Benjamin Degrève set the supported FKT on La "Morvan Express", a 133 km south-to-north traverse of the Parc naturel régional du Morvan, on 23–24 October 2026. His time of 1d 4h 31m 55s stands as the first reference time on the route, verified by Garmin and Strava files. The line crosses 3,600 m of climbing between Luzy and Avallon.
Degrève opened the attempt at 3:30 pm on 23 October, the start rule he now fixes for any rival. The route passed Bibracte, the gorges de la Canche and the shores of the Lac des Settons before reaching his home town.
A first mark in hostile terrain
Three friends — Simon, Romain and Mathieu — accompanied him as support. He later said he was cold, scared and doubted himself, and that serious health problems marked the effort. Yet he never felt alone or in danger, and encouragement reached him from places he did not expect.
"Being supported isn't cheating the performance, it's going beyond it," Degrève said of the crew around him. The Morvan is not high mountain, he added, but it is still hostile. The record arrived in the closing days of the autumn season, a few days before the skyrunning world circuit final, and u-Trail grouped it with two other FKTs set the same week — Fernanda Maciel's crossing of the Salar d'Uyuni and Lucien Mermillon's record on the 4 sommets de Chartreuse.
A route opened for the next runner
Degrève, a 44-year-old professional firefighter from Avallon, discovered the FKT concept only in summer 2026. His athlete profile also lists a second route, the Morvan Half-Crossing from Lac des Settons to Avallon. The traverse itself was his own design before he set the first time on it.
The finish carried a private weight: he dedicated the effort to his mother, born on 23 October. He invites others to try the line on equal terms, beginning 23 October 2027 at 3:30 pm. The route is now open, and he plans a second trace in the Morvan to draw more FKT runners.
