§staticmap(8851,5,450,250)Hello, on September 30th 2012, you’ll be organizing the Trail de la Collégiale. Can you tell us where it is located?
The trail is organized in the city of Montréal, in France in the Aude department.
How old is the race and why was it created in the first place?
This year is the 5th edition of the race. We are a bunch of friends who getting on for forty and after our sporting “carreers” in football or rugby, we have discovered running and its friendly atmosphere. We decided then to set up an association and to create our own race to give participants all we got while taking part in other races.
There are two trails: a 10K with 357m of elevation gain and a 30K with 1000 of elevation gain. The detailed description is on our website: www.leslacetsdefaits.org.
How many runners do you expect on Sunday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract?
We expect about 70 runners in the 30K and 100 in the 10K; mostly trail specialists for the longer race, and any type of runner participates for the 10K.
Do you organize other races during the Weekend? If so, on what distances?
A walk is organized, following the route of the 10K run.
At that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect?
During the first 4 editions, we were lucky enough to have a clear blue sky, with the warm temperature that goes along. This is the typical weather we have at this time of the year.
Have you planned festivities around the marathon?
The band « les Phacochères de la Malepère » (a local brass band) will liven up the start and finish line before and after the race.
Come and discover the charms of the Malepère massif, located at a 15 km drive from the city of Carcassonne. You’ll be able to discover our vineyards and visit the cities of Fanjeaux and Montréal hot spots of the Cathar history.
For the more curious, visit the high valleys of the Aude River to see the Pierrelys and Saint Georges gorges. You can also stop at Limoux (20km away from Montréal) to taste the “Blanquette de Limoux” the world’s first sparkling wine.
Don’t forget to have lunch or diner at Castelnaudary (23 km away from Montréal) to taste its famous Cassoulet (meat and bean stew).
In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the Trail de la Collégiale?
For those who haven’t visited our department yet, it is often called “Little France” as the sceneries change totally in a few kilometers.
Interview with Franck Burland.