SaintéLyon 80 KM – Full Course Breakdown | Profile, Key Challenges & Advice

In this video, I break down the course of the legendary SaintéLyon, the oldest night race in France 🌙
Between Saint-Étienne and Lyon, this unique event combines road, trails, mud, snow, and endless false flats — a challenge that’s as mental as it is physical.

In this video, I offer a complete section-by-section analysis of the course:
➡️ the fast and tricky runnable parts,
➡️ the punchy climbs,
➡️ the more or less technical descents,
➡️ the endless stretches of asphalt,
➡️ and the final kilometers leading to Lyon.

I go over all the obstacles that the SaintéLyon throws at runners and share tips to manage each section effectively, from the freezing start in Saint-Étienne to the lights along the banks of the Saône.

A must-watch video to prepare confidently for the SaintéLyon 2025 and avoid the most common mistakes.

#SaintéLyon #TrailRunning #NightRace #SaintéLyon2025 #CourseAnalysis

Saintélyon is the oldest trail in France. Born in 1952, it nowadays gathers nearly 4000 runners for an epic 80km night run with 2500m of elevation between Saint-Etienne and Lyon. A mythical, icy, muddy, but unforgettable race. Hi everyone! I’m Ben! On this channel, I share full recon videos and detailed analyses of the most beautiful trail running races in the world. If you like trail running, subscribe now so you don’t miss any of the next videos. In this video, we will review the course of the Saintélyon, section by section to give you as accurate an overview as possible of what to expect if you plan to participate, or simply to make you discover a true legend of the French trail running scene. The first section takes us from the starting line at the Saint-Etienne exhibition center to the ravito of Saint-Christo. We start with 5,5km easy uphill almost exclusively on the road. The slopes are gentle around 5 to 6% so it is very runnable, but be careful not to start too fast! With the atmosphere at the starline, the fast roads and the need to warm up after a long wait in the cold, we can easily carried away and start way too fast. Once this first climb is done, we switch to 4km of equally runnable descent, before reaching the first trails of the race. Here, we start a 5km climb with about 330m of D+ on wide 4×4 tracks, with some road passages. It’s not very stiff, so still very runnable unless the mud slows you down… Then comes a descent of about 3km and 280m of D- on a similar terrain, a little narrower trails towards the end. Then, a steeper climb of 1.5km at 10-12% average incline with some passages above 15%, before a flatish section that brings us to the first AS: Saint-Christo-En-Jarrest, at kilometer 20. Moving on to the second section of the race between Saint-Christo and Sainte-Catherine, 13km further on. Well warmed up and the belly full, we dive back into the race: 3km of easy uphill on a mix of roads and paths, then 1km of descent and another 2km of gentle ascent. Then, we arrive on top of the hills where we evolve during approximately 5 to 6km at an altitude of approximately 800m: small climbs, small descents and potentially very cold. Here, the wind can literally freeze you on the spot. Then we finally go back down to Sainte-Catherine, kilometer 33 and second AS of the race. The next section leads us from Sainte-Catherine to the Signal, kilometer 44. After the ravito of Sainte-Catherine, we go up and down a first bump of about 6km in total: nothing very difficult here. But right after that, the toughest part of the course comes: the climb to the Signal We start directly by the hardest: 1km at 25% average on a small steep trail that climbs straight into the forest This is by far the steepest and most technical section of the entire Saintélyon. Once out of the wood, the slopes soften. We run on a mix of roads and large trails going up and down for another 4 km, to the top of the Signal, kilometers 44, the highest point of the race at 934m altitude. The next section connects the Signal to Soucieux, from kilometer 44 to 61. The Signal marks the beginning of the second part of the Saintélyon: it is generally descending but sown with small brittle hills, just for the pleasure of the runners… And I also found that the paths here were a bit more technical. There are more roots, more pebbles and more steep passages. We start with 4km of almost continuous descent until the AS of Saint-Genou, km 48 and third stop of the race. Then, another 5km of descent interspersed with 2 small hills. Then a 2km climb with 150m of D+, before a long descent of 6km interrupted by a quick climb. All this leads us to the 4th AS in Soucieu-en-Jarrest, kilometer 61. We continue with a section of 7km between Soucieu and Chaponost. After the AS of Soucieu-en-Jarrest, we continue for 3km of gentle descent on a road then a slightly more technical passage, short but nervous A small climb follows right behind. We then go back on the road for a few hundred meters before encountering another descent/ascent a more technical terrain than what we’ve seen so far. Finally, 2km of road bring us to the last AS, in Chaponost, kilometers 68. We then only have a 12km stretch left between Chaponost and Lyon Refueled, we leave for 3km of runnable descent, then a short climb of just 500m but steep, really steep, and placed at a time when the legs are already dead. We then go back down on roads and long paths to the Roman Aqueduct of Beaunan, and the last real hill of the race: 1km and 100m of D+ exclusively on road. At this point, it hurts very, very much. At the top of the climb, we go for one last downhill on urban trails, cross the Mulatière the stairs to the Saone, then the two bridges over the Saone and the Rhône. And finally, one last kilometer to the Tony Garnier hall: Finisher of the Saintélyon… To conclude, the course of the Saintélyon is runable, yes but this race is very tricky. We spend most of the time running, and often on roads so it’s very traumatic compared to a race on loose ground with many sections where you’d be walking. Here the ascents and descents are rarely straightforward: it is a permanent chain of non steep climbs and downhills. It is difficult to keep a constant pace, especially in the second half after the Signal which is very irregular. And then, conditions: cold, rain, wind, sometimes snow and mud… All, at night A real mental fight. To survive it, you must wear enough layers of warm clothes, eat well and not neglect hydration even if you are not thirsty. In Saint-Etienne, you don’t come looking for comfort, but the opposite. If you liked this video, don’t forget to like, comment and share to help me analyze even more courses. Also subscribe to Trail With Ben so you don’t miss anything. See you soon on the trails or in a future video.