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RACEKIT - OUR EXPERIENCE
Grand Raid Reunion
I've just glanced across the page and realised Amanda's written about this race too, under its French name of Diagonale des Fous. But what the hell, it's a superb event - I'll add my tuppence-worth...
I reckon the Grand Raid is the closest thing to Iditasport for totally getting under your skin. It's one of those events where you learn a little bit more each time - about pacing, feeding, kit choice etc - and try to go back and put them right next time. The 148km non-stop route varies each year, so you never quite know what the organisers are going to throw at you, and the midnight start-time means a dose of comic (or sometimes not so comic) hallucinations is a dead cert. The route goes end-to-end of this Indian Ocean island, pitching in and out of the three giant cirques that surround its volcanic peak. Along the way you pass through an amazing variety of landscapes - sugar plantations, rain forest, volcanic desert, high plateaus and precipitous river valleys. The cirques' Creole villages host the race checkpoints, and villagers give constant encouragement as racers pass.
Either before or after the race - depending on flights etc - we've managed to fit in a few walks along the network of paths that criss-cross the island... DEFINITELY recommended.