Chantal Langlacé à Marvejols-Mende en 1975, portant le t-shirt Spiridon – pionnière du running féminin et figure du mouvement Spiridon en France.

Chantal Langlacé, heroine of free running

Everyone knows Kathrine Switzer and the images of her clandestine run in the 1967 Boston Marathon. They traveled around the world and had a considerable impact. But the great Kathrine, Spiridon's friend, wasn't the only one to shake things up. In France, Chantal Langlacé was also a pioneer.


FROM ILLEGAL TO FRENCH CHAMPION

"In the 1970s in France, I would start under false names or clandestinely join the pelotons. I wasn't very tall, so I was able to slip in. Since I was setting good times, no one said much to me. I was also part of the Spiridon movement, which was very successful, so the French Federation didn't dare disqualify us." *

To demonstrate her commitment to the inclusion of women in her sport, Chantal wears the Spiridon T-shirt featuring the little barefoot man in each of her races. Like the one above at Marvejols-Mende in 1975.

In the 1980s, when the French Athletics Federation finally accepted women, she became French marathon champion (1982, 1984) and French 100 km champion (1984).

Today, Chantal Langlacé is 67 years old, she still runs and continues to invest in women's sport.

* Excerpt from an interview with Chantal Langlacé published in Ouest France on April 7, 2018

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