I can tell you about two different chapters. In my relationship with running, the first one goes back to my adolescence in Bron, a city near Lyon. I played football, and I was really fast, so I was enrolled in the local athletic club. But my parents couldn’t take me to all the training sessions, so I had to cut out athletics and only do football. It was a shame because I loved running and always won school competitions. Then I stopped until I was 23-24 when I moved to Paris for work. A friend signed me up for a 10-k race and, after seeing my times, suggested I get back into running. This friend is also the founder of the Jolie Foulée crew. So, I became part of this community and developed a totally different approach to running. When I was younger, I had always focused on results and competition, but now I feel like I’m part of something. I use running as a platform to make connections, share moments, and quiet my mind.
When I joined, the crew wasn’t famous yet. It was a small group that’s built so much through running in recent years. These people have played an essential role in helping me adapt to a new city and have become my closest friends. It’s not easy to run in Paris because it’s always crowded, so we usually go out early in the morning. Morning runs are unique, energizing, and they let us admire the sunrise in special places, like along the Seine.
THANKS TO RUNNING AND JOLIE FOULÉE, I’VE ALSO HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET NEW PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD. THERE’S A COMMUNITY IN EVERY CITY. WE MIGHT SAY WE’RE ONE BIG GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF RUNNERS. AT FIRST, WE WERE ONLY RUNNING IN FRANCE, BUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS WE’VE STARTED LOOKING FOR EVENTS EVERYWHERE, FROM COPENHAGEN TO BARCELONA. SO, RUNNING IS ALSO HELPING ME TRAVEL AND DISCOVER NEW PLACES AND CULTURES.
As an athlete, I’m obviously a big fan of cycling. It’s very close to running because it requires tremendous physical and mental endurance. I started cycling while I was preparing for some marathons; I wanted to mix up my training methods, and I haven't stopped since. Cycling allows me to discover really fascinating parts of Paris. There are amazing forests and incredible views outside the urban center that I can explore better on two wheels.
I’m lucky in this respect, because I’m part of a community like Jolie Foulée, which often serves as a tester for specific products and projects. The running aesthetic has changed a lot in recent years, and Jolie Foulée has played a role in that trajectory. I think it's important to find things that work for me, so I always want to wear things that look awesome but are also extremely functional. Performance is always the priority, not trends or passing fads. So yeah, aesthetics plays a big role in my life as a runner, but it’s not the core.
My main dream is not to get hurt (laughs). No, what I really want to do is keep feeling what I’m feeling, which is all the emotions I get from preparing for a race, working on my running, and improving my body. I live for that. I’ve got to be realistic; the years are going by and I don't know how much better I can do in terms of times, but I want to continue to experience what I can and be as fast as I can be. Mainly, I want to feel fit and feel good in my headspace.
