Ludopital Foulées celebrate 30th anniversary with record turnout near Lille

In Roubaix, the race held in support of hospitalised children enjoyed unprecedented success. From the walk and children’s race to the 10K, nearly 3,400 participants took to the paths of Parc Barbieux.

What a welcome sight that morning sunshine was on Sunday after the torrential rain all week. In one of the Lille metropolitan area’s finest parks, families, friends and colleagues put the stopwatch aside to support children in hospitals across Hauts-de-France at the 30th anniversary of the Ludopital Foulées. Waving pool noodles to guide the walkers, Julien Duléo put it plainly: “Every year, we break the entry record.” More than 3,000 participants signed up, forcing the organisers to close registration 10 days before the event. A clear sign of the buzz around this charity race.

“Every penny raised goes to Ludopital,” added Laëtitia Groot, Director of Nursing at the Ambroise Paré clinic in Lille, as she prepared to take part in the 6K walk. The money helps put smiles back on children’s faces, mainly by providing them with toys. Scrat, the fictional Ice Age squirrel, the Minions, Elsa from Frozen… the whole collection was on display in the hoods of around a hundred volunteers. “I don’t even know which cuddly toy I’m wearing,” Julien said with another smile, having swapped his IT developer’s cap for a sunny morning on the course.

Amid a cloud of blue balloons, four adaptive racing wheelchairs known as joëlettes (see photo below left) set off the 10K to warm applause. Three-and-a-half-year-old Rachelle, unable to run, was carried by her parents, uncle and aunt. The smiles kept coming, and this kind of participation is becoming increasingly common. In an emotional interview, Pascal Baron, who has set himself the extraordinary challenge of competing at the Half Ironman World Championship in Marbella, Spain, in early November with his daughter Romane, who has had a brain malformation since birth, admitted that “these are extraordinary moments. She understands everything. She knows exactly what’s going on.”

Thibaut Engelaere, 31, Head of Care Unit at Ramsay Santé, says these initiatives “make hospitalised children feel like they’re not just patients.” “We want them to leave with a good memory, not a traumatic one. We want to give them a positive image. Avoiding white-coat syndrome is the whole point of this initiative,” added the runner, who will take part in the Marcq-en-Barœul Half Marathon this Sunday before turning to his big target for the season: breaking four hours at the Paris Marathon on 12 April 2026. “I’ll try to run the 10K in under 50 minutes,” said the runner, who trains two or three times a week.

Titouan Gilanton sets his sights on breaking 30 minutes

In the results, Titouan Gilanton took the win in 34:01. “I came mainly to have fun,” said the delighted winner. “I came with colleagues from Talenz, a firm specialising in audit and accountancy.” With the pace going out hard from the opening kilometre, the 20-year-old bided his time before taking the lead halfway through. “I was often on my own. I’d never been to Roubaix before. The park is fantastic,” said the runner, who will attempt to break the symbolic 30-minute barrier at the Lille Urban Trail on 15 November.

Just a short distance from EDHEC Business School, Anthony Petit also made his mark, finishing on the podium in just under 36 minutes. Third overall, the AXA Atout Coeur runner will be looking to lower his personal best back in Lille. “It’s an early-season time.” Remember, a certain Etienne Daguinos set the European 10K record at last year’s Urban Trail in 27:04, a mark since eclipsed by Sweden’s Andreas Almgren in Valencia with 26:53. Almgren had just won bronze in the 10,000m World Championships, behind Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha and France’s Jimmy Gressier. A date not to be missed.

Interest in charity races has never been higher, and the Nord region is no exception. With the Flo’WeRun and Challenge Ruban Rose in Lille, followed in the coming weeks by the Color Run for the Téléthon in Bauvin, there is no shortage of options or opportunities to run for a good cause.