Paca Running Tour
from 10th au 25th September 2011
1184,568 km and 17289m of positive elevation in 15d 5h 43mn
Friday 09th September
My bag weighs 10kg, and for me it's 68,2 kg
Saturday 10th September (Alpes-Maritimes)
a very nice
start this morning with more
than 50 people who came to
wish me good luck and run a
few miles with me.
35 km along
the sea with still accompanying: it
is really nice
especially with 10kg
on his back and a
significant heat.
Few stops, small supplies and
a big surprise with a friend
(Christian) who offered me
to stay a few days with me
by following me in the car,
I attack the blow-collar
a little lighter without the
backpack.
06:30pm: We are
currently in Sospel
(54 km from the
start) for a real
meal before attacking
at night and
finish the Col de Turini.
Sunday 11th September (Alpes-Maritimes)
A little rest at the Col de
Turini, and the day of 11
starts with a
descent to La Bollène
Vésubie where,
at 6am, we are greeted by
Virginie, a school teacher
in the district and
whose class is following me
on the internet during
all around for
a good shower and a
good breakfast: it's nice
to see that people are really
friendly ....
thank you Virginie.
So here I go again
fresh for a new
collar to rise,
that of La Colmiane:
a hard and
hot day where I
suffer a little, but finally the
descent of the pass was
quiet with
two friends came to support me,
and until Isola.
Monday 12th September (alpes-Maritimes - Alpes de Haute Provence)
4:30am: direction St
Etienne de Tinée
where I hoped to eat
before tackling the Col de la
Bonnette, had to wait 3hours
the opening of the bakery
..... A rise in
quiet with even
heat, and a
descent to Jausiers
and St Paul
Ubaye more enjoyable because
our hostess this evening
held us a pleasant
company by bike
.... Thank you for
your support Michele!
Shower, small dinner,
laundry and sleep
before start to the
Col de Vars.
Tuesday 13th September (Alpes de Haute Provence - Hautes Alpes)
departure 6:00
am and immediately
the rise of the Vars pass
that puts far
leg. Breakfast at
Vars (the second)
and a big descent
to Guillestre that I
do not like, to
arrive after 72 hours
of effort to
266 km, but it's normal since
the passes past ...
and it remains
one: the
Izoard. Very difficult the
pass in this direction as
irregular, so
I take my time to
the 14 km
climb .... Then
it is the happiness
and descent to Cervières
to meet Francis and
Nicole in their
cottage, who I known during the
Tour de France.
Small diner, shower and
start tomorrow
at 3 o'clock with
323 km on the clock.
Wednesday 14th September (Hautes Alpes)
Start at
2:45am, and in the first
km it is a marmot
in the middle of the road who
wish me good luck
.....
Downhill stroll of
Briançon, then I
just turned round
to find the road
avoiding the national
moisture began to fall
short, not in my
shoes, I was cold, I had to
fight until the sunrise
to finally find a
bar, take a
good breakfast and leave on
the side of the massif des Ecrins, and growing
up again.
After 96h I did 370 km
which comfort me
with 104 km
traveled over the last 24
hours despite the passes of
Vars and
Izoard.
A good picnic at
noon at the bottom
of the Massif des Ecrins,
followed by an hour's
nap and here I am
left with a
still significant heat
.....
The afternoon was
spent with a
headwind important and
beautiful small
climbs along the
Ecrins to get to
Embrun which
poses a dinner, a
shower and a nap is needed
.....
Thursday 15th September (Hautes Alpes)
Departure from Embrun
at 3:30 am.
I knew this day would be
difficult because many climbs
to the ski resorts
of the Massif des Ecrins,
plus the fact that a TV would
join me to do a report.
It is from 5:30
the TV team joined me, and
frankly it was a real pleasure to
have some company during the
morning.
I completed
my 120th hour with
440 km, which is a
little disappointing ....
but hey, the scenery is
so beautiful that it is worthwhile
to stop and enjoy.
The hardest part may have
been the rise of the
neck towards
Moissière to Ancelle with
about 10 km between 8 and 10%,
but the crossing of the forest
was beautiful.
This evening stop at
St Bonnet for a few hours
and tomorrow we continue
visiting the ski resorts
....
Friday 16th September (Hautes Alpes)
Last night it was
limited to find
a place to sleep a few hours,
so today I decided to
stop comfort in a hotel
....
