Run with Your Old Man: the run club bringing generations together

An intergenerational run club. That was the project Eden and her “old man” dreamed up a year ago. On 15 March, the first edition of “Run avec ton vieux” took place in the heart of Paris. From the outset, the concept stood apart from traditional running meet-ups. The aim was to bring together runners of every age, with no upper limit. “We wanted to show that sport isn’t about age. It brings people together, creates memories and strengthens bonds between generations,” says Eden, a doctor and content creator on social media. Powered by the young woman’s infectious energy, the first two editions sparked a genuine connection between participants.

From father to daughter

In this family, there is the father. The man his daughter has looked up to since she was a little girl. At just five years old, while travelling in Thailand, she watched him help victims of the tsunami that struck the country in 2005. At that moment, one thing became clear: she would become a doctor. “I went into medicine because of him, or perhaps in spite of him, she says with a smile. Today, she is a qualified, practising doctor.

A few years later, she opened a TikTok account built around a simple premise: “Find the diagnosis in 60 seconds.” Before long, her father Mickael joined in. The two constantly challenged each other and made a stream of health-related videos. Their good humour and comic chemistry quickly won over a large following. 

The projects kept coming. Although nutrition remains her main area of expertise, Eden gradually connected it with another passion: running. Her father passed on his love of sport when she was 12, at the start of her first 10K. “After opening his practice, my father put on a lot of weight. Then, from one day to the next, he said to himself: ‘That’s enough. I’m going to take control of my life.’ He lost 35 to 40 kilos and started training seriously. He now has more than 25 marathons and several Ironmans under his belt. He’s a machine. I’ve watched him do this for as long as I can remember ,” she recalls.

Since then, the miles they have run together have piled up alongside the memories. Eden regularly shares them on social media, eventually giving rise to “Run avec ton vieux”, in response to messages from members of her community who also wanted to run with a parent, an uncle, an aunt or an older brother.

Once again, the project was directly inspired by her father. “I’ve always seen my father get people running. It’s his hobby,” she recalls. “He was already doing it before I was even born. As I grew up, I thought I wanted to pass that on too. It gives people such a rush. It makes them happy. I find it incredible, even for mental health. “Especially when beginners take the plunge, pulled along by their partner or motivated by the community aspect. “It’s incredibly rewarding to know that we’ve got people moving who, on a Sunday morning, would normally have stayed in bed watching TV.”

A young runner and an old one paired up on the spot!  ” 

Two intergenerational editions already

At this sporting meet-up built around a unique concept, online connections became real-life relationships. Participants finally had the chance to share an experience in person. No time to meet, no energy to go out: Eden’s event leaves no room for excuses. No more separating young people on one side and older people on the other. New parents are welcome too, prams included. Running becomes an excuse to meet. Some runners from the first edition came back for the second, keen to strengthen those new connections.

“A 72-year-old woman who had always been sporty came because her granddaughter, who was in her twenties, followed me on social media and told her about it. Her granny said to her: ‘We’re going to get you into sport. Come on, let’s go!’” A lovely example of one generation passing something on to another. Conversations naturally spring up between pairs. You often hear: “Who are you to each other?” Then everyone shares their own story. “One marathon-running mother brought her 16-year-old son, who had just started getting into running. It was beautiful to watch.” It is unusual, but some people even come alone. “The crazy thing is that an older runner and a younger one paired up. They found each other, ran the whole route together and even exchanged numbers at the end.”

There are no fixed rules from one edition to the next. The first offered a 6K, while the second featured a flexible 4 to 8K route, depending on what people felt like doing. “A boy of about 17, who was used to going to the gym, took part with his mother so she could get into running. She managed to run 4K without stopping! ” In the Bois de Boulogne, the group ran 2K loops, with everyone stopping whenever they wanted. “That was the old man’s idea,” she says, before adding: “He’s the one who calls himself that. He loves it!”

A stroke of genius that lets beginners encourage the more driven runners all the way to the finish, in an electric atmosphere with a pink megaphone in hand and a speaker turned up loud. Everyone is included right through to the post-run get-together, with branded tote bags, goodies and plenty of sociable conversation over drinks.