Somme Relay For Life turns sport into an outpouring of emotion and solidarity

“ We run, we laugh, we save lives”: reads the slogan on a sign encouraging participants as they prepare to set off in this 24-hour relay.

Barely an hour into the race, after just a few laps had been completed, torrential rain came down on the participants. Gusting winds, hail showers and sheets of rain: the relay runners were served up a truly Dantean cocktail, with the weather showing no mercy. The organisers briefly hesitated, but the race eventually got back into full swing, with each team settling on its own strategy. Some rotated runners every lap, while others had one member run lap after lap for around 30 minutes or more. Most saw the effort through to the end, driven not so much by performance as by a cause greater than themselves, one that reached far beyond the race.

© Reynald Valleron

© Reynald Valleron

© Reynald Valleron

© Reynald Valleron

A race packed with emotion

First and foremost, it was not sport that brought the event’s 1,500 runners and walkers together, but its spirit of solidarity and remembrance. As Jean-Paul Joly, vice-president of the Somme branch of the Ligue contre le cancer, put it, he was “ struck by the smiles on every face for a cause that can bring so many tears”. That resilience gave the organisers the strength not to give in to the weather on Saturday.

“ Everyone has a reason for taking part: to fundraise, to walk, to do sport, or in memory of someone who has died or is living with cancer,” explains Florian Fortin, who has been in charge of organising the race for the past four years. This year, more than €23,000 was raised to fund essential, practical projects at Amiens University Hospital.

Adeline Lemay feels a deep personal connection to the cause: she lost her daughter to cancer in 2017. To honour her memory, she set up a local branch of the Le Point Rose charity in the Somme, named Maëlycorne. Since then, around 30 of its members have taken part in the Relay For Life whenever they can. “ The mix of healthcare workers and charity volunteers, including bereaved parents, is what makes our team so strong: everyone united for those 24 hours. It gives us strength, even though it is emotionally intense,” says the charity’s representative.

She is not the only one drawing deep energy from the race. The members of Les Lièvres d’Handisport Amiens Métropole also find great strength in it. “ What makes this year particularly intense for us is that we’re running for Ethan, a player on the basketball team who died last year. We’re giving it everything, just as he did in previous editions,” says Pierre Midou, an employee of the HAM association.

“ I just wanted to say thank you to my mother, because I did this for her. 

Determined to push beyond their limits, whatever it took

Chronos du Cœur were not there simply to make up the numbers this weekend: they came “ to take on the sporting challenge first and foremost”. They signed up “ on a whim during a family meal”, and the six-strong team gave it everything. Among them were mum Séverine Casier and her daughter Lola, who came up with the idea and rallied her sporty friends to take on the challenge. “ We told ourselves that people fight cancer for practically their whole lives, so 24 hours is nothing for us ,” Zackari Crico explains. The group finished fifth after “ really struggling, but ultimately getting it done ” without walking once, even in the middle of the night.

Young Noah Pioli, meanwhile, ran continuously for 24 hours in tribute to his mother. It was a remarkable and moving performance, such was its importance to him. Speaking into the microphone from the stage set up for the occasion, he said: “ I just wanted to thank the SAS team, because I didn’t know anyone at first and they helped me all the way. Thank you all for supporting me and giving me strength, because I couldn’t have kept going like that without you. Finally, I just wanted to thank my mother, because I did this for her. ”

Others also struggled through the final hours, including Florian Bertrand, president of the Fédération des Associations Etudiantes Picardes, who was finding it hard to stay on his feet with an hour of the relay still to go. “ I ran 50 kilometres, not continuously but over 24 hours. If I’d had the choice, I would have run less, I even wanted to run less… but there were only about 20 of us, with four or five there for the whole duration,” he jokes, happy to have run for a cause close to his heart.

The Relay For Life was once again a resounding success, thanks to the commitment of charities, businesses and numerous student teams, including the famous “Kellian’s Team UPJV”, which claimed its fourth victory with 384 kilometres on the clock. More than a sporting challenge, this race remains a deeply human experience, helping bring those we love back to life in our thoughts.

➜ See the relay results