La Foulée Bleck: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The course is a single loop and opens with a lap through the old village. From kilometre 0.2 it climbs for nearly a kilometre at six per cent to the Revouire pond, where the loop of the vita fitness trail follows. At kilometre 2.45 the path pushes on towards Blignou at nine per cent, reaching the high point of the day at just over 1,010 metres.

The route then returns past the pond and the old village, drops to the Luiton, swings towards Coméraz and descends via the Chemin des Places to the low point at barely 690 metres. The climb back through the forest is the hardest section of the race: 650 metres averaging 13 per cent and touching 26. Barely over it, at kilometre 11 you start the 1.1 kilometre finishing climb up the Coua and the castle path, worth another 100 metres of vertical.

Underfoot are the commune's chemins et découvertes: the vita trail, the water path, the Chemin des Places and the Tsamarau path, plus field tracks and forest floor on the sunny slopes above the Rhône valley. Almost nothing here is flat, just eight per cent of the distance. Start and finish share the Place du Vieux Village in the historic centre, which is also where all the side programme happens. 2026 is the tenth edition, put on by a volunteer committee, and no racing licence is required.

Pacing Strategy

The course gives you almost no recovery: only eight per cent is flat, close to 30 per cent climbs and another 28 descends. Racing the opening kilometres to the pond and on to Blignou is paid for twice over later, because the two hardest ascents do not arrive until after kilometre nine. Start clearly inside yourself and spend the effort evenly, alternating running with short bursts of power on the ramps.

The race is decided between kilometre 9.8 and the line. The forest ramp at up to 26 per cent is barely runnable; brisk hiking is often faster there and always cheaper than forcing it. With no real recovery you then hit the 1.1 kilometre climb up the Coua and the castle path, and that is exactly where most runners give back the time they took on the descents.

Those descents are the second trap. 18.6 per cent of the course drops steeply, on field and forest tracks with a loose surface. Braking costs you time; charging costs you the quadriceps you need on the final climb. Add the 10:15 start on the south-facing slopes of central Valais, which can already be warm: drink early, not first on the last hill.

Training plan for La Foulée Bleck: 12-week build

For a typical age-group runner the twelve kilometres take roughly 55 to 90 minutes. Despite the short distance the demand is not that of a tempo run: six climbs, more than 400 metres of vertical and only eight per cent flat ground make for an undulating load with a high aerobic baseline and repeated anaerobic spikes on the steep pitches.

The race-deciding sections come at the end. The 650 metres averaging 13 per cent at kilometre 9.8 and the 1.1 kilometre climb at nine per cent that follows demand climbing strength on tired legs. That can only be trained by putting the hills at the end of a session: hill intervals after 45 minutes of steady running prepare you far better than fresh hill sprints with full recovery.

Downhill running matters just as much. Almost a fifth of the course drops steeply, on natural paths and forest floor rather than tarmac. Train only on the road and you will lose time there and arrive at the final climb with pre-damaged legs; repeated descents on unsealed ground plus eccentric strength work are the right answer.

Conditions come down to the place. The race is run on the sunny slopes of central Valais between 690 and 1,010 metres, starting late morning in mid-September. A few sessions in the heat of the day, and practice at switching quickly between running and hiking on steep pitches, will do more for you here than extra volume on the track.