Swiss mountain runner Rémi Bonnet has done what many in the sport thought impossible, taking one of the steepest, most iconic uphill courses in the world and obliterating the longstanding record by over 90 seconds.
On Saturday, Bonnet clocked a mind-bending 27 minutes and 21 seconds at the Fully Vertical Kilometre, a race that ascends 1,000 metres over just 1.92 kilometres in the Valais region of Switzerland. That’s a punishing average gradient of more than 50 percent. For comparison, that’s steeper than most ski jumps.
The previous course record, 28:53, was set by Italy’s Philip Götsch in 2017. Bonnet didn’t just beat it. He smashed it. In an event where margins are usually razor-thin and every second is hard-earned, taking off over a minute and a half is, frankly, wild.
“I didn’t think it was possible,” Bonnet said afterward, as quoted by Red Bull. “I thought I’d started a little too quickly when I saw the first splits. Then I thought, maybe today is going to be special and I’ll be able to hold on all the way to the top.”
He did more than hold on. He soared.
What makes the achievement even more special is that Fully is home turf. Bonnet, 29, has run the course more than 50 times in training and competition.
The route is infamous in mountain running circles for its unrelenting pitch, a disused funicular railway that heads straight up the mountainside from the village of La Belle-Usine (500m) to Les Garettes (1,500m), cutting through vineyards, meadows, and forest without a single switchback to catch your breath.
Runners tackle the course individually in a time trial format, with markers every 100 metres. Helmets are required, yes, really, and most athletes use poles to survive the slope. Bonnet has described it as so steep “that if you try to stand up straight, you fall over backwards.”
Nearly 670 runners took part in this year’s edition, but all eyes were on Bonnet, especially after a standout season that’s seen him dominate both skyrunning events and vertical races. He’s long been one of the top names in mountain sports, thanks in part to his dual background in trail running and ski mountaineering. But this record might just be the defining performance of his career.
“It’s crazy how something so brief can carry so much emotion,” Bonnet posted on Instagram afterward. “All the pain, the focus, the sacrifice for one unforgettable moment. Vertical KM World Record, but more than that… a dream realized.”
With the sport of mountain running continuing to grow in both professionalism and popularity, Bonnet’s record is more than a personal triumph, it’s a high point in the evolution of the discipline itself. And while others may try to match it in years to come, for now, the summit belongs to Bonnet.
