They both look great, hand in hand as they cross the finish line of the Poitiers-Futuroscope half-marathon. But Jean-Pierre and Micheline, from Nouaillé-Maupertuis and aged 82, don’t even look out of breath. “I’m very happy because I didn’t think I’d do it”admits Micheline. “My feet just hurt but otherwise I’m fine!” The octogenarian couple completed the 21.1 km in just over 2h30.
That’s about the time it took Mathieu Leroux, but to do the marathon! He arrived first in the race, returning after two cancellations due to Covid-19. About 2,500 runners took part on Sunday May 29, more than a thousand less than in 2019. They set off from Place du Maréchal Leclerc, in Poitiers, to Boulevard Louis Braille, in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou.
Encourage grandchildren
Since their first marathon at age 60, Jean-Pierre and Micheline have kept the same training. “In Nouaillé, we have a fairly large field so we maintain it. It gets us moving!”continues Micheline. “We also have lots of friends who run so we always run a little, but without putting pressure on ourselves.”
When there’s too much pressure, it’s their relationship and their 62 years of marriage that allow you to hold on. “If I was a single woman, I don’t think I would have had the courage”says the Poitevin retiree. “We talk to each other”, complements her husband, Jean-Pierre. “One may want to run, the other not really so we train him.” They even trained in running some of their grandchildren. “They also started running because they saw us,” says Micheline. “When they were little and we were doing the 10 and 20 kilometers from Poitiers, they were in the market place shouting ‘come on grandma!'”
The retired couple is not about to stop. They no longer plan to run marathons, but rather small races of five to fifteen kilometers.