FKT Submission ‘GR-5 Intégral’
(Report)
Athlete: Jan-Caspar Look
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Nationality: German
Route: GR-5 Intégral (Hoek v.Holland - Nice)
Length: 2,200km
Elevation +/-: 66,000m
Category: Self - Supported
Start: August 19 - 2025, 8:08am
Finish: Sept 30 - 2025, 5:26pm
Brutto Time: 42days, 9h, 16min
Running days: 36
Travel days: 43
Watch (Navigation): Garmin Instinct Tactical. With weak battery life, had to charged constantly. Also features only 50 waypoints, which meant I used my phone (map out app) to backup the route on site. This is part of the reason why my Strava data will show a fair amount of detours and backtracking. Ironically since my watch seems to record 1-2% less distance in comparison to current watches or digital map information (data sets), the detours compensated for that malfunctioning. All elevation has been revised and updated through the Strava data sets!
Most of the time I tried to be guided by the markers on site only. But it wasn’t always clearly marked. Additionally woodworking, trail closures, or on site hunting would enforce deviations from the official route. Most of it I have mentioned and highlighted within each recording.
Documentation / Strava files: Every single workout includes pictures I have taken along the way. As well as a brief description of what had been on my mind, or had been important that particular day.
Unfortunately I am missing the original data from the first 39k of September 4th, day 17[14], going from Custines to Tarquimpol. Here is my report on what happened that morning: ‘ I spent the night camping out in the forest east of Custines, just meters off the trail. Started the day early, infact thus early I arrived to Custines well before the local store would be open. Therefore skipped it, in order to not loosing any valuable time. Ascended the next mountain with the rising sun and felt like water supplies might turn into my number one concern today. Even drank from puddles, until I reached the lake Etang de Brin. Which wasn’t a better water source neither, but appreciated excuse to take a first solid break, even charged my watch. This must have been roughly at the half marathon mark, about 21 to 22km.
From now on the weather changed and turned rather unreliable, with occasional rain showers. The trail became increasingly nasty, with muddy, slippery, grooved out sections in the forest, and clay sticky segments in the open fields, if not grassy overgrown & wet. In any event the running was very unpleasant, such as the weather and the final loss of my recording, which must have happened at about km39. All of this was stressing & annoying to say the least! And yet, what can you do about it? I had hopes the activity would have been automatically saved, before the watch went dead, but no! Therefore no digital proof of this segment, other than a few pictures, that I took along the way. It feels kind of weird to be lacking this recording, but on the other hand, I know what I have done and that it has happened, with or without a set data.’
Social media: Throughout the journey I shared pictures, brief descriptions and once in a while video statements in my Instagram story. Some of those I will upload as part of this submission.
Self - supported: This was an entirely self organized adventure, only supported by what I could organize and came across on the fly. Water. I attained water almost only from natural sources, or asked residents along the way. Food. Was purchased in stores, and required me to do a fair amount of detours. Later, opening hours, particularly Sundays became challenging! Sleeping: I slept 72% of the nights in my tent, right next to the trail, 18% were private stays. Which I was fortunate to organize through the platform ‘Warmshowers’, on short notice - all people I didn’t know before. The remaining 10% were paid budget accommodations, mainly enforced due to having to recover or due to the unexpected winter conditions in the Alps. Otherwise I was committed to pull it off without paying for accommodation at all. Which adds to the challenge and makes recovery over night even harder!
