2023-05-16 18:28:03
The sociologist Oliver Bessy, researcher at the University of Pau, is a running specialist, author of “Courir de 1968 à nos jours” (Editions Cairn). Volume III of his work will deal in particular with solidarity races.
Have you noticed an increase in the number of running events dedicated to a cause?
OLIVIER BESSY. Absolutely. This is a trend that has only been growing for the past thirty years. In the 1990s, we saw the first races appear in support of medical research: heart disease, cystic fibrosis, myopathy with the Telethon, breast cancer with Odyssea (Pink October). Races have been added for major humanitarian or social causes, the Restos du Coeur for example. Today, we can also observe a third aspect, it is the ecological and environmental side. These solidarity races are something that works very well.
Why this enthusiasm?
It’s a way to give yourself a clear conscience, to give meaning, through an extremely accessible activity. The race is a thread that connects all kinds of people, who can put aside their problems, their social differences, the time of the test. They have thousands of reasons to run (the need to recharge their batteries, to meet people, to build an identity, etc.). The question of meaning is a recent one. I run for something that touches me.
For the organizers, it becomes important too?
Yes. Almost all major race organizers now include a solidarity component by donating part of their profits to charities. This allows them to compensate for the economic and environmental excesses of these events, but isn’t this a form of “social washing”? Now there are also the NGOs and associations themselves which directly organize their solidarity races. They chose running to carry their message because it is one of the most popular and accessible levers. It’s a strong trend in a society that questions itself, that doesn’t always want to stay only on an economic logic and asks itself the question of meaning.
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