Ultra Boucle de la Sarra 6h and 24h: "you move forward on instinct"

It is a circuit of approximately 2 kilometers and 85 meters of D+, with 563 steps to cover over 6 hours (departure Saturday May 24 at 5 p.m.) or 24 hours (departure Friday May 23 at 11 p.m.).

530 runners are registered this year for both formats (solo or relay).

Interview with Jean-François Cuinet, founding president of the Ultra Run association, organizer of the Ultra Boucle de la Sarra, on the heights of Fourvière.

This stupid thing, you mean (laughs) ? At the time, there was the Lyon Free VTT which changed its name. At the time, they did that for two or three years, they organized the VTT Night Show . There weren't many mountain bikers, guys chosen according to their level. They did the Ultra Boucle de la Sarra circuit, but in the other direction. They went up the Sarra track, they rode in the Parc des Hauts, then descended by the 563 steps of the Nicolas Nicolas De Lange climb. I think they did 8 loops. Honestly, the route, I said that the route was nice. In my head, I said to myself that we could organize something like that in running mode and that we weren't going to bother with the course, that it was going to be really simple. Afterwards we realized that it was a real stupidity ( laughs ). You have to install so many structures and so many things for 24 hours. It's like setting up a small village for the duration of the race. There are the marquees, there's nothing on site. We have a big 10x15 marquee, it's for the runners' shelter. Then, we have a 6x15 to set up refreshment stands, the aid stations. Then, we have a whole bunch of small 3x3 tents all over the place for express refreshments, for partners. It's a little microcosm above on the esplanade. It's a small village. There's also the timing, a giant screen, the entertainment, sound and video part. We broadcast a few images before the starts. Afterwards, people can follow the race in real time with a timed out on a giant screen. What's good is that people enjoy it more. It's not a finish after 30 kilometers, for example. That's an arrival every two kilometers for 24 hours. Or 6 hours.

Read: all the information on the Ultra Boucle de la Sarra 2025 .

There weren't many. There were maybe 250 runners. Plus, it was just a 6-hour solo race and a 6-hour relay. We didn't have the means because it costs money to finance the structures. We're running a deficit. But we're having fun, we're having fun.

Excluding taxes, it’s 40,000 euros.

We have grants amounting to 4,000 euros.

No. Or we'd have to increase the price. But I don't want anyone to tell me it's not justified. We're enjoying ourselves. We're also trying not to spend recklessly. We'll be in the red by around 13,000 euros. We're counting on the year, on all the things we do. We win on one side and we lose on the other.

The Ultra Boucle de la Sarra route A circuit of approximately 2.1 km and 85 m of elevation gain to cover over 6 or 24 hours. Are you planning on doing 50 loops? Now you have 100 km and 4,500 m of elevation gain under your belt. Sounds a lot better to you, right? And if we tell you that there are 563 steps on the route, can you imagine the challenge of climbing 28,150 steps?

We do the Lurdunum in February, an off by night. It's free, we pay. The costs are to make a video, buy food for 200 people. We do two refreshment stops. Then, we do the Lyon Urban Trail , in April, with Extra Sports . We have the legal responsibility for the event. I do the accounting. Then, we do the Ultra Boucle la Sarra. Then, there is the LUT by Night, in November, still with Extra Sports. And, in December, we organize the LyonSaintéLyon - the SaintéLyon round trip -, we work with the CT Lyon , the oldest cycling club in Lyon.

Yes, we started the thing with Christophe, a friend I've been running with for years. We took up an idea that already existed. There was Michel Poletti in particular, the founder of the UTMB . There was the UFO, a magazine called UFO Magazine.

Yes, that's exactly it. They had launched this idea of ​​doing it off-road , you go to Saint-Étienne outside the race and you take the race after at the start. In 2009, we relaunched the thing. There were two of us in 2010. We did that for ten years. One day, Michel Sorine (owner of Extra Sports) came to see me and said: "we would like to organize an ultra round trip from Lyon Sainté. Would you be interested?" It had been an initial idea. We had more or less agreed with Michel. If one day it became official, we would stop the off-road and we would help to make it happen. We take care of the outward part, the logistics part, the supplies. Last year, there were 600 at the start.

Last year, I had set the limit at 500. We were full. In the end, with the no-shows, we ended up with 460. So now, I said to myself, let's put it at 530. I can't go too high because on the esplanade, it would be too crowded. I don't have the goal of it becoming too crowded. I prefer to keep it at the top.

For someone who wants to do an ultra, it's a very comfortable format. You can test the distance, the effort, the duration, and you don't have the complicated logistics of an ultra. It takes away the constraints, we make it easy for you. It's a 2 km loop, you put your bag in the tent. If you're not strong enough yet or you've forgotten something, you go get it from your tent. You don't carry your things. You have a comfort of use. You have a totally different effort because you're going to do 3, 4, 5, 6 loops and then you do it automatically. You advance by instinct. I'm not going to say that there aren't times when it's hard. I did it twice off- road at the end of March. Initially, to test it out a bit before we did the 24 hours officially, we did it twice to test the format. Ultimately, I told myself that it goes by quickly. Obviously, there are times when it's harder than others. But there are always changes in atmosphere, which means it's not like an official FFA 24-hour race around a kilometer-long stadium. It's still much more varied.

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