Setup: I carried a 30l RAB Veil backpack, including a lightweight tent, 3season sleeping bag, emergency space blanket and a shortened foam mat/pad for the upper body. Was running in a pair of adidas Boston 8 (actually two), old purchases, my favourite and long term approved shoe. Not necessarily recommended for trails, but it’s what I am used to. Shoe was totally destroyed in the end. Constantly wearing compression sleeves (calf’s), seems to make my legs bullet proof against shin splint! Had one set of spare cloth, a light running jacket, a down-jacket and rain poncho with me. A running cap and a buff scarf complemented those wearables. In Thonon I purchased and added gloves & a hat to my equipment. I had a 500ml soft flask as well as a 2l water bladder on board. In order to reduce weight throughout the day I would use the water bladder only to ensure supplies for the night. Had exceptions on rather hot days in the beginning. Electronics were reduced to a 20,000mAh powerbank and my iPhone 14pro, as well as ear phones. I carried a insta 360 gimbal, but ended up not using it, due to lack of time and not being used to the device (unfortunately redundant additional weight). Same goes with the water filter which I ended up not using, due to being lazy and the unwillingness to invest the time required to pump the water with it. No cooking device. No headlamp. Used iPhone for lighting in the dark.
Physical Issues: Light calf tear right hand side, planter fasciitis right hand side, general calf pain, sore quads. Severe diarrhea, due to contaminated water, possibly bacterial infection (requiring me to take a 2.5 days break in Thonon). Allergic reaction eyes. And of course general fatigue, exhaustion. Fell several times (about 10x I believe), bruised hips and cut knees as a result of that. Non of this really compromised my ability to run, and was just painful, frustrating, & discouraging when it happened.
Mind Set / Attitude / Objective: After having run from A Coruña to La Tarifa earlier this year, I had further trained with and refined my backpack running setup (including a tent), pushing long consecutive days. I felt like it was time to tackle something, that would put my abilities to the test. The ‘GR 5 Intégral’ had drawn my attention for some time for several reasons. Since my girlfriend is from the Netherlands, the starting point seemed all too accessible and the idea / picture to go coast to coast was very appealing. At the same time it was a distance I appreciate in that regard, that it is not a single push but rather a journey. Too that nobody had done it before (self supported) would allow me simply doing it according to my own standards, rather than having to be stressed with having to beat a previous record. Nevertheless I was motivated to push my limits and do it in the for me current fastest possible way. I knew just with this kind of ambition I would be enforced to tap into the space, the mindset where I feel like a spiritual, deeper and meaningful layer is opening up. As you accept the constant changing circumstances, the roughness, the rules of the trail you start surrendering parts of yourself and develop not only this intimate relationship with all aspects of the undertaking, but a profound understanding of how to conduct yourself in this space of extremes. Anyhow, what I am saying is I chose the challenge to experience something very unique, to embrace the pains and discomforts, to learn, grow and transcend!!!
Timing: Originally I had planned to set off one week earlier. But linger foot issues, made me postpone. The idea and thinking was September would be basically the ideal month, as the temperature would start becoming more moderate. Too September is considered a very reliable month with stable, means mainly dry conditions. Overall I was more afraid to suffer through some hot days in August, rather than being too cold in September. In the end it’s unpredictable anyways, considering a timeframe of basically six weeks. Having had fresh snow, literally winter conditions in the second part of the alps wasn’t anticipated, neither reflected in my sleeping setup. In any event, I would always chose a similar timing. What’s speaking to the late in the season approach too, is that the trail is less busy than in summer. Downside of you count on staying at refuges and Gite’s, some of them close by mid September and limit your options regarding accommodation & food.
Conclusion: On paper it is obvious I had a fair amount rest-days that could have been easily reduced. Or simply been used smarter, more frequently, rather than in bulk. But I had mentally broken down the route in three distinct segments, within which I wanted to go as hard as I could, recharge and then concentrate on the next milestone-segment. In the end it’s a lot of lessons learned. It feels kind of wrong to question one’s choices, because the adventure was of such beauty, profundity and meaning that I wouldn’t change a thing and fully except the way it turned out! I am tremendously grateful for having had the opportunity to do what I have done and will nourish from those memories for the rest of my life!!!
Note (Offer): If anyone is planning on attempting the GR 5 self-supported, I am happy to provide personal feedback and recommendations based on my most recent experience. Feel free to reach out to me. Happy running everyone!