Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz set a new record for completing the GR20 trail in Corsica on Friday, finishing the 166-kilometer route with 12,180 meters of elevation gain in just 27 hours and 29 minutes. This time beats the previous record set by François D’Haene, who completed the same route in 29 hours and 46 minutes in July. Dunand-Pallaz, a 33-year-old French ultra-trail runner from Savoy, is known for winning prestigious races such as the Hardrock 100 and the Diagonale des Fous in 2023. During the race, he slipped at the finish line in Conca but said he had "dreamed" of achieving a time "under 28 hours." The GR20 is considered one of the most challenging ultra-trail routes in the world, known for its rugged terrain and high elevation changes. For years, the record for completing the route was held by two of the sport's legends: Kilian Jornet, who set the mark in 2009, and François D’Haene, who held it from 2016 to 2021. D’Haene, who recently set a new benchmark by finishing the GR20 in under 30 hours, posted on Instagram before the race that "Tomorrow I will wake up and the best record on the GR20 may no longer be mine." His message reflected both sportsmanship and a recognition of the high stakes involved in breaking such a long-standing record. Dunand-Pallaz began his journey at 5 a.m. on Thursday with two pacers, Théo Detienne and Julien Michelon, and maintained a strong lead throughout the race. He was 30 minutes ahead at the 23rd kilometer and 1 hour and 40 minutes ahead at the halfway point. Upon finishing, he was greeted by his father with a champagne spray and a poster titled "Game of Stones," a reference to the trail's challenging terrain. Emotional at the finish, Dunand-Pallaz admitted he hadn’t expected to achieve such a fast time, saying it would "remain engraved for a long time." Despite his success, Dunand-Pallaz emphasized that he was primarily focused on enjoying the adventure rather than chasing records. However, he acknowledged that his new time may stand for a while, given the previous records held by Jornet and D’Haene, which remained unbroken for years. On the women's side, Anne-Lise Rousset still holds the record, set in 2022, with a time of 35 hours and 50 minutes. D’Haene, a four-time winner of the UTMB, expressed mixed feelings about his record being broken, noting that while records are meant to be broken, it still gave him "a slight pang in the heart."