Our colleague Fabien Sieurac is taking on a crazy challenge!
48 hours and 24 minutes of effort, 181 km covered, and unwavering determination: Fabien Sieurac, winner of the Onet Let’s Go Sports Grant, conquered one of the world’s most demanding ultra-trails. This athletic and personal adventure caps off 15 months of preparation for a charitable initiative led by Onet.
- - Onet
Diagonale des Fous: Off to the Trails of Réunion
On October 15, at 10 p.m., Fabien Sieurac set off from Saint-Pierre, on Réunion, to begin the legendary Diagonale des Fous.
On the agenda: 181 km and more than 10,000 m of elevation gain, under particularly challenging conditions.
After 48 hours and 24 minutes of racing, two nights on the trails, and only 30 minutes of sleep, he finally crossed the finish line at the Stade de la Redoute in Saint-Denis. He finished in 937th place out of approximately 2,800 participants, in a race marked by nearly 700 dropouts.
For Fabien, who has been running trail races for 15 years, this race represented much more than just a athletic challenge: “For me, it embodies the legend of the ultra-trail, because of its difficulty and technical demands.” He had set this goal as the culmination of his journey in this discipline.
48 hours of exertion in extreme conditions
From freezing cold to sweltering heat, Fabien had to adapt to the island’s wildly varying weather conditions. He recounts facing temperatures close to 0 °C as he approached Piton de la Fournaise, spending 12 hours in the rain and mud around Piton des Neiges, Hell-Bourg, and Plaine des Merles, before completing the final 40 kilometers in temperatures exceeding 30 °C.
To stay on course, he chose to run without a GPS watch, relying solely on the time and his scheduled arrival times to meet up with his support team at the seven aid stations.
Beyond the race itself, what stands out most to him are the extraordinary landscapes of Réunion, the people he met, and the camaraderie among the participants—not to mention the encouragement from the crowd along the entire course.
A sports project in support of a charitable cause
With support from the Onet Let’s Go Sports Scholarship, Fabien set himself an ambitious challenge: to complete three ultra-trails in 15 months and donate €2,200 to a charity.
This final race marks the culmination of a long-term project, made possible by months of training—up to 15 hours a week—while balancing work and family life.
As he crossed the finish line, his first thought went to his two sons, who were eagerly awaiting the famous yellow “finisher” medal.
I'm proud to have seen this Onet Sports Scholarship project through to the end.
The Onet Let’s Go Sports Scholarship: Support That Makes a Difference
For Fabien, the program provided an extra incentive to see this athletic and community-based adventure through to the end.
" It was a bit of a crazy project on paper—it started at our headquarters in Marseille with a presentation and ended at the finish line at the Redoute Stadium! "
He would also like to thank the Group’s employees who followed him during the race and sent him many messages of encouragement.
"I'd say that nothing is impossible—you just have to find a way to make it happen."
After 15 years of trail running and thousands of kilometers covered in training, Fabien considers the Diagonale des Fous to be the culmination of his ultra-trail journey. While this will be his last race at this distance, he now encourages future recipients of the Onet Let’s Go Sports Scholarship to take up the torch and take on their own challenges as well.
Congratulations to Fabien on this magnificent sporting adventure and act of solidarity!
