©️ LOSC
160 km around Stade Pierre-Mauroy: Gaspard Degryse punches his ticket to Clemquicourt’s Backyard
02/04/2026 11:18Around the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, Gaspard Degryse spent nearly 24 hours looping the same course to secure his spot in a very different kind of Backyard race. 160 kilometers. 320 laps. A qualification earned the hard way. A raw performance, perfectly in tune with today’s running culture—somewhere between physical challenge and shared storytelling.
The goal left no room for doubt: complete 160 km to earn a place in the Backyard event organized by Clemquicourt. No pack to follow, no scenic route, no variation to reset the mind. Just one loop around the stadium, repeated to the point of exhaustion. On paper, the challenge almost feels simple. On the ground, it quickly reveals something far tougher.
Lap after lap, the distance stretches out, sensations blur, and the very idea of progress becomes abstract. Moving forward no longer depends on the scenery—only on motion itself. In 23:37, Gaspard Degryse, known as @gaspacho.dgr on Instagram and @spacho.life on TikTok, completed the full 160 kilometers. A performance not designed to impress, but to endure—in every sense of the word: patience, control, and stubborn resilience.
| When the mind takes over
In efforts like this, the shift happens quietly. The early hours flow almost naturally, carried by the energy of the start. Then, without warning, the body begins to slow, sending heavier, more persistent signals. The setting never changes—and that’s exactly where the challenge lies. Monotony becomes a real opponent. Each lap adds another layer of fatigue. “Honestly, I really felt it,” Gaspard admitted, without trying to sugarcoat the experience. Around him, a few runners joined for stretches, familiar faces appearing, disappearing, sometimes returning. A valuable presence in a challenge that could quickly feel suffocating.
“It really warms the heart,” said the Lille-based runner and LOSC supporter, a reminder that even in a solo effort, collective energy always finds a way in. And then there are those suspended moments, when the mind starts negotiating, looking for exits, suggesting it might be time to stop—before giving in, more often than not, to a simpler logic: go out for one more lap.
| A quiet finish, and what comes next
There’s no dramatic finish line in this kind of challenge. No arch, no final sprint. Just one last lap—identical to all the others, but carrying a different weight. “I’m waiting for the last one to really feel it… suffer through it, but enjoy it a bit too,” he said beforehand. A sentence that perfectly captures the essence of ultra running: a mix of accepted pain and quiet, almost internal satisfaction.
With 160 kilometers completed, the goal is achieved: qualification for a new-generation Backyard race, where 100 participants—50 creators or elite athletes and 50 community members—will compete in a format where every hour resets the game. 6.7 kilometers to cover, over and over again, until only one runner remains.
After 320 laps around the same stadium, Gaspard Degryse arrives with something more valuable than a time: the certainty of what it means to repeat, to endure, and to keep going. In a running world increasingly drawn to hybrid challenges—where performance meets storytelling—experiences like this often carry far more weight than any finishing time.
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Dorian VUILLET
Journalist
