Courir dans le ciel, une courte histoire du skyrunning explores the rise of skyrunning, a sport that involves running on high mountain peaks. The article highlights growing concerns about the increasing number of records being set at places like Mont Blanc, Cervin, and the ridges of the Meije. Many people find it unsettling to see runners wearing imported running shoes and short pants on such high and often remote peaks. However, the practice is not new. In the early 1990s, skyrunners were already running on Europe's highest peaks, envisioning the sport as "a sport free from the encumbrance of mountaineering equipment, a fast and light sport," according to Marino Giacometti, one of the founders of the discipline. For more details, the full article is available in Montagnes Magazine n°553: Spécial Écrins 1991. A small group of skyrunning enthusiasts wearing short pants gathers on the square in front of the cable car station at Skyway Monte Bianco in Courmayeur, Italy. They are about to start what may be the first skyrunning race, aiming to reach the summit of Mont Blanc and return. Leading the group is Marino Giacometti, a runner and mountaineer who would later found the first international skyrunning circuit, the Fila Skyrunner Series, in collaboration with the equipment brand Fila. This circuit initially featured two races: one in the Mont Blanc massif and another in the Mont Rose massif, with a round trip to the summit of Breithorn. Two names have become legendary in this sport: Bruno Brunod, a carpenter by profession, and Corinne Favre, who both became the first world champions of skyrunning in 1998 in Cervinia. These early roots on both sides of Mont Blanc continue to influence the modern Skyrunning World Series, which are now organized by the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF), founded in 2008 by Marino Giacometti. "Marino is surely the greatest mountain enthusiast of all time," said Corinne Favre to her colleagues at Distance + in 2022, "it was a real era of pioneers!" From a few passionate skyrunners in 1991, skyrunning has grown into a professional sport with around twenty races worldwide, drawing thousands of runners each season. While the global circuit has grown, some athletes have chosen to push the sport in a different direction—closer to the summits and further from the crowds. Bruno Brunod, for example, set a reference time for the round trip to Cervin via the Lion ridge in 1995, completing the route in 3 hours and 14 minutes. This record was considered extraordinary due to the physical and mental demands of the climb. Kilian Jornet, who would later reduce the time to 2 hours and 52 minutes in 2013, described the challenge as both physically and technically demanding, requiring quick and strong climbing on difficult terrain. "In skyrunning, the stopwatch measures performance, but it is the passion that makes the history." This sentiment captures the essence of the sport, whether it's practiced on marked trails or in the wild. Kilian Jornet, who dominated the circuit in the 2010s and remains the most decorated athlete, continues to push boundaries with records such as the round trip to Mont Blanc in 4 hours and 57 minutes in 2013, the Everest from the Rongbuk monastery in 26 hours in 2017, and his pioneering work in ultra-long traversals. History of transmission While records are a natural way to document the sport, the stopwatches are more about pushing athletic limits than competition. Passion drives the sport, and records are the result. On the Mont Blanc side, in 2023, Hillary Gerardi broke the women's church-to-church record on foot from Chamonix, completing the round trip in 7 hours and 25 minutes. The record remained unbeaten until 2026, when Iris Pessey set her own record, reaching the summit of Mont Blanc in about 5 hours and 2 minutes. Both athletes shared a deep passion for the sport, with Pessey even using Gerardi's shoes for her attempt. "I think it's great that we can all find our way, our method, to make such projects happen," Gerardi said with joy. A similar spirit of passion and respect for the sport is evident on the Meije, the queen of the Écrins massif. In 2020, high-altitude guide Benjamin Védrines completed the crossing of its ridges in 4 hours and 38 minutes from La Grave, a feat that made him the successor to Kilian Jornet. However, six years later, Nicolas Jean, Védrines' rope partner, broke the record, reducing the time to 4 hours and 11 minutes. In an ethic and style unique to him, Nicolas Jean thanked Védrines for his help, much like Kilian Jornet once thanked Bruno Brunod. "No winners, no losers: when the madman sets the record, the wise man looks at the passion!"