Every other Thursday, in its "off-field" section,
20 Minutes
explores new spaces for expressing sport, unexpected, unusual, clever or in full swing.
This week, we are focusing on foot races which sometimes bring together several thousand participants, such as on the mythical Marseille-Cassis (20 km), where another 20,000 runners will set off, Sunday at 9 a.m.
Is it really possible to enjoy the landscapes of such a race, like those of the multiple mountain trail races, when you meet so many runners throughout the event?
It's hard to believe that one day only 700 running enthusiasts were able to take part in Marseille-Cassis.
Well, at that time, François Mitterrand had not yet been at the head of the Republic and Joe Dassin was still around.
But when a human tide of 20,000 runners set off on Sunday (9 a.m.) from Boulevard Michelet, near the Vélodrome stadium, each of these participants could fantasize about this almost confidential context which surrounded one of the most emblematic running events. in 1979. The number of runners had already doubled in 1980, before growing to the point of reaching the 20,000 mark from 2018, due to the move of the finish, from the charming port of Cassis in the heart of the vineyards on the heights of the city, to respond to security constraints following the attack in Nice.
Nicolas Manificat (43), who completed the 20 km of the event in 1h49 in 2019, clearly regrets this XXL crowd in Marseille-Cassis: "It's very nice to organize a popular event, but I spent my whole race in the middle of a very dense crowd.
I passed close to 5,000 people in total and spent my time zigzagging and trying to avoid stepping on people's toes.
It remains a good memory but it was tiring nervously.
The beautiful view of the Old Port, I barely noticed it…”
“Sharing a myth”
Benoît (51), who will come again especially from Metz to take part in this race for the 14th time, disagrees: "I remember that before 2017, the port of Cassis was really overloaded, which became almost unmanageable for the emergency services.
Of course, you can never be alone somewhere between Marseille and Cassis.
But this crowd around me never bothered me too much.
I find that it is even quite exhilarating to overtake a lot of people”.
On the organizational side, it is estimated that this gauge limited to 20,000 participants (with 7,500 people on the waiting list this year) does not disturb the smooth running of the event.
Head of communication for the event, Mélanie Uzan summarizes: "This is proof that on such a mass race, like on the Paris half-marathon, where there are even 44,000 at the start, people are there for other thing only for the quest for performance.
They come for the pleasure of sharing a myth, a story that you want to include in your life as a runner.
»
"Dangerous traffic jams in the mountains"
The 42nd edition of Marseille-Cassis includes eight waves, separated by a total of 20 minutes depending on performance levels in previous events.
And this in order to try to make the race as smooth as possible, with around fifty international elite runners at the head of the procession.
As on most running events, the airlock and wave systems have therefore developed over time in Marseille, and even more so after an almost white year in 2020 due to Covid-19.
"It's the experience of the previous edition that allows each time to determine what gauge we can start from, to achieve a form of balance", confides Mélanie Uzan.
Namely a "balance" between the satisfaction of the majority of registrants, the preservation of nature, and a virtuous economic model.
At the start, you have to determine your gauge of runners somewhat randomly.
What is essential is to succeed in skimming your race, for example thanks to a big climb, before a problematic crossing point arrives which will have a funnel effect.
Even if it means slowing down a little on our budgetary income, we preferred to refuse a lot of people.
Because traffic jams in the mountains can quickly become dangerous depending on the conditions of the race.
»
The Maxi-Race had a hiccup in 2019
The Annecy Maxi-Race (between 16 and 90 km) has in spite of itself become a benchmark in this area, after experiencing a big hassle on its 2019 edition, with spectacular traffic jams.
It must be said that the marathon race format in question (41 km and 3,300 m of D +) had just experienced an increase of 300 runners compared to the previous year (2,000 instead of 1,700).
"The problem is that you can't know if there will ever be a traffic jam with this gauge...until you see one with your own eyes", notes Stéphane Agnoli, organizer of the Maxi-Race since the first edition in 2011.
He quickly learned from the hiccup of 2019: “That year, between 500 and 600 runners of roughly the same level left at the same time.
This contributed to never stretching the race and resulting in those plugs.
We are now careful to avoid too many people with comparable performance indices (the ITRA or UTMB rating) leaving in the same wave.
And we separated the different waves by 8 to 10 minutes, compared to 5 minutes in 2019”.
“A drastic reduction”, from 10,000 to 6,500 runners
Then described as a “money factory” by part of the trail running world, the Maxi-Race has above all become “one of the rare events to drastically reduce” its number of participants.
From 10,000 people across all formats in 2019 to a maximum capacity of 5,000 in 2021 and 2022 (with constraints linked to Covid-19), then to 6,500 from the next edition, in May 2023 in Annecy.
For the marathon format which had stuck in 2019, there are only 1,500 registrants, and "anxiogenic passages creating slowdowns have been removed".
How, on the other hand, can the organization of the race find its way economically?
“We needed a point of financial balance, so our private partners came to compensate, whether Salomon or new partners, specifies Stéphane Agnoli.
To be able to offer a more qualitative race to people, it is necessary to avoid that its financing only revolves around a maximum number of runners.
»
The Mosellen Sébastien Braun (41), who has participated in several dozen races throughout France, remembers having "trampled" more on small trails than on big marathons or sowing on the road.
“In Paris, for example, it's so big and the flow is so controlled by the organization, thanks to the many airlocks, that there is no problem, he notes.
On the other hand, on trails of about fifteen kilometers, there are sometimes very quickly spiral staircases or a passage where you have to crawl under a rock.
In these conditions, you have the impression of being stopped for a whole race and you can't take pleasure.
»
"The French are very demanding"
On the pleasure side (of the eyes) precisely, can we really take advantage of the pretty landscapes during a race, between the concentration and the pains which monopolize the spirit of the participants, and therefore this impressive crowd to tame as in Marseille-Cassis?
“Yes, what charms people every time and encourages them to come back is this incredible panorama that we can offer them, often in the middle of the Indian summer, assures Mélanie Uzan.
Many runners are seen stopping to take photos and film.
» Benoît, our regular at Marseille-Cassis, explains: « The view we have of all the riders, when we are at the top of the Col de la Gineste, is nice.
But it's more for the friendly and extremely relaxed atmosphere that I come back to every year.
»
Our off-road file
Stéphane Agnoli is convinced that overlooking Lake Annecy is a plus point for his race: “I was surprised to see, this year, that even those who were playing for the win turned their heads to appreciate the pretty spots.
Three days from Marseille-Cassis, the organizer of the Maxi-Race has the final word on this debate on the +/- surrounding such a
huuuuuuge
event : "If the riders want to set the best time possible, they will go to a race where there are not too many participants.
From the moment they go to the New York or Paris marathon, they know they are coming to a
main event .
, in the middle of a mass of runners.
And it is this mass that must make them vibrate.
Afterwards, we note that the French complain more about the organization and that they are very demanding compared to the other European nationalities that we welcome.
The grumbling Frenchman, what is this myth again?
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