In English

The race

One line, one canal, one go

L'Intégrale de Riquet is a solo, non-stop, self-supported ultramarathon of 245 kilometres, give or take two or three, with a 46-hour time limit. It follows the Canal du Midi towpath wherever the ground allows; some towns are crossed through the centre, and a few sections run on public roads.

The canal was formally opened on 15 May 1681. Three and a half centuries later, you cover it end to end, on foot, in a single push. The race is held as close to that anniversary as possible, and it reverses direction every year: odd years run from Toulouse to Marseillan, even years from the Onglous lighthouse back to Toulouse. The 2027 edition starts in Toulouse on Friday 14 May at 14:00, from the place du Capitole.

Pierre-Paul Riquet designed the canal and had it built in the seventeenth century, one of the largest civil engineering projects in pre-industrial Europe. He spent the last fifteen years of his life and most of his fortune on it, and died a few months before it opened.

The race is organised by Lucathlon – la team du crabe, a non-profit association based in Castres. Any surplus funds physical and sporting activities for people living with cancer.

Route & cut-offs

Six timed points between the two ends

Cut-offs are not negotiable. They exist for your safety, your health, and because the organisation cannot keep the course open indefinitely. Times below are for the 2027 edition, running from Toulouse.

Distances are indicative and may shift slightly from one edition to the next. Runners stopped at a cut-off are ranked outside the time limit, at the distance they covered — going as far as you can is still a performance.

Self-sufficiency

You run alone. You are never on your own.

The race is unsupported: no crew, no pacer, no one meeting you along the way. The organisation still puts water on the course, tracks you throughout, and keeps a race control at Trèbes from start to finish.

Mandatory kit

Twelve items, carried at all times

This is not paperwork. Every item on the list answers a specific scenario: night, cold, injury, waiting for help to arrive.

A runner without the mandatory kit, without the required medical documents or without a signed règlement does not start, and is not refunded.

The rules

What is not allowed, and why

For fairness

• No followers of any kind: no bicycle, scooter, moped or car. Motor vehicles are banned from the towpath in any case.
• No poles.
• Getting into a vehicle — sitting, lying or standing — means immediate disqualification.
• No performance-enhancing drugs or narcotics.

For your safety and for the place

• No headphones, earpieces or speakers. Listen to the birds, the water and the wind — and watch the roots underfoot.
• On roads, run facing the traffic, on the left-hand side.
• Carry the tracker and a working phone at all times.
• If someone is seriously injured, helping them comes first. The clock comes second.

The canal is a listed site

The Canal du Midi is a UNESCO World Heritage site more than four hundred years old, and a lived-in, working place. Drop nothing on the ground or in the water; use the bins, and carry your rubbish with you if there are none. Respect the wildlife and plant life, while running and while resting. Obey the highway code on every road section. Both the organisation and the authorities may impose penalties.

And basic decency

Insulting or assaulting an organiser or a volunteer means disqualification. Everyone here is working so that you get the adventure you came for.

Race day

Friday 14 May 2027, hour by hour

08:00 – 11:00 — Race number collection. Kit and documents are checked: both signed pages of the entry pack — the entry form and the sworn statement, the latter counting as acceptance of the règlement — together with your medical document (in France, the PPS; see below).

The GPS tracker is issued against a €50 deposit, by cheque made out to Lucathlon – la team du crabe. The cheque is not cashed: when you return the tracker at the finish, it is handed back or destroyed in front of you, whichever you prefer. Runners without a French chequebook should contact the organisation beforehand to arrange the deposit.

11:00 – 12:00 — Race briefing. Final information and advice.

13:30 — Compulsory attendance at the start. The start is at 14:00, from the place du Capitole in Toulouse, barring circumstances beyond the organisation's control.

The finish

Here, finishing is winning

The finish is validated when you touch the Onglous lighthouse at Marseillan, where the Canal du Midi meets the étang de Thau. Every runner who covers the full distance receives a winner's trophy. Only the first man and the first woman are additionally singled out.

Tracker and deposit

You return the tracker at the finish, or as soon as you withdraw. Your deposit cheque is then handed back or destroyed in front of you. A tracker that is not returned, or is returned damaged, means the deposit is cashed.

Images, data and complaints

Runners allow the organisation to use images of the event in its communications. Personal data is used solely for organising the race. Any complaint must be submitted in writing within 24 hours of the end of the race.

How to enter

A paper entry pack, in five steps

There is no online entry form. Everything is in one file to print: page one is the entry form, page two the sworn statement. Both must be completed and signed. The pack is in French — write to the organisation if you need help filling it in.

Your place

A place is held once a complete pack and its payment have both arrived, in the order they arrive. A pack without payment, or a payment without a pack, holds nothing.

Once the fifty places are taken, later packs are returned to sender.

Deadline

Entries close on Wednesday 14 April 2027, and in any case as soon as the fifty places are filled. After that date no pack is accepted.

If you withdraw

Refunds depend on when you tell the organisation, by email to lucathlon@lucathlon.fr.

1. Before 14 February 2027 Full refund — the whole €250 is returned.
2. Before 14 April 2027 50 % refunded — €125 is returned.
3. After 14 April 2027 No refund — the entry deadline has passed and the fee remains due in full.

Questions

Write to us

One address for anything about the race, the pack or the payment: lucathlon@lucathlon.fr. Emails in English are welcome.