WHO IS BENOIT LAVAL?
1972: Benoit LAVAL, born May 14th1972, from the Paris region (but Corrèze and peasant roots), launched in 1982 at the age of ten years in pursuit of his father marathoner and that of his friends with whom he ran Wednesday afternoon. On track. 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 3,000 m steeplechase distances were his first choice. He swallowed kilometers as others raise pounds of cast iron. For fun. passion of the mountain was already there for every holiday, and for a month in August 1993 Original passed only through the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in three weeks running with a bag Backpack.
After five years of studying engineering at the Graduate School of Industrial and Textile (ESTIT-HEI, valedictorian) in Lille techniques, he began his military service in the school of Saint-Cyr in Coëtquidan he fate also valedictorian, choose to become an officer alpine hunter in Bourg-Saint-Maurice: the opportunity to run in the mountains, to discover (finally) mountaineering and ski touring in high doses. Staying close his new golf course, he decided to anchor in the Rhone-Alpes and find an exciting job for him at Saint-Etienne: Charge d'Affaires in stéphanoise company which designed and manufactured backpacks, tents, bags Sleeping for major brands.
In 1999: in parallel with his job, Benoit LAVAL creates Raidlight brand of Trail and Raids, born from the association of textile engineering skills (used at the time in a subcontractor brands sport), and his passion for the mountains and running that practice in all its forms since the age of 10 years. Design tools and manufacturing in one hand, and practice the sport experience in the other, the desire to make their own prototypes proved obvious, and so Raidlight started in a garage with 10 products, small website, and two trestles to finish races.
At that time, his record had two lines and Raidlight had ten product catalog. Both increased in tandem in the same direction. Sport advances and needs Raidlight Raidlight do participate in races around the world, such as the Marathon des Sables.
2008: Raidlight develops expertise "open innovation" (collaborative innovation with users) through its websites, and develops its social communication around a large community of users , Team Raidlight open to all (more than 6,000 runners in 2013 ).
En parallèle de l’entreprise, Benoit LAVAL enrichit son palmarès sportif en Trail Running de multiples victoires sur des courses prestigieuses, d’une 2ème place au Grand Raid de la Réunion, d’une 9ème place au Marathon des Sables, et devient vice-champion de France de Trail en 2009 et est sélectionné en Equipe de France de Trail en 2010. Touche à tout, il a aussi été Champion de France de Raquette à neige, vainqueur catégorie mixte de la Pierra-Menta en ski-alpinisme, vainqueur du Trophée mondial des Raids-d’Orientation, couru plus de 200 Trails dans plus de 20 pays, et de façon plus ludique participé aux courses d’ascension par les Escaliers de l’Empire State Building ou de la Tour Eiffel…
