Ekiden Villeneuve d’Ascq, the North’s must-run relay marathon

For its sixth edition on October 12, Ekiden Villeneuve d’Ascq set a new participation record, with nearly 3,500 runners on the start line. A wild atmosphere, flying times... Marathons.com takes you back to a magical morning.

A packed car park. A stadium bursting at the seams. Gala’s “Freed from Desire” playing in the background. You could have been forgiven for thinking an Olympique Marcquois Rugby match was about to kick off. Not quite. On Sunday morning, October 12, 3,390 runners split into 565 teams took to the track at Stadium Lille Métropole for the sixth edition of Ekiden Villeneuve d’Ascq, a six-person relay marathon that gets the whole of northern France buzzing. “We capped entries because participation keeps growing every year. For safety reasons, we set the limit at 550 teams. If we hadn’t, we’d be looking at between 700 and 750 teams,” says event organiser Didier Cauchy.

To be honest, it felt as though the stadium might explode. At 9 a.m., Sunday runners and seasoned marathoners alike set off for five kilometres. “After that, we alternate between 10 and 5 kilometres before the final runner takes on 7.195 kilometres.” Different backgrounds, one shared smile. Orange wedges in hand, Hélène Andrzejak and Francois Dellatre, members of Union Sportive Douvrin Athlétisme, were there first and foremost to enjoy themselves. She took up running at the start of the year, while he specialises in ultra-trail, with three Grand Raid de La Réunion finishes to his name. Together, they covered the eastern edge of Lille in 22 minutes. “Time for a beer now,” they grin.

An eco-conscious medal completes the puzzle

Sharing, kindness and helping one another: Louis Grattepanche is determined to embody those values. Wearing New Balance trainers, this Lille native, who lives in the Bois Blanc neighbourhood with his twin brother Victor, has spent the past four years bringing a project close to his heart to life. “I wanted to get my colleagues at Advens, a cybersecurity company, involved alongside LADAPT, which supported me when I was younger,” he says, with a slight lisp. Living with right-sided hemiparesis, a partial paralysis, the mathematics graduate wants to break down barriers around disability. Fittingly, he was the one to run the final few hundred metres, finishing in 49 minutes and 6 seconds.

With his hair showing a little more grey, Éric Delannoy came along with his training partners from OSM Lomme Athlétisme. “I discovered running 15 years ago,” explains the sixty-something. “I used to do it alongside cycling. Then running took over.” Since then, the runner from northern France has racked up a string of major marathons, setting his personal best of 3:55 in Rome in 2014. Cologne, Porto and Paris, his favourite. “The course is magnificent. It’s the most beautiful city in the world.” Next year, he will take on Fribourg with the goal of breaking five hours.

Runners could also add another piece to their collection on Sunday. While some went home with their first medal, others were able to claim the final piece of the puzzle, as shown in the photo above. Six medals for six editions. “We’ll revisit the design for next year,” says event boss Didier Cauchy. As for the times, Team Jean-Luc Lemire, named after the former 3,000 m steeplechaser, was clocked in 2:26:12, averaging 17.32 km/h. Les Girls, one of the four all-female teams, put together a solid 3:11:09, with Inès Leuwers running an impressive 5 km in 20:52 on the penultimate leg. A morning that was almost over too soon.

Colleagues, friends, families and children, all 3,390 runners made Ekiden Villeneuve d’Ascq pulse to the rhythm of their footsteps. Above all, it was a marathon built on sharing and a human adventure. With nostalgia already settling in among the participants, next year’s edition promises to be even better.