Marvejols-Mende and Spiridon: meeting on July 20, 2025

 

On July 22, 1973, the start of the Marvejols-Mende race took place under a blazing sun, against the advice of the authorities. 153 enthusiasts contributed to the construction of a true legend. René Murat (1h21) and Denise Seigneuric (2h07) were the first winners.

Marvejols-Mende and Spiridon , the precursors

Not so long ago (the early 1970s), performance was the sole "leitmotif" of the federations that ran the small world of running without qualms. Women were not allowed to participate in road races, nor were non-licensed riders. The federations only wanted budding champions.

A handful of idealists, including the founders of Spiridon in 1972 and Jean-Claude Moulin, the creator of Marvejols-Mende in 1973, helped to break the mold by campaigning for "racing for all" and by instilling the notions of joy, sharing, and pleasure into this sport.

A community driven by an ideal

In the space of a few years, thanks to the Spiridon magazine and races like Marvejols-Mende, they brought together a community of men and women driven by the same ideal: running together (women-men-young people-former champions-neophytes).

Their motto: " Performance is fine, celebration comes first ." It illustrated their philosophy. Setting a time was no longer an end in itself. What mattered was the shared experience, the joy of running together.

Their rallying sign: the Spiridon t-shirt, which was worn by thousands of runners not only in Marvejols-Mende but also throughout Europe and even in the United States.

Run with us!

Spiridon continues today to uphold, through two clothing collections (Archive and Anthology), the values ​​of these pioneers of free running. To the humanist commitments of the Spiridonians of the 1970s, we have added attention to the environment - a historical concern of Spiridon who advocated running as a means of reconnecting with nature. All our clothing is produced in Europe (France, Italy, Portugal), in small series (to combat waste) and in recycled and ecological materials.

50 years later, let's continue to run together and celebrate a race and a movement that were at the origin of a true sporting and cultural revolution.