2,000 people at the Nancy-Metz meeting on the march, it’s impressive! And we had to turn people away! It hadn’t happened since long before the Covid. This long hike again attracts the crowd, but it is also because it is open to all practices.
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Today at 20:27 | updated today at 20:33
There is no beep when Nancy-Metz arrives on the march. No chrono displayed as in marathons, no ranking either. This is perhaps one of the keys to the success of the event: you come as you like, you walk at your own pace, and that’s enough. In recent years, the Nancy-Metz march has evolved a lot. Not in his profile: it’s always the same, with a few variations. This year, we were in the Nancy-Metz direction, next year, it will be Metz-Nancy, along a marked path.
The organizers are flexible. Trail, Nordic hike, classic walk, everything is allowed. Ahmid, for example, pushed his friend in a wheelchair from Montauville. 33 km to run while pushing, even in tandem, you have to do it! “We had to go through barriers, next year we will come back with a joëlette”, he comments. Coming from Terville, Ahmid runs with a very young association, VIP, like Living in the present moment.
Before the Vercors
Two of her friends, from Thionville, Camille and Katia, ran the 66 km. “We are training for the Ultratrail du Vercors in September! “, announces Katia. On the bus at 4 a.m., left at 5:30 a.m., they arrived at 1:15 p.m., refueling time included. It was hard, right? “We like hurting ourselves, surpassing ourselves. In the trail, we talk to each other, we help each other…” Camille didn’t notice the time passing. “Last year, I walked, I gave up before the end, this year, I succeeded. In Ancy-Dornot, the group got lost. “You had to look up to see the markup,” Ahmid puts it into perspective. But he enjoyed the scenery. And the arrival with your feet in the water, in front of the Regatta, what a pleasure!
Nancy-Metz walking… running: Camille, Katia, Ahmid. Photo RL /Olivier JARRIGE
Not enough shuttles
Christophe and Alex also raced from Montauville, with the clock in sight. Leaving at 9 a.m., they covered the distance in 3 hours and 47 minutes, “out of the supplies”. A fan of brisk walking, Alexis, from Hayange, also measured his time, 4:35, “an average of 8’26 per kilo”. Satisfied to be in the top twenty…
In the afternoon, the rest of the troop arrives. Two-thirds are registered on the Montauville-Metz. They are the freshest. Fatigue is more visible on the faces of others. Even before the Covid, the formula had suffered a reflux, with vintages of around 1,700 participants. This time, the 2,000 registrations were closed after 4 days. “We had to refuse at least a hundred people, for questions of shuttles”, confirms Maurice Meazzi, the big organizer, all smiles. It’s all about good weather… and flexibility.
#Lorraine #NancyMetz #march #returns #success
