L'Haÿ-Les-Roses Solidarity Cross 2026

"Whoever rubs against it gets pricked": on this course, you come to stick in a sprint against cancer in the middle of the rose bushes! 🌹

Tie your laces tight—we’re heading out for a loop in the Val-de-Marne, near L’Haÿ-les-Roses! You’ve stumbled upon a warm event, all about sharing, and organized as part of Pink October 🩷. As you’ve guessed, your bib will truly mean something here! All proceeds from the Fun Run are donated to the Ligue contre le cancer, while the funds raised through the cross help the local club develop its athletics school and grow tomorrow’s champions. Getting the heart rate up for a good cause and giving meaning to your sweat—that’s powerful! Along the way, you’ll discover an unusual place: with some 31,000 inhabitants, this town hides a unique horticultural heritage. Wondering what that barbaric word means? 🤨 It’s simple: horticulture is the art of cultivating gardens, vegetables, flowers, and trees. You could say the locals have green thumbs! It’s here that Jules Gravereaux created, at the end of the 19th century, the Val-de-Marne Roseraie, the very first garden in the world entirely dedicated to the queen of flowers. This flower is so loved that it even gave its name to the town! But when autumn comes 🍂, the flower beds give way to a whole different vibe: the park surrounding the estate turns into a playground to kick off the cross-country season.

At this Solidarity Cross, there’s something for every stride and every age! The program features a 4 km short cross (2 loops of 2 km), listed on the departmental calendar and designed for adults who want to let their speed do the talking. Men set off at 10:00, followed by women at 10:35. Several formats are then tailored to the youngest 👦: U16s take on 3.2 km, U14s race 2 km, while U12s and U10 Athletics round out the lineup on courses of 1.4 km and 950 m. And if you prefer to run without pressure, meet us at 1:00 pm for the Fun Run: open to everyone, it follows the same 4 km loop in a festive, 100% solidarity atmosphere. Pull on your shoes 👟, leave the tarmac behind, and switch to true cross terrain mixing grass and hard-packed dirt! 🌿 No need to climb Alpine peaks to feel your heart pounding 🥵. On these courses, you’ll plant solid foot strikes and heat up the engine on short sections that work your hamstrings mercilessly 🦵. The profiles are generally rolling, but the slight, well-placed false flats up and down will saw your legs off if you made the mistake of going out too fast! Between the re-accelerations and the finishing sprint, your body will be running at full tilt.

Once you’ve crossed the line and caught your breath 💨, the spirit of solidarity invites you to celebrate your good deed! Every stride on the course, every drop of sweat, and every cheer along the tape then takes on a much greater meaning. We’re not running just for ourselves or for the clock: we’re running together to move the needle and make a concrete contribution to the fight against breast cancer. To top it all off, legend has it that a runner who breaks their personal best at L'Haÿ-les-Roses keeps thighs of steel for the rest of the winter! ❄️

So, ready to give it your all for Pink October? 🩷