One of the participants during the 2022 Templars trail. CYRILLE QUINTARD
“We’re looking forward to it. Last year he didn’t come, everything was ready for him, we were frustrated. » Odile Baudrier, co-organizer of the Templiers, the oldest trail in France, which has taken place since 1995 in the Grands Causses regional natural park (Aveyron) and whose flagship race begins in Millau (Aveyron), Sunday October 22 at 5 a.m. 15, does not speak of a trail star but of the anti-doping controller.
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Almost every year since 1998, the organization of this race, which imposed the discipline in a geographical area with low elevation, unlike other major events such as the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) or the Grand Raid de La Réunion, with its mountainous routes, welcomed the samplers with open arms. Which is not always the case in other big events.
“From the beginning of the 2000s, we called for anti-doping controls and, in 2017, we joined the Quartz program for five years, which allowed for more health-focused controls”, traces Odile Baudrier, who created, in 2015, the Spe15 website, specializing in cases of doping in running. The Templars have had two positive cases in the past. One, in 2006, with amphetamines: the rider pleaded negligence, and was suspended for two years. The second dates back to 2015, and concerned taking corticosteroids, which was justified for medical reasons. The runner got away with a acquittal.
Ten times fewer checks than in athletics
Positive cases remain rare in trail running, a sport with global popularity, and whose long and demanding efforts for the organisms are conducive to doping. “It is a fairly recent discipline in athletics, neglected in favor of track or road races, explains Odile Baudrier, who defines herself as a whistleblower. Despite a global circuit with professional athletes, big sponsors and enormous visibility via social networks, trail running is still considered a minor sport. Today, there is a lot of money circulating in this environment. All of this constitutes incentives to take drugs. »
However, Les Templiers were among the first, in 2012, to introduce racing bonuses. This year, there will be 39,400 euros to be shared equally between men and women over the two main races of the festival (which includes fifteen, from October 19 to 22). “It seemed normal to us to redistribute the money to the athletes, who promote our sport and our race all over the world”pleads the organizer.
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