Lille Urban Trail: Bastien Augusto, Fabien Palcau and Célia Tabet go supersonic

The Lille Urban Trail 10K belonged to the French runners, with Bastien Augusto (27:30) and Fabien Palcau (27:31) both smashing their personal bests. Kenya’s John Lomoni Aimun (27:13) and Brenda Jepchirchir (30:04) took the wins, while Célia Tabet clocked 15:08 over 5K to become France’s third-fastest woman ever. A look back from Boulevard de la Liberté.

Pace-setting for five kilometres before clocking 27:30. It seemed unthinkable at first, but Bastien Augusto proved every running fan wrong on Saturday, 15 November. The Bourges Entente Athlétisme distance runner took 10 seconds off his previous best, set... in Lille, in 2023. « I only found out at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. He (Jean-Pierre Watelle) called my coach (Bastien Perraux) to say he was looking for a pacemaker, revealed the runner who had been timed in 28:22 at the MAIF Ekiden de Paris 10K on 2 November. I’m in the middle of my marathon build-up for Valencia on 7 December. I had 160 kilometres in my legs this week, after 215 last week. I’m right in the thick of the load. »

He had imagined every possible scenario, but never thought he would erase his personal best, let alone move to fifth on France’s all-time list. « I told myself, why not finish strongly if I was feeling good? I gave it a go, and it held all the way to the end ». Fist clenched as he crossed the line, the runner from Bourges still had something left in the tank when he paced the first two kilometres of the 5K an hour later, passing through 2K in 5:30. The capital of Flanders clearly suits him. Every time he races in the north, the 15th-place finisher at the European Running Championships half marathon comes away with another PB: 28:15 in 2022, 27:40 in 2023 and now 27:30 in 2025. When will he get close to 27 minutes and Étienne Daguinos’s French record of 27:04? There is no need to ask where this extraordinary time was set: Lille is the land of big performances.

“A real team effort under pressure”

Speaking of fast times, Fabien Palcau also made a strong impression on Lille’s streets. Following in his compatriot’s footsteps, the fifth-place finisher at the French Elite Championships over 5000m also made the tarmac smoke. Timed in 27:31, the Dijon UC athlete knocked 23 seconds off his previous best of 27:54. In Lille. Once again. Last March. As he discussed his upcoming recovery session with his coach around 100 metres from the finish, the newly crowned sixth-fastest Frenchman and fifth-place finisher spoke with a smile.

« Bastien Augusto was supposed to go out at 13:45 pace, which means 27:30 for 10K. I was sure I was worth around 27:40. My coach was more optimistic. In a 10K, it’s always better to stay a little humble and start just a touch slower. But sometimes you also have to take risks and seize opportunities. In March, it didn’t work out because I went through 5K a little faster, then blew up. This year, there was a chance to go back out at 13:45 pace. I told myself: ‘stick with him and see what happens’. Bastien did an incredible job », he explained.

« I could see him carrying on, so I tried to make the most of the momentum between us. We took turns at the front. We worked really well as a team. Once we entered the citadel, around the 7K mark, we both started trying to drop the other. It pushed us to our limits. We battled it out right down to the final 200 metres, taking turns to attack. A real team effort under pressure. »

Disappointed by his performance at the Valencia Half Marathon (1:02:37) « despite a very good build-up », the Dijon runner will line up at the Allonnes Cross Country Race next weekend, targeting selection for the European Championships on 14 December in Lagoa, Portugal. Simon Bédard also impressed, finishing ninth in 28:14. Victory went to Kenya’s John Lomoni Aimun, who clocked 27:13 to take nearly a minute off his personal best of 28:02, set in Lille on 16 March 2025.

Brenda Jepchirchir in a class of her own, Mélanie Allier shines

Watch out: a new athletics star is on the rise. The 20-year-old Brenda Jepchirchir could well play a leading role in the years ahead. Clocking 30:04, the Kenyan surged away from the opening strides and gave her rivals no chance, beating the Netherlands’ Maureen Koster (30:57) and Sweden’s Sarah Lahti (30:58). Wearing bib 108, she finished more than two minutes clear of the first French runner, Mélanie Allier, who took sixth in 32:41, a new personal best.

« I ran 32:47 at Aix-les-Bains in March. My main goal was to enjoy myself again and find some good sensations, explained the runner who dropped out of the Valencia Half Marathon on 26 October. I went through 5K fairly quickly, in 16:04. It got a little tougher at the citadel. I blew up. I was always running with guys. »

Célia Tabet stuns with a 15:08 5K

We saw her at the Lille 10K last March, where she ran 32:40, and then at the Carquefou Meeting, where she clocked 15:39.15 over 5000m. This time, in November, it was the 5K. Whatever the time on the clock, Célia Tabet remains the same: that smile still lights up her face. Even more so after she smashed her previous best by almost a minute, improving from 16:02 to 15:08. The time makes her France’s third-fastest ever, behind Cassandre Beaugrand (14:53 in 2025) and Sara Benfares (14:58 in 2022). It was a fine response after a frustrating fourth place at the French 5K Championships three weeks ago.

« In Fréjus, I was coming off a 20K in Paris, which I ran in 1:06:55. I wasn’t coming in with the same level of fitness. The journey the day before went badly. My legs felt very heavy, she admitted. Before Lille, I’d had some good sessions, but I was really aiming for 15:20. I’m very happy. It bodes well for next week’s European Championship qualifiers ». We may well see her back here next year for the half marathon, especially as she « hates the track ».

In front of his home crowd, Villeneuve d’Ascq native Arthur Gervais finished fourth in 13:32 as the first Frenchman, just a few streets from the stronghold of Lille’s Socialist party. The world university 5000m champion was beaten by Clinton Kimutai Ngetich (13:20), who got tangled in the finishing tape and took a harmless fall, and Melkeneh Azize (13:27). « The week went really badly. I couldn’t train because I had a stitch. I wasn’t even sure I would race. In the end, I ignored my coach’s instructions to hold back. The kilometres came easily. I had a group of Africans with me. I just kept moving up. At the end, there were two of us left with Ruben Verheyden (third in 13:29). Over the last 400 metres, he was much stronger than me. It was hard to hang on to him », he said.

It is hard to come down from the high after a string of personal bests at Saturday’s Lille Urban Trail. Bastien Augusto, Fabien Palcau and Célia Tabet delivered outstanding performances and confirmed their place among the French athletics elite. The northern meeting, traditionally held in November, will take place on 4 April 2026, after the municipal elections. Philippe Lamblin, president of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Athletics League, also announced the return of the marathon to the capital of Flanders, scheduled for 25 October 2026. The northern tarmac is not about to cool down.

✔ Full results from the 2025 Lille Urban Trail