Tom Evans and Ruth Croft head to Réunion for a longer Diagonale des Fous that skips Cilaos
The 180 km race starts in Saint-Pierre at 22:00 on 15 October on a rerouted course. Both 2025 winners and several former champions are missing, and the two UTMB title holders from 2025 are making their debuts.
Britain’s Tom Evans and New Zealand’s Ruth Croft, the 2025 UTMB champions, are both entered for the Diagonale des Fous, the 180 km crossing of Réunion that starts at 22:00 local time on Thursday 15 October.
Neither has run the race before, and both missed the 2026 UTMB in Chamonix. They will start on a new course that no longer passes through the cirque of Cilaos.
A longer route, without Cilaos
The Diagonale is the longest of the five races of the Grand Raid de La Réunion, held from 15 to 18 October. According to the organisers, the 2026 course runs about 180 km with 10,200 metres of climbing, from Ravine Blanche in Saint-Pierre to the Stade de La Redoute in Saint-Denis, with a time limit of 66 hours. Reference Trail described it as the longest Diagonale yet.
After the climb from the south coast, runners now head through Salazie, with Hell-Bourg as the main base, then across Mafate and up to the Maïdo before descending to the finish. Pierre Maunier, president of the Grand Raid association, cited congestion for the decision, describing Cilaos as “engorgé par une surpopulation temporaire”, or congested by temporary overcrowding, Reference Trail reported.
The organisers say the route may still change for administrative or practical reasons, or because of the state of the trails. The race is capped at 3,000 runners. La Bo du Coureur counted 2,842 registered runners on the official list on 6 October, and Réunion La 1ère described it as a record field.
The men
Evans, 34, won Western States in 2023 and the UTMB in 2025. His 2026 has been uneven: Reference Trail reported that he did not finish Transgrancanaria or the Hardrock 100, then withdrew before Chamonix.
Switzerland’s Jean-Philippe Tschumi, 44, starts with experience on his side: he has finished on the podium three times since 2022, according to Réunion La 1ère. Britain’s Josh Wade, third at the 2025 UTMB, and France’s Hugo Deck are also making their debuts. Antoine Guillon, the 2015 winner, is starting for the 17th time at the age of 56.
Réunion’s best hopes include Fabrice Payet, the top local finisher in sixth place in 2023 and 2025, and Judicaël Sautron, a regular in the top ten.
The absentees are as notable as the starters. Baptiste Chassagne, who won in 2025 in 23:31:54 according to the official results, is not starting. Nor are two former winners recovering from surgery: Mathieu Blanchard (heel) and Ludovic Pommeret (foot), Reference Trail reported. Beñat Marmissolle, the 2022 winner, has also been ruled out by injury, according to Réunion La 1ère.
The women
Croft, 37, won the UTMB in 2025 and the MaXi-Race in France in May 2026. She withdrew from the UTMB two days before the start in August for family reasons, according to Reference Trail.
France’s Manon Bohard, who won the Diagonale in 2024, has won the Ultra Trail di Corsica and the Échappée Belle in 2026, according to Réunion La 1ère. Réunion’s Émilie Maroteaux, the 2021 winner, is also entered, and Reference Trail lists Sarah Vieuille, who won the TDS in Chamonix in August 2026, among the contenders.
Canada’s Marianne Hogan, third at Western States in June, is entered but her preparation has again been disrupted by a calf injury, Reference Trail and Réunion La 1ère both reported.
The 2025 winner, Blandine L’Hirondel, who went on to win the UTMB in August, will run the shorter Mascareignes race instead, according to Reference Trail.
