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Race course · LyonSaintéLyon 2026

LyonSaintéLyon: elevation profile, gain and round-trip strategy

The LyonSaintéLyon is the SaintéLyon with its outbound leg in front: you leave Lyon on Saturday morning, reach Saint-Étienne in the evening, then run the night race with everyone else back to the Halle Tony-Garnier. On the official 2026 GPX files, Runcon measures 160.4 km and 5,160 m of gain. The outbound leg follows the SaintéLyon course almost exactly in reverse: the big descents of the night become the big climbs of the day. Here is how the effort is spread, and what it means for your break in Saint-Étienne.

Updated 30 October 2026 · race on Saturday 28 November 2026

Race facts

The round-trip profile, analysed by Runcon

Here are the two GPX files end to end, as Runcon shows them: each stretch is coloured by the effort it takes, from the blue of the descents to the brick red of the hardest climbs. Saint-Étienne is in the middle, at km 79.

Official 2026 GPX files for the outbound leg and the SaintéLyon, published by the organisers. Runcon measures 5,164 m of gain, for 5,000 m announced. Dashed lines mark the aid stations (Le Camp: approximate position).

What the profile shows at a glance: the outbound leg climbs more than it descends (2,731 m up, 2,411 m down), since you leave Lyon at 165 m to reach Saint-Étienne at 490 m. It is the harder half for elevation, and you run it in daylight, unranked. The return leg is the SaintéLyon, on legs that already have 79 km in them.

The outbound leg: the SaintéLyon in reverse, by day

Runcon's briefing counts the steep stretches. On trail, a climb is steep between 6 and 9% average gradient, and very steep above 9%. A descent is steep beyond 6%. On the outbound leg alone:

Nineteen very steep climbs, against fifteen in the SaintéLyon direction: the steep descents of the night are climbed on the way out. Here are the climbs longer than 500 m, in order:

The longest, 1.6 km at 13% at km 33.9, is the SaintéLyon's big descent taken the other way: it leads to the high point of the outbound leg, 925 m around km 37. Nearly all the hard climbs fall between Soucieu (km 18) and Saint-Christo (km 61). After Saint-Christo, the last 18 km to Saint-Étienne are mostly downhill.

The four sections of the outbound leg

The section to prepare for is the second one: 28 km and nearly 1,200 m of gain with no aid station, as the outbound leg only has three (Soucieu, Sainte-Catherine, Saint-Christo). The race is semi-self-sufficient: leave Soucieu with enough to eat and drink for four to five hours. The organisers also require a watch with the outbound GPS track, and the highway code applies on public roads.

The Saint-Étienne break: your outbound time sets your rest

The return leg starts at a fixed time, 23:30, from a dedicated pen in the first wave. Whatever you gain on the way out becomes rest: a meal, an area reserved for LyonSaintéLyon runners and your second drop bag are waiting at the Parc des expositions.

Paces calculated over the 79.3 km of the GPX, aid-station stops included. The trap works both ways: an outbound leg that is too slow barely leaves time to eat, and one that is too fast gets paid for at night, on the SaintéLyon climbs. Since the outbound leg is unranked, the real goal is to reach Saint-Étienne fresh, with enough margin to eat, change and lie down for a while. At the end of November it gets dark around 17:00: the end of the outbound leg is already run by headlamp.

The return leg: the SaintéLyon on 79 km legs

The return leg follows the 2026 SaintéLyon course: 80.7 km and 2,432 m of gain, more than two thirds of it before km 45 (Le Camp in Saint-Genou). You pass through the same villages as on the way out, but in reverse order and at night: the afternoon's climbs become steep descents, including 2.7 km at 11% after the high point at km 42. The section-by-section detail is in our SaintéLyon article.

The upside of the first-wave pen: you start at the front, without the jams on the first trails, with the full margin on the cut-offs. The downside: thousands of fresh runners will pass you in the first kilometres. Let them go.

Aid stations and cut-off times

2026 cut-offs published on the race page. Distances are the organisers', counted from Lyon on the way out and from Saint-Étienne on the way back.

Outbound (Saturday 28 November)

Return (night of Saturday to Sunday)

The outbound cut-offs are based on a pace of 5.8 km/h. On the way back, you have 17 h between the 23:30 start and the finish closing at 16:30, or 31 h 30 in total from Lyon.

Read the course in detail with Runcon

Drop both GPX files into Runcon: for each one you get the profile above, the estimated finish time for your level, split times at the aid stations (to check your margin on the cut-offs and know when you will reach Saint-Étienne), the section that costs you the most, and a briefing that details steep climbs and descents longer than 500 m.

No GPX yet? Our GPX file guide explains where to find one.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the LyonSaintéLyon?

160 km announced. On the official 2026 GPX files, Runcon measures 79.3 km out and 80.7 km back, 160.4 km and 5,164 m of gain in total.

Is the outbound leg timed?

No. The outbound leg is unranked and must be completed within 13 h; only the return leg, run with the SaintéLyon, counts for the ranking.

How long is the break in Saint-Étienne?

It depends on your outbound leg: the return starts at 23:30 whatever happens. Arrive at 20:00 and you have 3 h 30; at the 22:30 cut-off, only an hour.

What kit is mandatory?

The same as on the SaintéLyon: 1 L of water, a food reserve, a 15 cl cup, a survival blanket, a whistle, an elastic adhesive bandage, a waterproof hooded jacket, a phone and ID. The LyonSaintéLyon adds two headlamps with spare batteries, a watch with the outbound GPS track and the LiveTrail app activated on your phone; the rules recommend an 800 kcal food reserve. The organisers can trigger a "severe cold kit" (hat, warm waterproof gloves, waterproof trousers, warm layer…). The full list is in the rules.

Where do I collect my bib?

At the Halle Tony-Garnier in Lyon, on Friday 27 November from 12:00 to 20:00. It is the only slot given for the LyonSaintéLyon, which starts from the Halle on Saturday at 9:00.

Is outside assistance allowed?

No. Assistance is forbidden at aid stations (except for accredited elites, at Sainte-Catherine and Soucieu), and running with someone who is not registered is forbidden.

Who can enter?

Runners aged 20 and over, with a French FFA or FFSA licence or the PPS certificate. The rules set no qualifying points or index, but 160 km, half of it at night in November, calls for real ultra experience.

Sources

• Official LyonSaintéLyon page (2026 GPX, aid stations, cut-offs) and 2026 rules (in French)
• Official SaintéLyon page

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