Martine Volay

About

Martine Volay is a French ultra-trail runner based in Épagny, near Annecy in Haute-Savoie, whose path into the sport began not with racing but with polar-expedition training. Preparing for a 1994 crossing of Greenland by ski — a roughly 600-kilometer, 29-day traverse from east to west that made her the first Frenchwoman to complete the route and earned her an entry in the Guinness Book of Records — she took up running and never stopped. She moved from road racing to trail running specifically to escape the pressure of the stopwatch, and ultra distances followed naturally as her experience deepened. Volay has since raced across the French and European trail circuit for two decades, taking outright gender wins at La Montagn'Hard 100 Miles (2014) and the Défi de l'Oisans 100K (2012), a double victory at the Trail du Mont d'Or, and finishing UTMB, the Eiger Ultra Trail, La Diagonale des Fous, and the Marathon des Sables.

Notable Wins

• — La Montagn'Hard 100 Miles 2014 (1st woman)
• — Défi de l'Oisans 100K 2012 (1st woman)
• — Trail du Mont d'Or (double win)

Race History