Toulouse. The marathon abandoned for three years, several tracks to replace it
Through Quentin Marais
Published on
“The decision is taken: it is the abandonment of the marathon for three years. »Philippe Plantade, mayor of Bruguières (Haute-Garonne) and vice-president in charge of sports at Toulouse Métropole announced that the 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of the Toulouse event will not take place.
“A carefully considered decision”
The first city councilor of Bruguières affirms it: “it is not a hasty decision. She has been well thought out“. He recalls that “the abandonment of the French Athletics Federation was a rather brutal decision”.
“We recovered under management and we realized that we had difficulties in organizing an in-house marathon, Philippe Plantade. What’s more with a growing deficit: on around 400,000 euros …”
The idea is to abandon the marathon to allow 6-7 national or international events to be held, in different sports sectors, and not just a race.
“We canceled last year, due to covid. We were not able to organize. The FFA had done it for two years, ”recalls the vice-president of Toulouse Métropole. “This abandonment was in discussion for months. The decision came within the framework of the PPI (Multi-year investment programming). “
“Why not make another chose?” “
If the Toulouse international marathon is therefore put aside, Toulouse Métropole does not intend to neglect the sports aspect. “This abandonment is compensated by a more fun pedestrian race” announces Philippe Plantade.
We are going to imagine a circuit in Toulouse or outside, or be a partner in a race, or in Blagnac, or in Tournefeuille. We’re thinking about that. We want to be present at major sporting events, such as the region and the department, to be partners with them.
Tracks are already present “on a pétanque championship, on tennis: all the sports that could make the Metropolis shine”. For the mayor of Bruguières, “the idea is to say ‘why not make another chosen?‘, differently, and to do more in other disciplines… ”
A triathlon course in Toulouse is also imagined. “It’s innovative, it would be an event, a great celebration. We wanted to innovate, and maybe in 3-4 years, we will do something else“, Adds the elected.
The finalization of the marathon has not yet been finalized. ” It will be chosen made in 15 days »Philippe Plantade concludes.
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