RUNNING HEROES

Un jour d'avril 1973, Roberto De Munari se trouve par hasard devant l'arrivée du marathon de Boston. Cette rencontre fortuite allait le mener à la course à pied, puis à cinquante ans de fidélité à la revue Spiridon - jusqu'à son dernier hommage, en 2019.

En 1896, une femme grecque a couru seule les 40 kilomètres du premier marathon olympique, sans dossard ni autorisation, après que le comité d'organisation lui a refusé le droit de s'inscrire. Longtemps connue sous le nom légendaire de Melpomène, elle s'appelait en réalité Stamata Revithi.

Fils d'un mineur polonais mort de silicose, typographe à L'Équipe devenu star du stade : Michel Jazy fut la plus grande vedette française du demi-fond des années 60. De l'argent aux JO de Rome en 1960 au déchirement de Tokyo en 1964, portrait d'un champion qui a fait pleurer et exulter tout un pays.

En 1978, Yves Jeannotat interviewe Emil Zátopek à Prague pour le N°40 de Spiridon. Des citations directes, des anecdotes inédites, et une vérité simple : le plus grand coureur de son temps ne comprenait pas vraiment sa propre méthode. Et c'est pour ça qu'il était unique.

In the history of women's sport, certain names are widely highlighted, such as that of Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967. But long before her, in the 1920s, a Frenchwoman paved the way for women on the track: Lucie Bréard .

At a time when women's athletics was still a struggle, she established herself as one of the first international champions, breaking record after record and becoming the first French woman to win a gold medal at the 1922 Women's World Games , the forerunners of the modern Women's Olympics. Yet, her name remains unjustly forgotten today.

While women's running is now a given, it's essential to remember those pioneers who defied the rules so that future generations could run freely. Let's delve into the fascinating story of Lucie Bréard , an extraordinary athlete who never ran for glory, but always for the joy... and the victory. Spiridon shared an article about her in October 1983; here it is.

The magazine spiridon had published a formidable article signed by the Briton Bruce Tulloh. You have certainly forgotten him, but he is also this runner who managed to cross the United States from Los Angeles to New York, that is 4602 km, in 64 days (1969). He also wrote a book on this subject " Four Million Footstep " (of which we have a first edition). We transcribed for you the article written in June 1973. This had inspired Karel Matejvosky. You will find the illustration "Tarahumara" accompanied by the bird on a collection of our t-shirts. But it has inspired many others, we think of Born to Run by Christopher Mc Dougall which will be published in 2009, a cult book for many runners of our generation (to be found in our shop).

The great Kathrine Switzer was not the only one to have shaken up the codes of running and campaigned for the inclusion of women in marathons. In France, Chantal Langlacé was also a pioneer.