The first runner-swimmers set off at 7 a.m. this Saturday, September 10. A morning schedule for running and swimming in open water between Saint-Victor-sur-Loire and Aurec-sur-Loire. They are 650 to participate in the 4th edition of the Swim Run of the Gorges de la Loire. The event is sold out!
650 registered runners
This Friday it was time for final preparations. The first athletes came to pick up their bibs like Eric. He traveled from Vichy with other friends, they are triathlon referees and registered. Here the main difference is the absence of a cycling event. “We all race together and we gave ourselves a little challenge. And then, the setting is really magnificent, it’s a nature reserve. It’s really beautiful, it encourages you to come”.
– Delphine Marion Boulle
At the stand, it is Carl who manages the bibs and the bags dedicated to the participants. There are no less than a dozen boxes lined up behind him. “We have prepared all the runners’ bags for bib collection. They can do it here, or even before the race. There are 650 runners, so that’s a lot of bags!” jokes the young man. Inside the bags a swimming cap, a t-shirt but also an electronic chip for the timing of the participants.
Marking and medical team
A little further, Héloïse takes care of the markup. There are a dozen buoys in the water, but above all a hundred boxes and posters down. “This is one of the most important parts of the preparations because not all participants start with watches with integrated GPS. So there is only the markup that allows them to orient themselves on the course” she explains.
– Delphine Marion Boulle
And then, among the preparations, there is the whole medical and safety aspect. Romain Patouillard, the organizer of the Swim Run des Gorges de la Loire details as well asa hundred volunteers will be present throughout the course on land and on water via canoes, rubber dinghies for example. We must also add to this medical teams : “We have a doctor and several crews from the public emergency services such as the Red Cross, civil protection who are present” he explains.
The fourth edition of the Swim Run is sold out with 650 registered runners, including some from Italy, England and Switzerland. The first will start at 7 am. Several levels of racing are offered from 6 to 50 kilometers! For the first time in France, there is also a backyard with a simple principle of 1h15 to complete the loop, if we finish in time we leave for a lap. The one who wins and the one who hasn’t given up.