Dutch mountain runner Noor van der Veen has set a new mark on one of Europe’s most brutal long-distance trails, completing the 731-kilometer Pyrenean Haute Route in just 10 days, 11 hours, and 38 minutes.
The achievement, now the focus of a short documentary released by outdoor brand Rab, is being hailed as one of the most impressive mountain running records in recent memory.
The Haute Route, linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts by following the high spine of the Pyrenees, has a reputation for being the “truest” and most demanding line across the range.
Staying close to the French-Spanish border and often above 2,000 meters, the route includes steep scree fields, technical alpine passages, and remote stretches with barely-there trails.
Most thru-hikers spend six weeks or more making the journey. Van der Veen condensed that experience into less than eleven days.
Her time is not just the fastest women’s mark, but the overall supported record.
The only other established benchmark on this variation of the route was French runner Antoine Galonnier’s self-supported mark of 11 days, 21 hours, and 48 minutes, which she bested by more than a full day.
Unlike Galonnier, van der Veen had a small crew by her side, managing logistics and pacing her through long days that often stretched from 4:00 a.m. until nearly 11:00 p.m.
The attempt wasn’t smooth sailing.
On the sixth day, she was struck with a severe stomach bug after drinking unfiltered water high in the mountains. Her team stepped in with medicine and fluids, helping her shuffle through the last kilometers of the day with two pacers.
Once she recovered, van der Veen responded with a staggering final push, running the last 152 kilometers in one continuous effort to reach the Mediterranean shore at Banyuls-sur-Mer.
“I’ve been dreaming about running on that beach for as long as I was planning the project,” she said. “But on the way, it became clear to me that the true goal was to have a good time with friends in the mountains.”
For van der Veen, the run was as much about testing the power of teamwork as it was about chasing a record.
“So far ultrarunning for me had been something individual, but I was really curious to find out how far I could push my body with a strong support crew,” she said. “I can honestly say that this wouldn’t have been possible without them. It’s also their FKT, something we all did together from beginning to end.”
The new film, released September 12 on Rab’s YouTube channel, captures both the beauty and brutality of the journey, with sweeping views of the Pyrenees cut against raw, behind-the-scenes footage of the effort.
It’s a glimpse into the kind of precision, resilience, and stubborn joy required to turn a line that usually takes 40 days into a 10-day dash across a mountain range.
