In Rennes, a group of running enthusiasts set themselves an original challenge: run along the bus lines from end to end to discover the city in a different way.
Medhi Mainguené, 40, started by running, on the surface, on the route taken by the two lines of the Rennes metro, each about ten kilometers long. Nice, but too quickly for this running enthusiast who, for the past month, has been tackling a completely different project: running, with sneakers on, the entirety of the bus lines. “I have just noticed that there are 150 which serve Rennes and its surrounding area, he sighs. I will concentrate on the intramural lines and I can already exclude those which pass through the four-way ring road ways. » At the rate of one journey per week – on Sunday day when “the sidewalks are less crowded” – his new hobby could keep him busy for several years. “I need this kind of madness to motivate me. »
The initiative is not so crazy since other joggers from the Facebook group “Running with others” have joined it. Their ambition is not to catch up with the bus, or even to race. Though… “The other Sunday, it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to complete the 12 km of the line between Chantepie and Cesson-Sévigné, while the bus took an hour. We’re not far! »
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“The city is not that big”
Lovers of nature sports and mossy undergrowth will not find what they are looking for here. Following the bus is like seeing an endless carpet of asphalt unfold under your feet. But apart from damaging your back, what is the point of this very urban trail? “We discover the city from another angle and even neighborhoods where we never go,” argue Medhi and her comrades Claire, Delphine, Sandrine, Sébastien and Elliot.
Before signing up for exotic marathons, in New York or elsewhere, knowing the city of your childhood is a worthy approach. “I am from the southern districts of Rennes, confides Medhi. As a kid, taking the bus to Villejean, in the far north, seemed like a long trip. I realize, while running, that the distances are not enormous. The city is not that big. »
Read also: But why is the marathon distance 42 kilometers and… 195 meters?
Faster than the metro?
The fine team begins to be spotted by the bus drivers themselves. “They spread the word and we talk with them. We sometimes board on the way back when the outward journey is long enough! »
Always looking for a challenge, Sunday joggers also consider taking the metro, getting off at one station, then running to the next one and arriving there before the train. It’s no longer a question of jogging, but rather of sprinting. “From Place Sainte-Anne to République, it goes downhill. Maybe it’s doable. Either way, it will be hot! »
