"I feel like I'm not wearing myself out as much after 100 or 150 kilometers": marathon, trail, ultra-trail, the French have the race in mind

Long marginalized, the practice of running is exploding. Particularly in competition, where the rejuvenation of the peloton goes hand in hand with a spectacular toughening of the events.

Failing to provide us with a detailed answer, the singer Miossec at least subtly questioned what makes a growing number of his compatriots run. " What do Sunday joggers think about? […] What do we run after? Is it to leave home or the joy of returning?" hums the Breton. At 54, Xavier Chiron knows little more about this addiction, which he treats with a rather rational explanation. "In any case, I manage to leave early so I'm home for lunch. There's no question of sacrificing this family ritual on the altar of performance."

So, like 12 million French people, this man from La Rochelle is indulging more than his fair share in the somewhat masochistic pleasure of running. "Five sessions a week, including the weekend session that sometimes lasts four hours," admits this sales manager who fell into competition at the dawn of his forties. According to the vast study conducted by the Running Observatory , the number of budding athletes thrown onto our roads and paths has even doubled since the early 2000s.

Long snubbed by the French team sports scene, here is the mother of physical activities that has become a mass sport. Except that it no longer has much in common with good old-fashioned jogging, when a third of participants are under 35 and half are now women. "My 23-year-old son, who was out of breath after five kilometers just a few months ago, has just finished his first marathon," Xavier is amazed. "Besides, you only have to go to a starting point to see how trendy it's become, from the clothes to the music blasting from the speakers."

Another sign of the times moving even faster since Covid: four out of ten employees now skip their lunch break to go for a run – 12% would even run to work.

Influencers have made no mistake about this, appearing here and elsewhere in the wake of the slightest cash-grab. "Most runners seek advice on social media and plan their training with apps," notes Virgile Caillet, the general delegate of the Union Sport & Cycle, who initiated the survey.

"The scale of the trail surprised everyone, but under the pretext of reconnecting with nature, it's a real one-upmanship."

Rejuvenated and feminized, the peloton has also hardened over the course of ever longer and more selective competitions. This trend is all the more notable given that among the 12,000 races registered on the French Athletics Federation calendar , 5,000 are trail or even ultra-trail events. Making the toughest marathon seem like a digestive stroll, such is the promise of these raids multiplying over hill and dale. At the end of April in the Landes region, after 516 kilometers – and seventy-seven hours – Nicolas Cointepas triumphed over the competition lined up for the ^6th edition of the Infinity Trail in Hossegor , while further north, the second-place finisher in the Bretagne Ultra Trail climbed onto the podium after literally breaking his teeth – and nose – against a tree.

On the same subject

Jogging: when the pace exceeds the limits

Did you know? Physical activity addiction has a name: bigorexia, or the tendency to exercise more than is reasonable, in terms of frequency and duration per session. In the world of running, for example, the level of enjoyment gradually diminishes as the desire to be demanding and the excessive nature of the practice increases.