Why? Well,
today was a particularly
difficult day. After the
departure 2:30 am, I
got a nice little
neck du Noyer
where the percentage of the last
km reached
10.5%, but above where I
started sleeping on the run.
That said, I took
a rest, then
continued, but I felt that the body
was struggling to answer
....
I forced a
lot during the morning which
resulted in more frequent stops
.... At noon
a lunch consisting of meat and
pasta back me on track
but not for long .....
Finally I pulled
up to Aspes
Buech to decide
on some sort of
reset the body with
a longer rest.
Now that the maximum
altitude increased
(outside the Ventoux),
and I am half the
time I gave myself
to finish this tour, it is
good to come away with rest
of the body more important
.... The start
will be tomorrow
when the body wakes up
by itself ....
Saturday 17th September (Hautes Alpes - Alpes de Haute Provence)
Small quiet start
this morning at around 4:45am
for a day without any real
problems with a landscape of
plains north of
Sisteron makes me
cross the country from
which the apple
harvest is
now.
I try an
energy drink just to see, but
took me
badly because I found myself
all morning with
heartburn and difficulty in
advancing: energy
thank you ....
Somehow I get
after a nice picnic
lunch under the apple trees,
and leaves the fighting spirit
to make up for lost time.
Arrival at Sisteron, I take
a small storm
to stop and do my laundry..
Upon leaving,
the rain had stopped and I was
in great shape ....
10, 20, 30 km,
before the night falls a
dinner picnic
is improvised on the
village square, then start again
.... for, a shame, just
a few miles because the rain
had returned.
Sunday 18th September (Alpes de Haute Provence - Vaucluse)
A hellish night
spent in the storm and
still stuck by it.
Repatriation in a bar,
warm, waiting for
a lull ...
New start to
9:30am, the day was gray
and rainy
morning with improvement
in the afternoon.
Here I am a Salut thestart of the Ventoux:
a sandwich and let's go for 26 km of
climb.
The night was clear, starry,
it's wonderful. Okay,
a little windy but not
too much trouble.
I was warned
to be careful, etc, etc, etc
... I do not know the
Ventoux, but then I realized why:
in fact the first 20
km are still
in the forest to 4.5% of
elevetion, but the last 6 were
a hell, especially at night!
Vegetation disappears and
the wind becomes violent and
cold, I start to really
freeze, after
3 km it is
the fog that appears, I do not
see at a
meter in front of me, it's cold ...
it's a kind of hell with
little wind that
you fold in
half.
Last appearance
of the neck of Tempêtes,
even a little effort
and you're done.
First thing:
to warm up faster, I
was almost hypothermic ......
Monday 19th September (Vaucluse)
After the exhaustion
that night, three hours
of sleep at the top
of Mont Ventoux and the
descent to
Malaucène today should be
a quiet day. Decision was made
to cross the vineyards
of appellations Beaumes de Venise,
Gigondas and Vacqueyras,
within the beautiful landscape of the
laces of Montmirail!
A quiet day
with more than 80 km traveled
on back roads
that only our region
PACA and French
can reveal ....
Tuesday 20th September (Vaucluse - Bouches du Rhône)
This is the
final straight: last night was
full and relaxing
(5 hours) to recover well
for the last 5 days
that will be very long
kilometers.
Today I cross
the mythical cities
like Avignon
and Arles, but it's always
difficult to find small roads
in the maze of interchanges
and shopping centers. Some
loss of time, but still
traveled 80 km
to dinner time
(special time of rest),
and tonight I will
attack the Camargue
in order to get as close as
possible to Marseille to
be there early in the morning.
Wednesday 21st September (Bouches du Rhône)
here it is:
Camargue done crossing between rice
crops with over
the last 24 hours,
105 km done.
Breakfast at Sambuc before taking
the ferry, I proceeded toward
Martigues and
Fos ....
A day galley,
as I expected, to want to avoid
these famous highways
in the port of
Fos where trucks
traveling at high speed
.... I shot
a long time to find these
small paths and, with fatigue,
lost all the same time.
This evening dinner at
Martigues and continue
the road ....
Thursday 22nd September (Bouches du Rhône)
The night passed in small steps
until L'Estaque
(entrance to Marseille).
