La Story (Les Echos) Analysis: The Tourism Business Born from Running—'Racecations' and Trail the World
August 6, 2026
Overview
This episode of La Story, the daily podcast from the French economic newspaper Les Echos, is the fourth in a series exploring new ways to spend summer vacations, focusing on the lifestyle of 'vacation equals sports, especially running.' Host Clara Groussus speaks with people who travel domestically and internationally to run, as well as the founder of a travel agency that arranges these trips in their entirety.
In recent years, travel for the purpose of running has been called 'racecations' (a portmanteau of race and vacation), and an increasing number of travelers are paying significant sums to travel to distant races. This movement is both a tool for attracting visitors for municipalities and regions hosting the events, and a business for specialized agencies that arrange itineraries for runners.
The episode depicts the reality of this new tourism trend, centered on the experiences of Maxime Legrand, a citizen runner who continues to travel with the goal of running a marathon in all 27 EU countries, and an interview with Maud Debs, co-founder of Trail the World, a travel agency specializing in trail running.
People who travel to run
37-year-old Maxime Legrand has set himself the goal of running a marathon in each of the 27 EU member states since running his first marathon in Bruges, Belgium, three and a half years ago. So far, he has completed five marathons: Bruges, Paris, Frankfurt, Barcelona, and Rome this past March. His next race is in Warsaw on September 27.
What is interesting is that running was the reason he started visiting these cities. 'I don't think I would have left France if it weren't for the races,' he says, adding that he even took his first flight to participate in the Barcelona Marathon. He feels that traveling around Europe to run is surprisingly affordable.
Legrand's entire family are marathon runners; they purchase race bibs a year in advance as soon as they go on sale, and once they have secured them, they begin arranging accommodation and flights. It is customary for him to travel with his brother-in-law, and sometimes the whole family, leaving on a Wednesday or Thursday to enjoy sightseeing in the days leading up to the race. He recalls the Rome Marathon as the most impressive, starting at the Circus Maximus and passing by St. Peter's Square in the Vatican around the 15-16 kilometer mark, an experience like running through an open-air museum. He says that because organizers try to incorporate local heritage into the course, you can 'sightsee' the city during the race without having to do so beforehand.
However, obtaining a bib is not easy. The Paris Marathon costs at least 135 euros (approx. 24,576 yen, calculated at 1 euro = 182.05 yen), and the price is rising every year. While it is relatively easy to get into smaller events, major races like Berlin, London, and Chicago require going through a tour operator or relying on a lottery. In London, it is said that over 1.4 million people applied for 100,000 spots.
Trail the World, a travel agency specializing in trail running
To explore why racecations have become a business, the host visited Avignon to speak with Maud Debs, co-founder of Trail the World, a travel agency specializing in trail running.
Debs discovered running around the age of 25. She says that at the 2013 Paris Half Marathon, the moment she crossed the finish line supported by a friend even though she couldn't run past the 10-kilometer mark, 'something clicked,' and from then on, she began setting goals like marathons one after another. At the time, she had a high-paying job, but while running, she realized, 'This is not what I want to do.' In 2014, she planned a trip around the world, and from 2015, she set off on a journey to run about 20 races in 30 countries. She reportedly built her itinerary based on the races she wanted to participate in and climates that were easy to run in.
Trail the World was born from an encounter during this period. Frédéric, who had started an association called 'Trail the World' around the same time, found Debs' project of running around the world, contacted her, and they hit it off. The two conducted a test trip for six people in Torres del Paine, Chile, and felt they were onto something. Afterward, they confirmed demand through a survey of 1,000 people, established the company at the end of 2017, and obtained a travel agency license in April 2018. Frédéric is now Debs' life partner.
The 'anxieties' the agency removes and the customer profile
According to Debs, participating in overseas races comes with many worries, such as language barriers, understanding required equipment, shuttle bus schedules, bib pickup locations, and activities to do in the surrounding area. The value the company provides is taking on these tasks so that the dream of a race is not ruined by such trivial troubles.
The average price of a trip is about 1,500 euros (approx. 270,000 yen, calculated at 1 euro = 182.05 yen) for 5 to 7 days, and it can be higher depending on the arrangements required. There are two main types of arrangements.
