78.02km – 10H34’
Altitude : 104m
At 3:38 a.m. when Serge starts his day, on the English side, his motivation is at its peak. He has to cover about 20 km to the ferry embarkation to “save the day,” as he says. And he does it at 6:55 when we enter the Dover terminal, one of Europe’s largest passenger ports.
On board we have a copious breakfast before we attack the second part of the day.
Calais, a few minutes past 10:00 a.m. Serge and the support crew step on French soil: the members of the CJD (Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants) Nord-Pas de Calais, the Parisian team of UFF (Union Financière de France), our Carrier Pigeons, Michel, the P&O Ferry crew who most graciously welcomed us on board their ferry, my nephew, Max, who has come to join the support crew and to relieve Daniel, who will soon finish his mission, and the press were all waiting for us. There was a great deal of emotion for our return to France.
About ten people accompanied Serge to Frethun for the first 10 km. We are joined by Jean-François Banck, his partner, Catherine, and Christian, the southerners who are “lost” in the far north. Jean-François accompanied Serge on 3 French stages last January and plans to do 6 stages with Serge to prepare himself for the 100 km de Millau.
Hier, un monsieur s’était arrêté sur la petite route de campagne côté anglais, sur laquelle Serge tournait, pour lui demander si il pouvait courir avec lui à Calais. C’est ainsi que Mike, franco-anglais, nous rejoint aujourd’hui.
Yesterday, a man stopped on a small road in England where Serge was running his loop and asked if he could run with him in Calais. So today Mike, an Anglo-French, joined us.
The caravan get’s its bearings and this afternoon we will change vehicles. Brigitte and Roger have brought us the “Tank” and tomorrow will take the four-wheel drive back with them. We made a small house move at the roadside…
Our RV is spotlessly clean because Brigitte and Jean-Yves, our friends and neighbors in Bréaute, polished it so that it is shiny as a new penny. Many thanks go to them for this wonderful treatment. This evening Brigitte, our “cook” took some clothes which are in need of attention but not easy to wash in hotel hand basins. We cannot keep our Carrier Pigeons from flying, so she will bring them back on Wednesday! In a word, small things which are “Enormous” and make our life comfortable.
At Moulle, 10 km from the finish, there is a new welcome team and a small group of runners take the road to St. Omer.
6:00 p.m. and there is a light rain at the finish. We salute the presence of the mayor, the new section of the Saint-Omer CJD (inaugurated tonight), the UFF team, Didier Meurice with a team of young people from the Morinie School, and many more. We thank them all for their presence and support. Thanks to David and Franck of the Saint-Omer CJD to have taken care of the logistics for this finish and to all of you for your warm welcome!
For Serge the day is not finished: two interviews, a shower and the meal. At 8:30 p.m. he is in bed for a well-earned rest.