Blandine L'Hirondel
French trail running champion with multiple world and European titles. Born in Caen and licensed to ARC-Alençon Running Club, L'Hirondel dominated the world trail running scene with two world championship titles (2019, 2022) and a European title (2022). She successfully transitioned to ultra-distance racing, becoming one of France's top 100-mile runners with a podium finish at UTMB 2023 and winning the prestigious Grand Raid de la Réunion (Diagonale des Fous) in 2025. Named FFA Athlete of the Year in 2022. Known for her mental toughness, she has successfully competed while overcoming injuries including iliiac artery endofibrosis surgery.
UTMB Index
798
Birth Date
March 3, 1991
Birth Place
Caen, France
Hometown
Alençon, France
Key Achievements
- Double World Trail Champion (2019, 2022)
- European Trail Champion (2022)
- Triple French Trail Champion (2019 short, 2021 and 2024 long)
- French Mountain Running Champion (2020, 2021)
- World Mountain Running Championships - Bronze (2019)
- OCC Winner (2021) - UTMB Series
- CCC Winner (2022) - UTMB Series
- UTMB Third Place (2023) - First 100-miler podium
- Grand Raid Winner (2025) - Diagonale des Fous
Career Highlights
- 2025: Won Grand Raid de la Réunion - Diagonale des Fous (178km, 27:26:09, 8th overall); Won 90km du Mont-Blanc (92km, 12:32:00); Won KV du Montcalm (3.5km, 47:09); Won Trail du Ventoux Balcon des Jas (29km, 2:47:55)
- 2024: 5th at UTMB (176.4km, 24:35:54); Won French Trail Long Championships (57.6km, 5:35:45); 2nd at European Trail Championships (58km, 5:53:49); 3rd at Grand Trail des Templiers (80.4km, 7:48:13); Won Tavignanu Trail (33km, 3:44:00)
- 2023: 3rd at UTMB (170km, 24:22:50) - first 100-miler podium; Won Skyrhune (21km, 2:10:39); Won Istria Green (62.9km, 5:56:21); Won Lyon Urban Trail (37km, 3:01:12); 5th at Zegama-Aizkorri (41.9km, 4:48:32)
- 2022: Won World Trail Championships Long (78km, 8:22:14); Won European Trail Championships (47.39km, 4:11:22); Won CCC (98km, 11:40:55); Won Trail du Ventoux (46km, 4:19:18); 2nd at Montée du Nid d'Aigle (19.5km, 2:02:44) - FFA Athlete of the Year
- 2021: Won OCC (55km, 5:45:08); Won French Trail Long Championships (54km, 4:40:11); Won French Mountain Running Championships (13.6km, 1:08:05); 4th at Sierre-Zinal (31km, 2:59:08); 3rd at Marathon du Mont-Blanc (38km, 4:07:31)
- 2020: Won French Mountain Running Championships (12.5km, 1:05:01); 2nd at Skyrace des Matheysins (25.5km, 2:50:04); 3rd at Golden Trail Championship (110km, 11:02:42)
- 2019: Won World Trail Championships (44km, 4:06:17); 3rd at World Mountain Running Long Distance Championships (41.5km, 3:52:07); Won Skyrhune (21km, 2:12:08); Won Semi-marathon Inferno (21.1km, 2:25:25)
Notable Traits
- • Double World Trail Champion (2019, 2022) - dominated the 44-78km distance
- • European Trail Champion 2022 - won despite recent iliiac artery surgery
- • Named French Athletics Federation (FFA) Athlete of the Year 2022
- • Successfully transitioned from trail (<50km) to ultra-distance (100-mile) racing
- • Won Grand Raid de la Réunion 2025 (178km) - first woman, one of toughest ultras in the world
- • Strong descender - known for making up positions on downhill sections
- • Licensed to ARC-Alençon Running Club