21,1 km. In the landscape of road races in Lorraine, the half-marathon of Thionville is a monument. Frequented in the past by runners of the caliber of Hakim Bagy, also known to ride, the route concocted by the municipal sports office of Thionville will be no exception to the rule this year. “Even if we changed the course a little, there will be more town and, we hope, more spectators as a result”, breathes Aldo Giuliano, president of the WHO. Alongside it, a more accessible 10 km will strengthen the program, brought forward to 9 a.m. for the half-marathon and to 9:30 a.m. for the 10 km, this Sunday: “It was a request from the runners. »
52. In the midst of a volunteer crisis, the performance is remarkable: this Sunday, the 26th edition will count on 52 flagmen, spread over the entire route, to direct the runners. “It’s a lot of work but we do it more for the general public than for our elites”, recognizes the strong man of the WHO.
1h02. The record for the event will blow out its 21 candles this Sunday, and looks set to last for another year. To beat it, it will indeed be necessary to cover the 21.1 km at more than 20 km/h on average. By car, fine. On foot, that’s another story. As for the headliners, if Fidelio Klein, outgoing winner, was not yet registered, the Ethiopian Kinde Yonas, flashed in 1h07’12 in 2018 and in 1h07’30 in 2018, will be there. Financially, in any case, it is worth getting up and being good at Thionville: the winners of the half-marathon will receive 400 euros while those of the 10 km will be entitled to 150 euros.
1 500. If registration is open until the day before the event on the websites of sportif.com and on omsthionville.com , the participation figures are rising, up to about thirty registrations per day, slowly but surely. Post-covid period obliges, Aldo Giuliano does not expect a peak in participation but recognizes it, he would be “very happy” if the two races brought back 1,500 registered, like last year. For now, as of Thursday, they were just under 900 registered.
