Blandine l'Hirondel

Blandine L'Hirondel, the swallow of the Highlands 🌋

Growing up in Normandy is more about hedgerows and straight lines than passes and elevation gain. So how does a woman from Caen become the queen of the peaks? 🤔 In 2016, while a medical student, Blandine heads off for an internship on the intense island (Réunion). That’s when she pins on her first bibs, and the results don’t take long to impress. 3rd in the "Trail des 2 Rivières" (60 km), victories at the "Salazienne" or the "Cimasarun" (52 km, 4,000 mD+) before lining up for the Trail de Bourbon, her first mountain race over 100 km, which she finishes in 10th among the women 🌱.

Back in mainland France, the young graduate strings together six straight victories between the "Black Mountain Trail" in March 2018 and the "Senpereko Trail" in the Basque Country in March 2019. In June 2019, at her first World Championships in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal, she takes gold individually and as part of the team. She doesn’t stop there: in 2020 she becomes French mountain running champion at SuperDévoluy.

Between scrubs and a race bib 🩺

Her uniqueness can be summed up in two words: a double life. The gynecologist juggles consultations and training sessions, to the point that L'Équipe devoted a documentary to her with a telling title, A Rare Species 🎬 .

On the trails, her progression follows an almost medical logic: a gradual dose, step by step. She wins the "OCC" in 2021 (56 km), then the "CCC" in 2022 (100 km) in 11h40'55", in her first attempt at the distance. That same season, in Chiang Mai she claims the world title in the long trail, European gold, and shares the FFA Athlete of the Year trophy with Kevin Mayer.

Her first UTMB, in 2023, ends with a 3rd-place finish in 24h22'50" for her debut over 100 miles. The second, in 2024, turns into an obstacle course: in Vallorcine, at km 158, she collapses, down on one knee, before setting off again to finish 5th 💪.

The triple crown at the end of pain 🏔️

2025 marks a return to her roots. After a victory in the "90 km du Mont-Blanc" at the Marathon du Mont-Blanc in 12h31'51", she returns to Réunion nine years after her first strides there. In her first participation, she wins the Diagonale des Fous in 27h26'09" and places 8th overall 🌴.

In spring 2026, she shatters the women’s record at the Transvulcania on the island of La Palma, in 7h43'47", nearly 20 minutes under Ruth Croft's previous mark. The race still leaves a trace: iliac endofibrosis, an arterial condition that hampers her left leg.

Three days before UTMB, she talks neither podium nor time. On August 29, 2026, she nonetheless devours the 174 km and around 10,000 mD+ around the Mont Blanc in 21h54'49" ⏱️, a women’s course record, 26th overall. The falls on the descent from La Flégère change nothing. Ten years after Caroline Chaverot, a Frenchwoman once again raises her arms in Chamonix 🇫🇷.

Blandine L'Hirondel's record gains a historic line in the process: she joins Xavier Thévenard and Ruth Croft among the only winners of the three UTMB World Series finals: OCC, CCC and UTMB. Next step: surgery to treat that artery. Will she then go after the "TDS", the only missing piece in her Chamonix collection? While waiting for her return, find your next start line in the Finishers race catalog! 🏃