"Spiridon," the other orange jersey - LE TEMPS - An article by L-FE

Pierre Morath’s film recalls the influence of a small French-speaking Swiss magazine which, from 1972 to 1989, brought a breath of freedom to running.

Spiridon, “international running magazine,” only published 111 issues between February 1972 and June 1989 and never exceeded 10,000 subscribers. Yet, for this now-forgotten magazine, we can borrow Brian Eno’s famous quote about The Velvet Underground and Nico album (1966): “This record only sold 1,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band.” Everyone in Switzerland, France, Belgium, Quebec, and even the United States who read Spiridon created a race, a club, or simply a surge of goodwill around running. Often, they were recognizable in the pack by their orange jerseys which, like those of Cruyff’s Netherlands team at the same time, symbolized freedom, non-submission to rules and to those officials who then constricted the sport with a rigid and outdated vision. L.FE