Trail du Vignoble Nantais: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

Start and finish are in the Parc du Loiry in Vertou, with an early Saturday morning start. The course follows tracks and paths through vineyards, along the banks of the Sèvre and the Maine and across the small plateaus in between. The organiser calls it the first big trail date of the spring.

The profile stays between river level and just under 60 metres, yet the roughly 1,000 metres of climbing come from dozens of short rises. Most are 30 to 45 metres high and only a few hundred metres long, with single ramps briefly above 15 percent. After a first steep pitch around kilometre 9 they cluster in the second half, especially between kilometres 40 and 65.

For many runners the finish is not the end: the Défi des Fondus adds the Trail Découverte and the night race on the same day. In 2026, 218 runners started the long loop and 191 finished.

Pacing Strategy

This race has no single key climb. The cost comes from the sum of many short ramps and from the soft ground, so the rule is: walk or run every rise at a pace that does not spike your heart rate, and keep running easily on the flats and downhills.

The day is decided between kilometres 40 and 65, where the steepest rises come close together. If you are still fresh by then you can run them while others walk. The profile tempts you to treat the first half almost like a flat run, and that is exactly the trap.

Plan your fuelling for six to ten hours and eat regularly from the start. If you are doing the Défi des Fondus, run the ultra deliberately slower, because 30 more kilometres wait in the afternoon and at night.

Training plan for Trail du Vignoble Nantais: 12-week build

Expect six to ten hours; the fastest men run around six. The effort is a long aerobic run with many short strength spikes, closer to a hilly ultramarathon than to a mountain race.

The core of the preparation is long runs of three to five hours on forest and farm tracks, with plenty of short climbs of one to three minutes. Practise power-walking these rises and running again the moment you crest them; over 75 kilometres that saves more time than any pace on the flat.

The second half is the harder one. Include sessions that put the hilliest sections at the end, and strengthen your thighs and hips for the many short descents on soft ground.

The organiser describes the vineyard ground as soft and demanding. Train in lugged trail shoes on unsurfaced ground and test your fuelling and kit on your longest runs, especially if you are planning the Défi des Fondus.