Maëlys Cubaynes and Anthony Gaillard, resident of Millau running, win the Pic du Pal trail

Les deux coureurs ont remporté la course courte à Sévérac. C. P. – C. G.

More than 130 runners were present at the starting line this Sunday in Sévérac-d'Aveyron for the Pic du Pal trail.

The podiums in the two races

12.5 kilometers

Women
1. Maëlys Cubaynes 1h07’44
2. Noëlla Lacombe 1h13’18
3. Chloé Boudes 1h14’59

Men
1. Anthony Gaillard 54’47
2. Laurent Debaene 56’39
3. Raphaël Brian 56’52

27 kilometers

Women
1. Laurie Orelu 2h47’30
2. Marlène Majorel 3h01’44
3. Eva Paluch 3h14’01
Men
1. Maël Alric 2h09’52
2. Robin Deferer
3. Fabien Foulquier 2h31’32

It was on a perfectly mild February morning that the 233 trail runners taking part in the 15th edition of the Trail du Pic du Pal, so dear to the Foulées Sévéragaises, set off. From 9 a.m., there were 83 of them setting off to attack the 27 kilometers, then 150, at 10:30 a.m., to be lined up for the 12.5 km counting for the Challenge Aveyron, while 60 hikers and Nordic walkers also took part in the festivities. Designed in the heart of a Severagaise countryside revealing itself in its most beautiful trappings, the two trail courses revealed curves and elevation changes as varied as they were demanding. Particularly generous, this nature invited us to make the same efforts and not to cheat with our emotions. Those, mixed together, which helped to create pretty smiles of satisfaction upon arrival or which also marked the faces, as the sequence of climbs and kilometers was sometimes painful to digest.

Maël Alric as a pattern on the long 

Whatever the case, this 15th edition was a very good year, as the runners attested once they crossed the threshold of the entertainment room. It was the Saint-Affricain Maël Alric who, for his first participation in the 27 kilometers in Sévérac, was the first of them, after almost 2 hours and 10 minutes perfectly mastered. "We can say that the Pal is quite a peak! A little snow, a lot of mud, it was slippery but it was great. It’s a real trail contested in optimal conditions in February. I'll be back". The Mendois Anthony Gaillard then took first place in the main event in 54’47. "For me, February is synonymous with recovery before the summer season. Coming here is always a treat thanks to a very good atmosphere, very good organization, nice routes, pretty bumps, a finish that is both technical and muddy. It’s a great race, he confided with a smile. Comments corroborated by all the runners, like Maëlys Cubaynes, first female in the 12.5 km. "For a first in Sévérac, I found the route very nice, difficult, rolling, with big, very steep climbs. The weather was ideal. It was so good, I'll come back ", admitted the one who is preparing for the France Universitaires which will take place at the end of March at the Cité des Pierres. Feelings that delighted the many volunteers of the Foulées Sévéragaises, who have been heavily invested for several weeks to make the celebration a success. Bet won!