Breakfast on the port
and then I attack
my approach in
Marseille at the time of
hiring: 4
lanes road, it's hell to find
a practicable
road side all along
the harbor, and finally
I reach the city that
I go through in a straight line
to the foot of the
Gineste ......
3 hours15 crossing
and I join my
coach who tells me
that he should
leave me.
Blow: I stay
at least 2 hours to digest,
then takes my bag and attack
the rise of Gineste.
Meanwhile a group of friends
organized to take turns
and take over my bag, until
the arrival. Thank you to
them that I did not know and
that I found
at the entrance of Cassis in
the person of Michele who had
hosted me 10 days ago
at St Paul
Ubaye.
Small diner
hamburgers and small laundry
in La Ciotat
after a beautiful ridge road with
2 km at 15%, and the
night begins ....
Friday 23rd September (Bouche du Rhône - Var)
The night was difficult
with big shots
and very few bars
forward, since in the morning,
and I am only
at Bandol.
My bag is sent directly to
Carqueiranne while I continue
alone. Crossing of Toulon
very easy with a beautiful
bike path, and I
found Roland,
who get my
bag, and go to his house, find his wife
Annie and offered
me a shower
and a good snack.
After calculation,
I have about 175 km
to go in 24 hours: good, well
we'll tackle it
and hope to arrive
tomorrow at 18h
Nice ......
Restarting Carqueiranne
goes well, I
found Michele in La
Londe and we start
the night.
Saturday 24th September 2011 (Var - Alpes-Maritimes)
The night was hard:
a lot of accumulation of
fatigue, recovery
difficult, I did not
blow too far
....
I am joined by
Claude (President of Courir
in St Tropez) at
Canadel sur Mer, we take
a breakfast at
Cavalaire, and its presence
gives me a boost
to Port Grimaud.
In Port-Grimaud, Ali
joined me (he came from
Frejus by running) and get my
first massage
of this tour, then we go
quietly together all day
....
At this point there is no question
of arriving the same day:
the decision is made to arrive
the next day in the afternoon
so that everyone benefits from
that time.
At St
Raphael Guy join us
for a few kms
in the early evening, then, finally,
Anne-Marie (my wife) arrives
at Agay to start
the night.
Anne-Marie made the connection
with Facebook for 15 days
and it gives me great
breath of fresh air to find her.
The night will be spent
on the edge
of the Esterel in the company of
Anthony and
Agnes who give me a little
rest with a
good beer to stop at Theoule
sur mer at 2am and enjoy a
good shower and a
rest at "home."
Sunday 25th September 2011 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Last day for the last
51 km.
Say hello to the organizers
of the Free Ride
in Mandelieu with a coffee,
and I found Pierre, Yann
and Liberto
in front of the Palais des Festivals
in Cannes.
I go to a
good pace, I feel the end, in
Golfe-Juan it's Sylvie
and Gerard to
join me until
Juan les Pins
Passage of Antibes
and it's finally Olivier
who join me for the last 15 km
while his wife, Christiane, and Anne-Marie
follow us in the car
taking pictures.
At the entrance of Nice,
Jean-Pierre and Irene, our
deans of the running,
open to me the road on the
Prom's on a Harley for the last 5
km .... it's
happiness, the end ... arrival
is there, friends also ...
one last shot
kidney, and now it's finish ....
An end, yes of
course, but also the beginning of the
next adventure soon.
Thank you all for your support,
your messages both by telephone and
by mail or on Facebook. I hope
I make you discover the beauty of the
landscape in the PACA region
... Anyway I
also found myself
a nice human warmth!
Monday 10th October 2011 (La Bollène Vésubie / Alpes-Maritimes)
Often
people ask me why I run,
and I answer for the pleasure of
seeing new landscapes,
meeting with people
and share all of this
via the website ....
Well today I had
a meeting with the primary school in
La Bollène Vésubie
that followed me
throughout my Tour, and this
day was a kind of
culmination of this Tour
for answering all
questions being posed by these
children and talking
about the region in which they live,
the various vegetation, crops
.....
This tour
allows the teacher to teach
both the geography, the
vocabulary or the natural sciences
.... or even a small
sports training
....
Here are the drawings
provided by children who speak
more than photos
of this wonderful
meeting!
first part
second part
third part