At Domaine Vidot, 15 kilometers from the start of the Diagonale des fous, volunteers are busy this late afternoon. The first runners, who left Saint-Pierre at 10 p.m. on Thursday evening, should arrive in 5:30 a.m. A pack of coke in one hand, water in the other, Marylise follows suit. Everything must be arranged on the tables in the municipal room lent for the occasion. “I’ve been volunteering here for 13 years. Initially, I participated in the Diagonale des fous. But I gave up at Cilaos due to lack of training. And I thought volunteering would be a better idea.”says Marylise Ablancourt with a smile.
Here, 45 volunteers are mobilized to absorb the flow of 2,900 runners who arrive with little difference. In the morning, some of them left for the Port, to the west of the island, to collect something to feed all the participants. Logistics “not obvious” according to François Jarlot, the person in charge of the refueling point. But that is nothing compared to what the volunteers posted in the Mafate circus experience.
In the middle of the mountains, after passing through Cilaos, the runners cross three villages: Marla, Aurère and Îlet des Orangers. Isolated places, located several hours’ walk from the first road. “The logistics are quite strong. Everything comes by helicopter, we even transport generators in and around Mafate”underlines Pierre Maunier, the president of the Grand Raid association.
Eight rotations per helicopter
At Îlet des Orangers, 45 volunteers – including 10 nurses, a doctor and two interns – arrived slowly this Thursday, October 17. On the agenda for the day: no less…
