Trail challenge in Cotentin

Maxime BUCHER, 36 years old and engineer at Naval Group…always sporty and having started running 6 years ago…after a long period without sport.
– Tell us how the challenge went for you
The challenge went really well! I was lucky enough to do the sunrise on Gatteville/st Vaast and Barfleur on paths that I knew very little about! What I loved was the team challenge/relay that we did together because usually competitive running is rather individual!
– What you discovered / what surprised you
What I discovered was the beauty of the Val de Saire and the friendliness of the other athletes, the film crew and the people who work at the tourist office who were fully behind this challenge!
– What you liked the most
Sunrise, team spirit and promoting this beautiful region!!!

Max

"One of us grew up in the Cotentin, the other with sneakers on his feet on the trails. When we met, we shared what was dear to us. 

Last June, this led us to this adventure, which allowed us to discover new trails and create links with other enthusiasts, all under a beautiful Normandy sun. 

We walked a section of the GR between sea and countryside, with its share of fields and forests, small ports, and historical memories.  

Sharing this relay as a pair and being able to follow and encourage the other runners helped make this experience unique!”

Chloe and Martin

My stage from Sainte-Mère-Eglise to Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte has the particularity of being the only stage of the Challenge during which we do not go along the sea. Water is not absent, however, because part of the route crosses the marshes of Cotentin and Bessin, grass in the summer, water in the winter.

The departure is from the church of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. Small roads and paths allow you to cross the marshes to Picauville with a landscape that is sometimes open for several kilometers around, sometimes hedged, very flat overall. The second part, slightly hilly, takes more paths and sunken lanes through a hedged landscape.

I particularly appreciated:

– the passage on the Prussian Road, just after the town of Chef-du-Pont, straight ahead with hedges on each side and fields that had just been mown.

– crossing the Douve marshes, just before going up towards the village of Pont-l'Abbé-Picauville

– the arrival at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte with the castle that we can see from afar and at the foot of which we pass

Pierre

I am 47 years old, married with 2 children. I have been practicing endurance sports since I was 10 years old.
Submariner for 16 years where practicing sport was very difficult or even impossible depending on the missions.

I was surprised by the change of scenery between the forest of Saint-Sauveur le Vicomte and the arrival in the port of Port-Bail-sur-Mer.

My main memory of this trail challenge in Cotentin will remain a huge human exchange in a fantastic setting.
Throughout the day I really enjoyed the sporting but above all human exchange with other enthusiasts without being in a competitive setting.

Christophe

My name is Camille levos-loriot, I am from urville-Nacqueville, I am 37 years old and I have 2 boys aged 4 and 8 who are already great athletes 🥰. I am a pharmacist in Querqueville.
Before starting running, I spent 15 years windsurfing at a national level, with Urville-Nacqueville being a great spot.

The challenge :
I loved the experience, which was both human and sporting. This challenge allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and it allowed me to share my passion for trail running and nature with other trail runners who are as passionate as me.
I loved discovering a new part of the Normandy coast because even though I am a native of the Cotentin I still have so many beautiful landscapes to discover. I did not know the portion that we ran with Bérengère (barneville-/sciotot) and despite the difficulty of the terrain due to the dunes the experience remains unforgettable, we were amazed 🤩. We are very lucky to train in such landscapes.
The duo that we formed with Bérengère was also a beautiful human discovery and since that day we run together 😁😁. A friendship was born thanks to this challenge :).

To conclude, I loved everything and I would do it again with great pleasure.
When do we start again anyway 😁??
Thank you so much for thinking of me.

Bérengère Dumont, I am 38 years old and I am from Cotentin.
I have been trail running for 6 years with the aim of running races of 50 to 80 km.
The challenge allowed me to discover a portion of the GR 223 that I didn't know and to meet other runners from the region, notably Camille, with whom I ran during my stage and with whom I now run regularly!
We discovered magnificent landscapes, in particular the port of Carteret, the cape of Rozel and the beach of Sciotot but we also suffered a lot in the dune sections!!
It's a great experience to run for a collective and also to see the film crews in action!

Aurore and Vince: A passion for trail running in the heart of Cotentin

We are Aurore and Vince, a duo of trail running enthusiasts living in Cherbourg. Our playground? The coastline and the lands of the Cotentin. Vince has been trail running for 15 years, with impressive performances over distances of up to 200 km. For her part, Aurore started 4 years ago and has already run up to 75 km.

The Cotentin trail challenge: a memorable night-time adventure
During this challenge, we took on a real challenge: running a portion at night. Leaving at 1am was not insignificant for us who are rather early to bed! We were accompanied by our friends Jérôme and Mélanie, now living in Reunion Island.

This night trail was fun. We recognized many familiar places where we regularly train, even if for Aurore, the darkness makes it a bit difficult to find her way 🥴 Despite this, we managed to keep a good pace to respect the timing, while sharing many laughs along the way, thank you Jérôme!

Running at night: a soothing pleasure
We love the unique atmosphere of night races. The ambient calm and the beam of the headlamp, which reduces the field of vision, create a bubble where one feels soothed ... and sometimes frightened by the sounds of nature 😅

This Cotentin trail challenge was a moment of complicity.

And you, have you ever tasted the magic of night trail running?

Aurore and Vincent