What will be the safety rules to respect to resume the hike?

• Hiking and trail running are among the sports that will be authorized during deconfinement.
• Some forest areas will remain closed, however, by prefectural decision.
• Elsewhere, practitioners will have to respect two main rules: do not group more than ten and keep their distance.

Jogging was THE national sport during containment. Will hiking and trail running take over with deconfinement, scheduled for Monday, May 11? "The French will undoubtedly rush on the massifs", announces the commander Dominique Lemblé, who worries about it: "The prevention rules are likely to be forgotten because of the impatience to leave", sighs Dominique Lemblé, who directs the Drôme mountain group of firefighters. New sanitary rules are added to the usual safety instructions. 20 Minutes takes stock.

Walk arm in arm? It will be complicated

The government has established two simple rules for the resumption of sport. For static activities (fitness, yoga, bodybuilding), it will be necessary to count four square meters per practitioner. For activities that require travel, the government indicates that it is preferable to leave ten meters away.

These activities can be done:
- Without limitation of duration of practice
- Without certificate
- Within a limit of distance from home less than 100 km
- By limiting gatherings to 10 people maximum
- Outdoors
- Without benefiting from changing rooms # Deconfinement

But the High Council for Public Health is more flexible: five meters are enough between two walkers. "But as soon as you have more physical activity, you have to leave ten meters because you increase the risk of spreading when you are out of breath," said the sports minister.

Trailers must therefore resume training with their measuring tape. "It is better to keep your distance also when you practice Nordic walking, because the effort looks like jogging, with strong pulmonary ventilation", adds Didier Babin, president of the French Hiking Federation.

To avoid hikers all rushing on the same trails, the Visorando site has launched an overcrowding indicator. "We analyzed our connection statistics for the month of May 2019, which allows us to announce which hikes to avoid", explains Arnaud Lecus, one of the founders.

Do not wear a mask

Wearing a mask when hiking? It is the false good idea par excellence. "It is out of the question to hike with a mask, it would even be dangerous," says Catherine Kabani, doctor of the French Hiking Federation. We have fog on the glasses so we can not see his feet and there is a risk of reducing oxygenation. "

According to her, masks are only necessary in confined spaces. "Outside, with the wind, the viral particles disperse much faster than inside," concludes Dr. Catherine Kabani.

Certain places will remain prohibited from access

"There are real pedestrian highways in the mountains," said an agent from the Calanques National Park in Marseille. The park is in the process of establishing a map of "hot spots" where to position agents in the event of the reopening of the forest massif - the beaches will remain prohibited until June 2, announced Edouard Philippe.

When can we return to @ParcCalanques? Following the @EPhilippePM announcements, the access conditions will be set by @ Prefet13 in conjunction with the local authorities.
Only one thing is certain ajd: everyone will be invited to return with caution and respect for the peace they have found pic.twitter.com/1OgcHID53O

But the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône has not yet announced whether it intends to allow access to the natural park at the time of deconfinement. The prefect must make a decision this Thursday. "The rules will not be the same in the red departments or in the green departments," said a source in the administration.

Group hikes allowed, not competitions

Gatherings will be limited to ten people at the time of deconfinement. It is therefore authorized to hike or run in a small group, on condition of respecting the rules of distance and barrier gestures: "Wash your hands, do not lend equipment, especially do not share a gourd", summarizes Didier Babin .

Club sport after deconfinement https://t.co/js0nKRakNT

Competitions remain prohibited in the medium term, much to the despair of trail enthusiasts. "We hope to be able to organize our events normally from September," announces André Giraud, president of the French Athletics Federation. The institution has rescheduled the French trail running championships on October 3 and 4, in Gap.

"But if the sanitary conditions are not met, we will not apply this calendar," warns André Giraud. His federation is also putting pressure on the public authorities to obtain funding in order to prevent certain race organizers from filing for bankruptcy.

How to avoid injuring yourself while resuming?

The confined French are stiff. These two months of inactivity "have caused muscle wasting, especially in the elderly, and a mismatch to the effort of our cardiovascular system," warns Dr. Catherine Kabani. She therefore advises to resume the hike gradually, with a first outing of 3 or 4 hours maximum, without too much elevation and with a good stock of water.

"If you have a lot of cramps, it means that the muscles have suffered," she deciphers. If you are short of breath from the first kilometers, you have pain that wakes up, especially chest pain, it will be wise to go to your doctor to check what happened during confinement. "

And to avoid sprains or bad falls, stay on the marked trails. "As no one has been able to go out for two months, we have no information on the state of the routes," said Major Dominique Lemblé. The first practitioners will have surprises, between a path that has been swept away by a spring avalanche or a tree that has fallen. "

This specialized firefighter therefore advises to "very well prepare your itinerary and your equipment" and to be wary of the weather: "Even if you really want to go out, you should not ignore the small storm announced for the evening by saying that it will pass! "

Especially since the firefighters are themselves a little rusty. "We couldn't train in a dangerous environment for two months," says Dominique Lemble. We haven't lost everything but we will have to reclaim our reflexes… ”

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• Athletics
• Marseille
• Trail
• Hiking
• Deconfinement
• Confinement
• Covid 19
• Coronavirus
• Sport