Anaïs Quemener: when running becomes vital

The pack leader 🐺

Standing at 1.52 m, Anaïs Quemener is a fighter 🥊. Her main battle? The clock ⏱️: 32'48" for the 10K, 1h11'54" at the Paris Half Marathon, and 2h28'43" at the Seville Marathon 🇪🇸—her personal bests. To coach her, she can count on the unwavering support of her dad, Jean-Yves Quemener 👨. In her day-to-day life, she works as a nursing assistant in the emergency department at Jean-Verdier Hospital in Bondy 🏥, a job she balances with elite-level training.

In 2015, at 24, while preparing for the French Athletics Championships, she was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer 🎀. Double mastectomy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy: the treatments were grueling. But stopping running was never an option 🏃: she kept walking and jogging. A few months after finishing treatment, in 2016, she became French marathon champion in 2h55'26" 🏅. She also advocates for cancer awareness, notably as an ambassador for the Casiopeea association 💗. Far from stopping there, she became French 100 km vice-champion in 2018 (9h35), then finished as the 3rd French woman at the 2019 Paris Marathon. In 2020, she founded her own club, "La Meute".

Since then, Anaïs has kept delivering performances: a second national title in 2022 (2h40'36"), first French woman at the Paris Marathon 2023 in 2h32'12", 2h29'01" at the Berlin Marathon the same year, not to mention her victory at the Mont Ventoux Half Marathon and its 1,610 m of elevation gain 🥵. In May 2026, in Ambès, she secured a third French marathon champion title in 2h37'35" 🇫🇷, the same year she also won the Corniche Marathon on Réunion Island 🌴.

A steely mindset, used to never letting go 🦾

If cancer didn’t stop her, motherhood didn’t either 🤰. Anaïs ran until her 7th month of pregnancy and resumed training three weeks after the birth of little Elyo, in January 2025 🍼. Four months later, she won the Chantilly Marathon in 2h44'36" 💨, then, five months postpartum, completed the Bretzel Ultra Tri: 5 marathons in 5 days, in 17h07 total, i.e., an average of about 3h25 😲.

She tells her story in the book "All I wanted was to run" 📕, and director Hélène Hadjiyianni devoted the documentary "Anaïs" to her in 2023 📹.

Through her commitment, her contagious smile, and her will to win 💛, Anaïs Quemener is making her mark on the running world and inspiring thousands of runners. Her next dream: to line up at the start of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. That’s all we wish for her!