Ardèche Gorges International Marathon, 41st edition
The 41st Ardèche Gorges International Marathon, held on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th November 2025, has come to an end.
It was a wonderful weekend with very mild weather.
Exceptional surroundings
The event took place between Vallon-Pont-d’Arc and Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche (Ardèche), in the heart of the Ardèche Gorges Nature Reserve, on a 34 km course for the ‘marathon’ event. Ardèche+2Gorges de l’Ardèche+2 Marathon.
The first event took place on Friday afternoon. Our children took part in the Pont d’Arc rush. Tilio in K2 and Paki in K1.
Organised by the Vallon Plein Air club with the support of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the Ardèche department, the FFCK and EDF. Planète Ardéchoise+1
Number of attendees
For this international marathon edition of the Ardèche Gorges, 520 participants took part across all categories.. Le Dauphiné+1
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Around 300 volunteers have been working for several weeks to make this a unique event. This organisation, smoothly run by the organising club https://www.vallonpleinair.fr/ whose work was exclusively female…. Planète Ardéchoise.
The winner
The duo Cyrille Carré and Quillian Koch won the 2025 edition in a time of 1 hour, 40 minutes and 47 seconds.. Le Dauphiné
Cyrille Carré thus secured his ninth victory in this event.. Le Dauphiné
Volunteers
The organisation announces that around 300 volunteers have been mobilised to bring the event to life. Planète Ardéchoise
This number reflects the logistical and organisational scale required to ensure safety, catering, timekeeping and the smooth running of such a spectacular descent.
We are part of this team of helpers. Ugo in the kitchen with Tom from the restaurant l’Espousse https://www.lespousserestaurant.com/ provided over 200 meals on Friday evening and 500 meals on Saturday evening. Maud was a versatile helper… Setting up the multipurpose hall, handing out race numbers, serving meals.
La petite mer
At the foot of our base, the Pont D’arc rush took place on Friday afternoon, followed by the K1/C1 and K2/C2 on Saturday for the 41st edition of this international marathon in the Ardèche Gorges.
We also welcomed Cyril Carré and Quentin Bonnetain, as well as their teammate, for the elite online launch.
Many spectators came to watch the start of this race on the beach at La Petite Mer. It was a beautiful sight.
On the water, our two children competed on Friday and Paki competed in the marathon, completing it in 2 hours and 10 minutes.
We also had one C9 on the water in our rabaska from https://www.vogueur.com/ and 5 adventurers in Taiki from https://www.rotomod.com/
Key points
- A sporting and festive event, combining performance and a friendly atmosphere, with amateur participants in fancy dress alongside champions. Le Dauphiné+1
- A unique location: the Ardèche Gorges, between cliffs and river, offering an unrivalled setting for paddlers and spectators alike.
- Strong turnout: more than 1,500 participants and around 300 volunteers, making it an important event for the local community and the sport of canoeing and kayaking.
