72. 41km – 9H04’
Altitude : 238m
The stage for October 16: Montargis – Fontainebleau (the itinerary will be posted online later)
Finish October 17 at l’INSEP – Avenue de Tremblay, 75012 Paris
There will be no stage between cities
Serge will enter l’INSEP around 9:00 a.m. and will run on the track in the INSEP until 11:06 a.m. He will be accompanied by everyone who wishes to run these last two hours of the Around the European Union Footrace, and celebrate the 365 days of the race.
« A superb day! It was a super day! ». Those are the words Serge used when he got out of the shower this evening.
There was mostly sunshine and a temperature of 18°C at mid afternoon in the Ain department and more particularly around Bourg-en-Bresse, which Serge bypassed on the west from north to south in order not be late for his 2:30 p.m. meeting at the roundabout on Route de Strasbourg.
For that reason, the alarm rang early, at 5:00 a.m., and Serge left in the dark. It is hard for him to run at night, he doesn’t like it, but this stage has a particular flavor because he is in “the country he loves.” At km 30, he has his first appointment. So he takes his courage in his two feet and leaves for an hour and a half of night racing.
At 10:10 a.m. Chrystèle’s students are waiting for us at Saint-Etienne-du-Bois. Last year they were in CE2 (US equivalent to 2nd or 3rd grade) and followed the race through the different European countries. Now they are in CM1 and Chrystèle has accompanied her former class on this rather special morning. The 27 children are waiting impatiently to run 1 km with Serge.
4km further on, we stop at Treffort, where Michel Piroux and his associates are waiting for us. Serge shakes hands, poses for a few photos and receives a selection of regional delicacies before heading toward the city hall. There is an impressive reception committee waiting for him. Again, a few photos are taken and gifts are received (it is Christmas on the Around the European Union Footrace) then off goes Serge.
At Meillonnas, even though nothing had been planned, as far as we knew, the entire school, including the teachers, is waiting for Serge, banners flying. As René says, “there are people who are following Serge toward the 27,000 km mark”. The atmosphere is wild and it gives Serge a boost. He finishes at breakneck speed (everything is relative he says).
As you can see, Serge does not slacken, and without saying anything appears, even to his crew, to have a figure in his mind!….
After going through Bourg-en-Bresse on the streets reserved for pedestrian, there is a dynamic arrival at Viriat with some 50 kids from Meillonnas, who came by bus and all the schools of Viriat. It goes without saying that there were lots of people, it was noisy and Serge was beaming. I hear people saying “he doesn’t seem tired at all,” which is true. It’s crazy! How does he do it? I haven’t the answer !
There is a moving moment when Serge falls into the arms of his uncle Jeannot and his aunt Yvette. And the presence of Mr. Chevalier, former president of the soccer club of Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignane (where Serge played in his youth) is also very moving.
And there are faces we know and some we don’t know: The presence of the Marathon Club of Viriat, which has 130 members, among whom René and his wife (thanks for the sausage, which is one of Serge’s weaknesses); Yvon, who at age 83 has been following us since we met at Hauteville where he lives; Patrice and Jean-Luc of the IGN who brought us a few maps (nothing could have made me happier).
As for René, he is on home ground and he is reunited with his wife, Michelle, and all the friends from the Viriat Marathon club. Tonight he is sleeping at home, the lucky man. But before he leaves he will read this log, like he does every evening, to add the missing commas and correct my mistakes. I rarely have a grade higher than 10 over 20: René is very exacting!
Thanks go to Chantal and Michel Piroux, who are also here to say goodbye this evening. For the organization of this great stage, thanks go to Denis, president of the small CJD chapter (20 members) at Bourg and his team, who are celebrating their 1st anniversary.
Thanks go to all the runners who came to share a bit of Serge’s road today.
P.S. I forgot the most important part: we saw 4 deer on the “asphalt roads” of the Ain department!
Town : Viriat (Ain)
GPS : N 46.25’36.7° E 005.21’75.4°