Racing the event for the first time, France’s Blandine L’Hirondel lines up for the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon after having spent the past nearly two weeks training in the area. In the following interview, Blandine talks about the lead-up to the race, her thoughts on the course, and her sponsor, Kiprun, including some of the programs they’re involved in to get more women on the trails.
For more on who’s racing, check out our in-depth preview and follow our live coverage here on the website and on Twitter/X on Saturday.
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Blandine L’Hirondel Pre-Transvulcania Ultramarathon Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Blandine L’Hirondel. It’s a couple of days before the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Blandine, we’re here in La Palma. How are you?
L’Hirondel: Hey. Hello, Meghan. I’m fine, thank you. And you?
iRunFar: I’m good. You’ve been here for 10 days, but you said this is the first day with atmosphere, the first day with clouds and rain.
L’Hirondel: Yes, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence with you coming now, but yes, I’m here for 10 days. We had very great weather, a lot of sun, and I could go on the trails and on the race. It was very amazing.
iRunFar: I love following your career because you seem to do a balance of the really big and really competitive races, things like CCC last year, things like UTMB, Trail World Championships, but also these sort of fun, exotic races. We’re here in the middle of the ocean, in the Canaries now. Last fall, you were in the Indian Ocean on La Réunion for the Diagonale des Fous. Having had a long career as you have, how do you balance fun races, adventures, and then the really competitive things?
L’Hirondel: I don’t define Transvulcania as a fun race, because it’s a competitive race.
iRunFar: It’s true.
L’Hirondel: It’s in a paradise place, I agree, but even UTMB is a fun race because it’s in a very good place. I try to do races which are fun and competitive, too, and Transvulcania is a good one for that.
iRunFar: Transvulcania is in its 16th year. I think it’s your first time here, but you are familiar with La Palma. You’ve raced here a couple of times, right?
L’Hirondel: Yes. I’ve been here in 2022 for the European Championships, here in this city, in El Paso. It was very nice.
iRunFar: How do you find the island of La Palma and the tracks and the route of Transvulcania?
L’Hirondel: It’s very surprising. There are a lot of different trails and some ambiance. The trail begins in the volcano, and after running on the [volcanic trails], it’s very different. We have a lot of different ambiance. Sometimes we are in the forest, and that’s very, very surprising. It’s an amazing race, and I love the trail, and I love the race.
iRunFar: There aren’t very many races where you can get 2,500 meters of descent in one descent. What do you think of the giant descent in this race?
L’Hirondel: I did it one week ago, and I thought it would be terrible, but it’s not so terrible. When I did it, I didn’t have 60 kilometers in my legs before, but I think it’s one of my qualities, the downhill and the muscular resistance. So I am confident, and I think I can do the difference on this downhill. I hope.
iRunFar: That was going to be my follow-up. You’re a bit known for your downhill running. Does that give you some confidence on Saturday, knowing there’s a very long downhill? This is something you’re quite comfortable with, that it will be okay?
L’Hirondel: I’m not quite comfortable, but I think I’m more comfortable than maybe other people, because my competitors and some other people train a lot on flat, and for a few weeks and a few months, I have been training on downhill and uphill to be prepared for this long descent. So I think, I hope, it will be okay for me.
iRunFar: I think it will be okay for you.
L’Hirondel: [laughs] Okay. If you think.
iRunFar: So, you’re now sponsored by Kiprun, and Kiprun is a brand that’s just arriving to North America where iRunFar is based. Their first trail shoes debuted in America one or two months ago. The brand is much more familiar to Europeans and to French people now. Tell Americans about the brand.
L’Hirondel: Kiprun is a French brand, and since a few years ago, they have been doing very incredible shoes and clothes. They try to be focused on performance. For example, on Saturday, I will race in shoes named the Kipsummit Race. It’s an amazing shoe with a carbon plate. They are very dynamic and very comfortable, and I wore them for the Diagonale des Fous, and I loved it. Even if there is a carbon plate, you can run a long distance because they are very comfortable. They are also thinking about and making a lot of different shoes for long runs, long trail or short trail, for technical or non-technical terrain. This kind of shoe with a carbon plate is perfect for Western States 100 and for U.S. trails. I never did trails in the United States, but I think it’s flatter than here and less technical. So a carbon plate, as in the Kipsummit Race, can be very good.
iRunFar: One of the things I admire about Kiprun is that the brand has recognized that in France, for example, there are a lot fewer women racing than men, and they’ve got some programs to get women in shoes and get women on the trails. Was that part of what drew you to a brand like Kiprun? That they’re more than just a brand selling gear, that they’re a brand that cares about the people who are wearing their gear as much as they care about them buying the shoes. Does that question make sense?
L’Hirondel: I’m not sure I understood. Sorry. You’re speaking about girls, no?
iRunFar: Yes, so Kiprun has programs to help get women on the trails and get women in proper gear and feel comfortable on the trails. I was just wondering if that was part of what you like about the brand.
L’Hirondel: Yes, of course. They have a program this year, as you said, for female athletes. And for me, it’s very important because we have some specific things.
iRunFar: It’s just different for women running.
L’Hirondel: It’s different. For example, I love their menstrual shorts, for menstruation.
iRunFar: Oh, Kiprun has a menstruation short. I didn’t know.
L’Hirondel: Yes. I didn’t know if that’s the word in English. But yes, a menstrual short with something inside for menstruation. And the bra, too. They are thinking for trail runners and runners. And even the other clothes are specifically made for women, and I think it’s very important because, as I said, we are not small men and we need something specifically created for us.
iRunFar: For me, that’s just so interesting because if you build the opportunities for women, they’re going to come to the sport, right?
L’Hirondel: Yes, you’re right. That’s why they want to motivate girls, because we saw on studies, and when you ask some women on the street, the clothes and equipment are one of the reasons women stop, don’t continue, or don’t begin sports, because they don’t find clothes for them. And as you said, it’s a good thing. I’m very happy too, because in January, the product chief at Kiprun, who is running these programs, asked me to co-develop some clothing, shoes, and other things with them. So I can give my advice as a woman, but as a gynecologist, too. I’m very proud of it.
iRunFar: That’s really exciting. I love that. Wishing you the best of luck on this big journey through La Palma, and especially on that 2,500-meter descent. [laughs]
L’Hirondel: Thank you very much.
iRunFar: Good luck.
L’Hirondel: Thank you.
