Trail des Coursières

The Trail des Coursières is a demanding 54-kilometer race with 2,450 meters of elevation gain, starting from Saint-Martin-en-Haut in the Monts du Lyonnais. This event is one of the toughest in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region outside the Alpine massifs, with an elevation-to-distance ratio that makes it a true test of muscular endurance. The race name evokes the coursières, those ancestral ridge paths that locals used to travel between valleys.

The course crosses the wildest landscapes of the Monts du Lyonnais and their foothills toward the Forez. Runners chain together steep climbs and vertiginous descents in a tormented relief of deep valleys and sharp ridges. The trails plunge into forests of beech and Douglas fir, follow narrow streams where water cascades over gneiss rocks, cross windswept altitude meadows offering circular panoramas over the surrounding mountains. The diversity of atmospheres is remarkable: dark, humid undergrowth, luminous clearings, golden broom moorland in spring, bare rocky ridges.

The 2,450 meters of elevation gain are particularly severe because they are distributed in short but very steep climbs, with gradients regularly exceeding 25%. The descents are equally steep and technical, on narrow trails strewn with roots, stones, and slippery leaves. The accumulation of these micro-elevation changes, never giving respite to the quadriceps or hamstrings, makes this race a formidable muscular test. The terrain is constantly changing: muddy sunken lanes, forest single tracks, farm tracks, and stream crossings at fords.

Saint-Martin-en-Haut is a rural town situated at 750 meters altitude, in the heart of the Monts du Lyonnais. This territory of mixed farming and livestock has preserved an authenticity that contrasts with the proximity of the Lyon metropolis, just forty minutes by road. Farms with broad roofs, bocage hedgerows, apple and cherry orchards compose a pastoral landscape typical of the French medium mountains. Local gastronomy celebrates terroir products: goat cheeses, artisanal charcuterie, Lyon bugnes pastries, and pink pralines.

For international runners, the Trail des Coursières is a serious athletic challenge worth the detour for its difficulty and authenticity. The race offers an immersion in deep rural France, far from the usual tourist circuits, in a territory where the warmth of volunteers and locals more than compensates for the absence of fanfare. The proximity of Lyon and its international airport provides easy access. This is a connoisseur's race, recommended for experienced trail runners seeking demanding elevation and technical trails in a preserved natural setting.