Watch France’s GR10 Get FKT’d: Japanese Athlete Crushes 570-Mile Mountain Route in ‘Seeking South’

The Grand Randonée 10 (GR10) runs along France’s border with Spain, stretching from the Atlantic Coast to the Mediterranean Sea. It follows the Pyrenees Mountains, gains over 183,000 vertical feet, and covers roughly 568 miles. Typically, hikers will take between 45 and 60 days to complete it. But Keisuke Minami, a trail runner from Japan, decided he wanted to run it in just 9 days.

Minami had never attempted to set a fastest known time (FKT) record before this. He knew when he started, it would be a test of endurance, pain tolerance, isolation, and determination. But Minami was ready for all that.

In fact, as the film reveals, it’s part of what drives him to attempt such massive and daunting objectives. He’s running from demons, wrestling with his past, and trying to find a way to embrace it.

In Patagonia’s film Seeking South, Minami — which means “south” in Japanese — attempts to break the current GR10 supported FKT record of 9 days and 9 hours. It’s a grueling test of endurance, but one that the athlete is clearly ready to embrace.

Runtime: 54:45 minutes