Dax: Are the Pink Races heading for a new attendance record?

The Landes Committee of the League Against Cancer is organizing, in partnership with the City of Dax, the ^12th edition of the event, on Sunday, October 12

October will once again be Women's Cancer Awareness Month and the promotion of screening. After a record attendance last year, with some 4,650 participants, the Pink Runs, open to all, offers three distances (4, 7, and 10 kilometers), starting from the arenas and following the Adour River to the Bois de Boulogne, running or walking, according to everyone's desires and abilities. "This year, we didn't repeat the Nordic walking; having poles in the middle of the crowd had become a little complicated," confirms Gilles Peyrucat, who has been at the heart of the organization since the first edition. "We added a 4-kilometer walk that is open to people who need support, if they are ill or have a disability," he explains.

Registrations, which are currently slightly down, should take off in the final hours before the race, as Sunday morning promises to be sunny and conducive to collective effort. Registrations can be made online or at the Espace Ligue in Dax (1) before the race and on site on the day.

Registration fees this year are set at 12 euros, whether you register the day before or on the day itself: "Before, we had a different rate, but we realized that it didn't necessarily encourage people to register earlier. It's a race where many participants do it at the last minute." The first 4,500 participants leave with a T-shirt in the event's colors, or a scarf for children.

After a group warm-up with music from the Dax Voluntary Gymnastics Club, the first start will be at 9:30 a.m. from the Parc des Arènes. The Pink Village, at the finish line, will offer massages by physiotherapists, musical entertainment by the Los Calientes group, and refreshments. "An emotional moment at the start is also when we do the 'pink wave,' a bit like the waves in stadiums."

On the occasion of Pink October, the League Against Cancer is raising the alarm about a worrying reality: more than one in two women are unaware of the risks associated with breast cancer. The Landes region has achieved a 54.8% participation rate in organized screening, and the Foulées Roses is helping to raise awareness: "This is the objective of the event; participants are not there to beat a time, but to promote prevention and participate in research through the funds raised."

The weather, which is forecast to be fine, is also one of the keys to breaking an attendance record: "Out of 12 editions, we have only experienced rain once. In reality, the Foulées roses were created thirteen years ago, but in the year of Covid, we organized a "virtual race", during which participants stayed at home. And the following year, there were still restrictions on the number of participants, so we organized it over four weekends at the Colette-Besson stadium!"

A good illustration of the organizers' perseverance and motivation. And on the participants' side, there are new faces, but also die-hard fans: "We have a couple from Yzosse, they've participated in every edition!" Also to be commended is the exceptional mobilization of the members of Lous Hardits, the Saint-Pandelon senior citizens' club: "They're the ones who provide the bulk of the signal troops, those who put their vehicles in to block the roads all along the route!"

(1) 51, avenue Victor-Hugo, Le Paseo residence.