The Alpes-Maritimes Nice-Cannes marathon had its official presentation last night, notably in the presence of Charles-Ange Ginésy, president of the departmental council of Alpes-Maritimes, and Pascal Thiriot, president of Azur Sport Organisation, the organizer of the Nice-Cannes marathon.
This evening was an opportunity to present the Alpes-Maritimes marathon, which aims to be the “second marathon of France after that of Paris” and dubbed the “five-star marathon” due to its idyllic course, starting from the Promenade des Anglais and finishing on the Croisette.
Currently, 8,500 participants are expected, but registrations are still open until November 22. A marathon which, as Charles-Ange Ginésy specified, “calls for international tourism and is known worldwide,” since it indeed has 25% foreign runners from 40 different nations – Belgium being the first foreign nation represented, followed by England and then Germany.
This five-star marathon is designed to suit everyone. To this end, it offers different courses such as the classic marathon (42.195 km), the 20km from Nice to Villeneuve-Loubet, the 2x21km, a marathon to be run in pairs between Nice and Antibes then Antibes and Cannes. Finally, the relay marathon is the last event offered, ranging from 3 to 6 runners.
For the president of the departmental council of Alpes-Maritimes, this marathon confirms the sporting vocation of the department, and it is also a source of significant economic benefits, as 3,500 people are mobilized for this event, thus creating employment. Finally, President Ginésy emphasized the importance of improving air quality, necessary to host this type of event.
A marathon marked by optimism
Pascal Thiriot, organizer of this marathon, affirms: registrations have decreased, however, there is a decrease of about 20%, compared to 40 to 60% for sporting events in the fourth quarter of 2021 in the rest of the country.
Despite the current health crisis context and certain measures to be observed – respecting barrier gestures, mandatory health pass for runners – Pascal Thiriot remains “very optimistic” and does not believe in a possible last-minute cancellation.
President Ginésy, for his part, declared that “the reputation of the marathon organizer, the reputation for the quality of our course means that [the marathon] still has many good years ahead of it.”
A solidarity marathon
Each participant in the Alpes-Maritimes marathon is invited to make a donation of €10 to AVENI, the endowment fund of the Nice University Hospital.
These donations will be used for research for the Mucovax project, a nasal spray vaccination project against the SARS-COV-2 virus. Indeed, as Professor Charles-Hugo Marquette specified, the current COVID-19 vaccine protects against severe forms of the virus but does not prevent being a carrier of this virus. This is why, similar to the polio vaccine, they wish to implement a mucosal vaccination, preventing the virus from being spread at the digestive mucosal level, which would stop the epidemic.
In addition to the invitation to make a €10 donation for AVENI, other events are organized whose proceeds will be entirely donated to AVENI. A virtual marathon organized between November 19 and 28, with registration fees of €2 entirely donated to AVENI, as well as the Haribo Run, a race for children aged 8 to 11, organized on Saturday, November 27 by Haribo, the official partner of the Alpes-Maritimes marathon.
In the meantime, see you on November 28 at 8 a.m. on the Promenade des Anglais for the start of the race.
