The Montpellier Run Festival, the new big running festival in the heart of the city from April 5 to 7

Le marathon aura lieu le dimanche 7 avril. Playground – Playground

Pendant trois jours, l’événement regroupera plusieurs épreuves de running de différents formats ouverts à tous. Les organisateurs espèrent atteindre les 10 000 participants dès cette première édition.

The Montpellier marathon is dead. Long live the Montpellier Run Festival. Instead of a single event of 42.195 kilometers, the City and the Métropole in partnership with the Montpellier Athlétic Méditerranée Métropole and the company Playground are launching a real running festival in the very center of the Hérault capital for three days , from Friday April 5 to Sunday April 7, 2024.

"We have planned races accessible to all, explains Jérôme Durand, president of MA2M. The idea is to offer something more central, more unifying with Ekiden, an interesting format for teams and companies. It is also important for the clubs, the departmental committee, the Occitanie Athletics League to count on a significant event with the entire range of road events in the same place at the same time. We made this bet which is paying off since next year, all events will be certified by the French federation."

L'Ekiden, the great novelty

From its first version, the Montpellier Run Festival will host nine races around an entertainment village set up in the Jardins du Peyrou. In addition to the famous marathon distance, Sunday will be punctuated by two other races: the 10 km for the first time organized in the spring and a half-marathon (21 km).

The day before, a 5 kilometer race reserved for new and experienced runners is planned. But that's not all: Montpellier residents will discover the Ekiden, the team marathon of six torchbearers, a festive and collective event which has found its audience in Paris and in many other cities in France. There is still time to get together with friends, work colleagues or sports club partners to come and compete against the 42,195 kilometers of an urban course. The festivities will begin on Friday, from 2 p.m., with four races reserved for children aged 7 to 15.

Assaf: "Come join the party"

"We are embarking on an Olympic year, where sport is king, and at the same time we live in a context where a sedentary lifestyle has become a public health problem, explains Christian Assaf, vice-president of the Metropolis in charge of sports. Montpellier is the most sporting city in France, so it must be able to organize its marathon within a popular event. So for our health and that of everyone, I invite everyone to come run at the Montpellier Run Festival where there will necessarily be a race adapted to their level. And I appeal to traders and businesses: come join the party by creating a team and align yourself with Ekiden. There are still places left."

And since the barrier of 6000 registrants has just been exceeded, there is one month left to plan to come and participate in the first edition of the Montpellier Run Festival.

More information and registrations on www.montpellierrunfestival.fr/ I subscribe to read more