Venice, the United States, the islands or… the “Alsace Grand-Est by UTMB trail”! Each couple has its own pleasure to decompress from the wedding. Far from the beach and other getaways, Céline and Stéphane Schneider, 45 and 54, will set off Friday evening from Colmar (Haut-Rhin). For nearly forty hours of adventure together in order to tackle the 175 km and 6,200 meters of elevation gain of the route to Obernai.
A “100 M” programmed only six days after saying yes, yesterday, in Griesheim-près-Molsheim (Bas-Rhin). Coincidence of the calendar? No way. The two “first registered” for the race before deciding to add the ceremony to the program. “But don’t post the article until Saturday because our guests don’t know they’re coming to a wedding. They think it’s our birthdays and we’re going to surprise them by stopping at the town hall on the way to the restaurant”, explains the bride, who will then be ready for what she calls “an ultra-wedding trail”. .
Certainly, the project seems original. But for the duo, it almost seems logical. “We met at the vineyard marathon nine years ago, we run a lot and then we go to places we know by heart like the castles of Haut-Koenigsbourg and Hohlandsbourg. It’s going to be fantastic, we couldn’t ask for more! “, she savors.
On one condition perhaps: that everything goes well between the lovers, not used to going at the same pace. Not over such a long distance in any case, precisely never traveled by the professional nurse. “It will be a real challenge for him not to exhaust himself waiting for me and me to tear myself away so as not to slow down too much and miss the time barriers. It’s easy to run alone because you take a break when you want. But there, it will be necessary to manage fatigue, to listen to each other, always in osmosis. It’s a real test of couple and if we pass it, we left together for life, “laughs the forty-year-old, who had started running “to help me quit smoking” .
A distinctive sign on their bags
So she found a new husband there, without ever touching tobacco again. Running is now an integral part of the daily life of the Alsatian couple: even when it rains, they find a way to train! “We set up a small gym at home with an exercise bike, another elliptical and a treadmill,” explains the plastics worker. And often on weekends, they meet up with their friends to put on sneakers together. On times or not. The two have already completed, each on their side, “The Infernal trail of the Vosges” or the very famous “Diagonale des fous” in Reunion. Among others.
With their bibs 596 and 514, this time they will be at home or almost. “The start is given a few hundred meters from my place of work”, smiles Céline Schneider, who will be part of the fifty or so women registered on the 639 brave at the start. The couple will be recognizable. Not running around in a suit or a dress. No, the distinctive sign will be on their bags. “A colleague embroidered a ”Just married” badge for us! »