from Place Joseph Fauchier up Avenue de la Roche, and after climbing the first hill you'll reach the first viewpoint above Pierre plantée (km 3 / 200D+). From there you'll take a balcony path down to a fast, technical descent with a panoramic view of the Tourdeaux summit, which will be your penultimate climb, as well as the lower Alpine peaks, Pic de Couard, Cousson, Barre des Dourbes, Cheval Blanc and more.

You'll continue downhill, with a few flat stretches to take a breather, towards the Aigrevin ravine (km 5.7), where you'll leave the 22K shared route and head for Montfort. Before taking a single-track path through the undergrowth, you'll see the Louvière ridge on your left, which will be your 3rd ascent. For the moment, you're heading towards Montfort with a short, fairly steep section to access the Cassine ridge, before plunging into the vortex of the A51 motorway via a series of tunnels.

You will then climb the Chamant mountain to descend to Montfort, from where you will arrive on a stretch of tarmac that leads, after a stop at the 1st ravito (km 10 - 480 D+), to a beautiful climb to the Louvière ridge, another opportunity to contemplate the Lure mountain.

At the end of the ridge, you will switch to a technical descent that will take you to the 2nd feed station (km 16 / 680 D+) at the "Chapelle Saint Donnat", a Montfort heritage site built in 1050. From here, you return to the common route of the 22K with successive crossings of the Thoron river and a climb to the 3rd ravito and the time control (km 19.700 / 890 D+). You continue to climb and after some beautiful undulating sections in the undergrowth, you arrive on the "Job" track, which takes you gently down to the foot of the ascent to the summit of Toudeaux (km 24.5 / 1200 D+).

From here, you'll head down a fast, technical descent to the Vallon du Bevon (liquid refreshment area km 28.6 / 1200 D-), where you'll fork off for your final loop of 8 km and 300 D+ towards Pont Bernard. On the way back, you'll have just a kilometre to go before you start to hear the fervour of the announcer and the spectators waiting for you at the finish line on Place Joseph Fauchier!