OPEN Fast Hiking of Pollionnay 2026

Popopopopopopoliolio, POOOOLLIONNAYYYYY 📣

Barely fifteen kilometers from Lyon, Pollionnay and its 3,000 inhabitants change pace in the month of October. 🍂 This small village in the Rhône, at the gateway to the Monts du Lyonnais, is hosting the very first edition of the Open Fast Hiking of Pollionnay, organized by FFRandonnée Rhône – Métropole de Lyon ✨. A major first for the department, which will lay the foundations for a still-young discipline on this hilly playground ⛰️. In early October, mornings are cool, around 8 to 12°C, but quickly give way to milder afternoons: enough to move forward without suffocating under a fleece, while still keeping a little extra layer in your bag 🎒.

Two routes await on the heights above the village, and neither will be marked: everyone moves forward with their GPX track downloaded in advance or their paper map handed out on site, in full autonomy 🗺️. The “Discovery” route covers 10 km and 350 mD+ between cultivated fields, cool woodlands, and typical hamlets; the profile is fairly runnable and designed as a first approach to the format 🤌. The “Open” climbs to 17 km for 750 mD+, heading toward the legendary Col de la Luère, at 715 m above sea level, which serves as a natural boundary between the Brévenne and Yzeron valleys 🏞️. The winding paths snake through the wooded ridges of the western Lyon area, with no fewer than 4,200 hectares of forests, meadows, and heathland classified as an Sensitive Natural Area, which keep the countryside apart from the bustle of the nearby metropolis 🏙️.

Fast hiking invents a new way to devour the mountains: neither quite trail running nor simple hiking, the discipline is practiced at a free but steady pace, backpack on and water bottle filled ✅. The absence of marking changes the game: you read your track, anticipate intersections, and manage your effort without relying on reassuring arrows ❌. With no displayed stopwatch, only the start and finish times count, moving everyone toward a gold, silver, or bronze ranking: above all a personal challenge, far from a race down to the second ⏱️. For this race, the atmosphere promises to be friendly and unifying, among curious newcomers here to discover the format, seasoned hikers looking for a new playground, and trail enthusiasts tempted by a change of pace 👯. One thing is certain: in this kind of format, the map matters as much as your legs do 🔥.

Before or after the effort, a detour to the hamlet of Col de la Luère is worth a look: it was there that Eugénie Brazier ran her three-starred table in the 1930s, training along the way a certain Paul Bocuse 🍽️. In the village, the Saint-Pierre Church, Romanesque and nine centuries old, and the Château de Contreau, former fief of the local minor nobility, tell the history of Pollionnay long before trail sneakers arrived 👟. Climbing enthusiasts will also spot the Croix du Ban site and its fifty routes in the middle of the forest, while the biggest food lovers will go for a well-seasoned cervelle de canut, the cheese specialty of the Lyonnais bouchons 😋. In short, there’s plenty to refuel before folding up the poles and packing away the GPX track 🤌.

So, ready to trade a leisurely stroll for a pace that stings a little? 🥾