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Paris ready for Corrida Pedestre Internationale de Houilles

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With Christmas just days away and 2016 within touching distance, Paris welcomes the world to its 10km street party on Sunday 27 December. Now in its 44th edition and certified an IAAF silver label road race, the Corrida Pedestre Internationale de Houilles is amongst the top five 10km races in the world.

Now with 5-Star European Athletics Running for All status to go with it, the race has it all. A super-flat three lap course, an extremely efficient organising committee and an incredible elite field to go alongside the masses. This, however, is something that couldn’t be achieved without the hard work of some 200 volunteers every year.

So then, what was the highlight of last year’s race? We asked the Deputy Major of Houilles, a suburb of Paris that sits in one of the bends of the River Seine, for his opinion.

“Probably the duel between the Kenyan Victor Chumo and Eritrean Abrar Osman” said Christophe Gout.

“The times were very good in last year’s race as well; 28:04 for men’s winner Chumo and 31:34 for Peres Jepchichir, runaway winner of the women’s race. And of course the atmosphere was as good as ever!”

A quick flick through the history books and you instantly get a flavour of what this race is all about. Haile Gebreselassie, Benjamin Limo, Sileshi Sihine, Imane Merga and Edwin Soi have all won on the streets of Houilles. The women’s race tells a similar story, with Ayelech Worku having secured victory on four consecutive occasions just before the turn of the century.

Many of these famous names were lured to Paris by the promise of a stellar field and the chance to better their personal bests. Year on year these promises are delivered.

Given the lapped nature of the course, it wouldn’t be practical for the elite runners to line-up at the same time as the masses. The organisers therefore run the masses first, meaning the atmosphere is electric by the time the elite runners take centre stage in the dark at 16:30.

The Corrida Pedestre Internationale de Houilles isn’t just a race though. Taking place between Christmas and New Year, the race makes the most of the festive season, with a brass band and fireworks to keep both runners and spectators entertained.

2015 has been a tough year for France, particularly Parisians, but Gout believes the race will unify the people.

“After the terrorist attacks in November, the context of the race this year is very special. We are indeed one of the few races in Paris that has not been cancelled. The day will of course be very emotional.

“Having said that, we welcome the world to Paris, in particular the best African runners, who return year on year. In the women’s race, we welcome European marathon champion Christelle Daunay, who will certainly give the crowd something to cheer about.”

For further information please visit: http://www.corrida-houilles.fr/

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