Arrangements for participating in existing races: Handling all logistics, including bibs, flights, and museum visits.
Arrangements for 'traversées' (traverses) rather than races: Organizing trips to run on maintained or accessible trails.
The customer base is mainly divided into two groups. One is a group that has been running for many years and wants to take on more difficult goals or traverses but does not want to go through the hassle of travel arrangements. The other is a beginner group that started just a year or two ago and wants to be sure they are supported while running because they lack local knowledge. The age range is mainly 35 to 45, and since travel requires a certain budget, the majority are working-age people with purchasing power. While men, for whom the practice is more deeply rooted, are the majority, women tend to travel with friends or as couples, and it is said that few women come to consult alone.
Local partners in each country sometimes accompany them as guides. In the case of a couple who trekked a section of the Himalayas in Nepal, they were assigned a guide who knew the terrain and the level of the runners after their running ability was confirmed in advance. For clients participating in the 'Grand to Grand' stage race in Utah, USA, advice on essential equipment and nutritional supplies is also provided. Frédéric is also a trail coach by trade and offers remote training support. He says the goal is not to make the client win, but to ensure they have a good time, achieve their goal, and return home safely.
Trails spreading across the world and popular destinations
According to Mr. Debs, the number of trail races in France has increased from about 3,000 to 5,000 in the last few years, and if you include overseas, there are 10,000 to 15,000 trail races in the world. If you add road races, you can run almost anywhere in the world, excluding geopolitically difficult regions.
Popular destinations include Madeira and Reunion Island (which is treated as travel outside mainland France because it requires air travel). In Europe, places like Corsica are also mentioned, and for more distant locations, destinations that particularly require expert advice, such as Canada and New Zealand (some clients have trekked over 1,000 kilometers across the North Island), are chosen. Within France, he says they have a stronger advantage in guided trips like the GR20 trek than in existing races.
Currently, the agency has a three-person team and focuses on completely bespoke services, prioritizing quality over quantity. Regarding 2026, since travel requests for the following year are concentrated at the end of the year, for Mr. Debs, 2026 is almost finished, and he will start looking at 2027 from September. Although there was a mention of car navigation, he says that even with headwinds such as rising fuel costs and declining purchasing power due to inflation, they can continue the business because they have a revenue pillar in event management within France in addition to travel.
The 'Infinity Trail' backyard ultra-style race
The company launched a race called 'Infinity Trail' in 2019. It is a 'backyard ultra' format where you run 6.7 kilometers within an hour, and a simultaneous start is given every hour. If you return within the time limit, you proceed to the next lap; if you don't make it in time, you are disqualified. Since it doesn't end until there is only one person left running, it is characterized by the sense of solidarity that comes from completing laps with peers.
This format is called a 'backyard ultra' because Lazarus Lake, the founder of the famous 'Barkley' race, started it in his own backyard. The reason one lap is 6.7 kilometers is that 160 kilometers in 24 hours reaches 100 miles, which is considered a mythical distance in the United States. The calculation of 160 kilometers in 24 hours holds up.
When they opened 50 spots in 2019, they were filled in two weeks, and after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first event was held on July 31, 2020, near Rouen with 45 participants. Since then, requests to host have been received from various places such as Hossegor and the car-free Île d'Aix (which is 6.7 kilometers around), and it has expanded to 12 events in six years. The world record is over four days (more than 120 hours), and he says that in their company's races, it has reached over 77 hours and 500 kilometers so far.
Currently, the ratio of revenue and time is about 40% for travel and 60% for event management, and they also provide B2B services that combine team building for companies. Mr. Debs himself, a month and a half ago, completed the 75-kilometer 'Transvulcania' race on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands with his wife as a comeback race after his daughter's birth. He says that travel centered on running is both a passion and a job for the two of them.
▶ Previous in this series: La Story (Les Echos) Commentary: The Revival of 'Glamping' Luxury Camping Seen in Slow Village https://note.com/yondo/n/n42a83a3adde0
▶ Read articles on this theme: Magazine 'Overseas Business Programs You Can't Read in Japanese' https://note.com/yondo/m/mefd2fd5a305c
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