When you’re a sports journalist The Republican Echo and heritage lover, running the Foulées de la Cathédrale quickly sounds like a no-brainer. Far from any notion of performance, in the shoes of an occasional runner, I naturally started this 27th edition.
All the images of the 27th edition of the Foulées de la Cathédrale de Chartres
The role of observer left behind me is that of actor that must be assumed. Cool temperature, descending terrain: the first three kilometers are quickly swallowed up on the banks of the Eure.
But these lead to the formidable rue Saint-Pierre, which, in addition to breaking the initial momentum, acts as a preface to the dreaded rue de Saint-Éman, extended by the rue des Acacias, which then allows access the eponymous monument.
Communion between athletes and spectators
But this one is worth it. The first strides are bumpy, the gradient brutal (beyond 10%).
In addition to the unfailing support of my partner in the struggle, Aurélie Leroux, initiator of the connected solidarity race “I put on my sneakers for Léana”, I find another, just as precious.
An enthusiastic crowd massed on each side of the street which indifferently encourages its favorites or the “anonymous bib. »
Sylvain Dodé and Anaïs De Cock win the Strides of Chartres Cathedral this Saturday evening
The legs are cottony on the first pass, and much more on the second. But the sound intensity and the energy communicated relegate the pain to the background and make these three minutes of intense effort a grandiose moment.
In an almost ecstatic instant, the forecourt of the cathedral is reached. No time to look back on this magnificent stone vessel, which, from the top of its 800 years of history, was able to contemplate this moment of communion between athletes and spectators. My time of 58’22” and the slight whistling of the adductors become derisory. Absolutely unforgettable…
David Berthelem
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