The Cher Marathon continued, but in the fall

The Cher Marathon will now take place the second weekend of October. In 2025, it will therefore be October 12. Last June, the event brought together 1,704 runners for the three events (10 km, half marathon and marathon). Its budget has been revised slightly downwards to 167,000 euros (including 35,000 euros from the Cher department). The municipalities of Mehun-sur-Yèvre and Foëcy become partners, but contrary to an option that had been made, the race will continue to leave from Bourges Cathedral to arrive in Vierzon. It had been considered reversing the direction of the race from one year to the next, but this poses problems in respecting the sacrosanct distance of 42km and 195 meters in the Vierzon-Bourges direction, explain the organizers.

The races will now take place in October, because the calendar is already very busy in June in the region, including many trails. In October, the meeting will fit better into the running calendarestimates Franck Bonnaud, of the Cher Athletics Federation, in charge of this marathon: “We wanted to do a fall marathon which will take place every second Sunday in October. It will be cooler than in June and the weather should still be mild. We will also be in less competition with other regional or local meetings. We also reviewed the finish in Vierzon because many competitors told us that they wanted to reach the finish line more quickly after leaving the Berry canal course. Some felt that there were too many turns, too many restarts. We will therefore cover a little more distance in Bourges, just after the start. And we hope to label the race next year so that it qualifies for the French marathon and half-marathon championships.”

Vincent Minvielle ran the Cher marathon in 2 hours and 40 minutes. The Cher runner enjoyed this race: “Firstly because it’s at home. I was able to appreciate the organization which was top notch with refreshments every five kilometers. It’s a race on a human scale. On big marathons, you have to arrive several tens of minutes in advance to be in airlocks, etc. There, you can arrive a bit at the last moment and then leave. I am also happy for the new date, in the fall, at the start of the season. This year, in June, towards the end, it was starting to get hot. The changes that have been presented are going in the right direction. The event has a good card to play and can attract runners from the Paris region in particular. We’re only two hours from Paris.”

The first edition was won on June 9 by Guillaume Ruel in 2 hours 30 minutes and 14 seconds. Sylvie Torremonell is the first woman in 2 hours 47 minutes 07 seconds. 300 volunteers are mobilized for the meeting.