Corrida des Gaziers 2026
- Next event : Fri, December 18, 2026Date confirmed
The event in a few words
Before you zip up your schoolbag for the Christmas holidays, come step on the gas with the Gaziers des Monts!
Adjust your shorts 🩳, tighten your waistband, pull on your most neon compression socks: the asphalt of Chazelles-sur-Lyon is waiting for you! Head for the rolling hills of the Monts du Lyonnais, in the Loire department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, to heat up the pavement at the Corrida des Gaziers 🔥. The date falls on a mid-December Friday evening, just before everyone heads off to enjoy the magic of Christmas. Weather-wise, Chazelles evenings in December tend to taste more like mulled wine than sunscreen: the thermometer happily flirts with 0°C, so slip a pair of gloves 🧤 into your bag.
On the running side, the Corrida des Gaziers throws its gates wide open to everyone: road rockets, Sunday joggers, or coworkers looking for a challenge. With the Gaziers, it’s up to you whether you want to "step on the gas" and make your quads sing 🏎️, or just enjoy the evening with friends without overthinking it. For that, choose your weapons: the "Corrida", an road race of 8 km over 3 loops with 60 mD+, the "Corrida Jeunes" of 2.7 km and its 20 mD+, not to mention a 1 km course that’s 100% flat for kids, guaranteed zero hills to keep socks from crying! 🧦 To spice up the start of the race, a ham bonus rewards the fastest runner at the 1.6 km mark 🐖. Calling all charcuterie sprinters!
Chazelles has built a worldwide reputation as the historic capital of the felt hat 👒, a craft you can admire at the Atelier-Musée du Chapeau, right next to which the course goes by. Don’t worry—you don’t need to wear a borsalino to line up at the start: here, a good pair of sneakers is more than enough. Hats off! 🎩
Since a first edition that set the pavement on fire and left its mark all across the Loire, the event has established itself as the year-end festive rendezvous. The concept is as simple as it is formidable: turn the fully illuminated 💡 city center into a real boiling cauldron, at night and right in the heart of December. Add to that an unleashed Chazelles crowd that raises its voice at every street corner 📣. Whether you show up in warrior mode to smash your PR or in chill mode to have a great evening, anything goes. Sprint with coworkers, burn off the turkey and the Yule log 🎅 preemptively before they even go in the oven: with the Gaziers, everyone comes to torch their calves with joy, noise, and good vibes! 🥳
Once you cross the line 🏁, a refreshment station awaits to help you refuel. No question of sneaking off under the duvet while crying about your cramps! 🥱 The evening continues under the marquees, between refreshments and music 🎶—plenty to replay the race with friends until you can’t drink anymore.
The next day, the Forez, the Monts du Lyonnais, and the heritage of the Loire offer more than enough to soothe your aches. If your legs still respond, go loosen up on the trails of the Pilat Regional Natural Park, admire the view over the Forez plain, or pop over to the Château de Bouthéon to make your followers believe you’re an ultra-cultured athlete 🤓. On the food side, Fourme de Montbrison will take care of rebuilding your reserves 🧀.
Don’t hang around: grab your bib and come escaner your calves! ⚡
4 reasons to join this race
organizer’s message:
"The Corrida des Gaziers is back! After a first edition that set the tone, the Corrida des Gaziers returns to Chazelles-sur-Lyon on Friday, December 18, 2026! An evening under the banner of sport, celebration, and friendliness, with races for the youngest and a big corrida to end the night in style. Whether you come to chase the clock, challenge yourself, run with friends, or simply soak up the atmosphere, one thing is certain: with the Gaziers, you don’t just come to run… you come to live the race! So lace up your sneakers, bring your friends, and come share with us an evening where we run, cheer, laugh, and make some noise! The Corrida des Gaziers: a race, an atmosphere, a great time."
A distance for every taste
8 kmTOP
2.7 km
1 km
- Friday, December 18, 2026 at 8:00 PM
- Elevation gain : 60mD+
- 3 loopsx2.6667 km
A few more words
This is the main event, the big dance of the wild ones under the spotlight! The course is laid out in three loops 🔁 identical 2.67 km circuits through the historic town center and the illuminated alleys of Chazelles-sur-Lyon. With an elevation gain of 60 mD+, the profile is super fast, ideal for powering back up after every tight turn. The huge advantage of this multi-loop format? You pass three times in front of the terraces and the cauldron of fired-up supporters to recharge your energy. This route will let you perfect your grimaces for the photographer’s lens and try to keep flawless style right up to the final sprint! 📷
2.7 km : Corrida 11-14 years
Road Running- Friday, December 18, 2026 at 7:20 PM
- Elevation gain : 20mD+
- 2.7 km
A few more words
The tailor-made format for the young guard looking to get their cardio soaring! 💨 Young athletes set off on a single 2.7 km loop that follows the adults’ main course. No major difficulty on the program, with only 20 small meters of positive elevation gain: it starts very fast, it sparkles ✨ in every direction, and it offers a fully secured playground right in the heart of the city. It’s the perfect race to learn how to manage your night-time pace, open up the throttle on the straights, and come tease the clock under the parents’ cheers.
1 km : 6-10 years
Road Running- Friday, December 18, 2026 at 7:00 PM
- 1 km
A few more words
The opening sprint to kick off the evening with a bang! 🛞 This 1,000-meter course is completely flat, closed to traffic and laid out around the race village to guarantee absolute safety for the mini-gaziers. No headaches, no race tactics or hill management: the only instruction is to let it rip, copy the grown-ups, get those little sneakers warming up, and throw your arms up in the air at the finish line like true champions! 🏃♂️
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
You’ll be able to pick up your bib at 6:00 p.m., upstairs at the Chazelles-sur-Lyon cinema-theatre, 11 Boulevard Étienne Péronnet
The races will start at Place de la Poterne:
At 7:00 p.m. for ages 6–10
At 7:20 p.m. for ages 11–14
At 8:00 p.m. for the "Corrida"
No, it’s not mandatory. However, you will need to present a PPS certificate dated less than one year from the race date.
Yes, you must have been born:
Before 12/31/2011 for "the corrida"
Before 12/31/2015 for the 11–14 race
Before 12/31/2020 for the 6–10 race
For the 8 km "Corrida": €12
For the 11–14 race: €2
For the 6–10 race: €2
Yes, the cut-off time for the "Corrida" is 1 hour 30 minutes.
Refreshments are planned at the finish of each race. For the 8 km corrida, there will also be a water station in the courtyard of the Hat Museum.
Your registration includes a start-line gift.
You can check the race rules here
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