Seven years after her first 42 km, the 49-year-old athlete, who lives in Pont-Saint-Martin, will participate on Sunday in the marathon of Nantes. The 100th of her career!
Only 10 French women accomplished this feat before her (according to the site specialized in the matter planet-marathon ). Cathy Léost, 49, will run her 100th marathon this Sunday 28th April, 2019, in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) . The city where she was born. Where she grew up before living in the south of France and returning to the fold in 2012, in Pont-Saint-Martin precisely, just south of Nantes.
“I really wanted my 100th in Nantes. It’s at my home. It will be festive, without taking head or chrono in sight. With twenty friends, we will be disguised to mark the coup! “
An average of 14 marathons a year since 2012!
Cathy Léost, who started running at the age of 40, entered her first marathon in November 2012, in La Rochelle. Only six and a half years ago, making her feat even bigger!
“I ran ultra-trails before the marathon of La Rochelle, like the” Saint-Lyon “(70 km), she says, with a communicative joy. I remember that it had gone really well. No slack or wall 30 km, weather clemency … I ran around 3 hours 50 minutesas on all other marathons.
Eleven in 2016, 37 in 2017, 34 in 2018 … Cathy swallows the 42.195 km races at a fast pace. The athlete, a caregiver in life, runs most of the time with the man who will become her husband: Ronan Léost , 115 marathons to his counter before that of Nantes!
She never gave up
In 2016, we met “centenarian” friends who gave us the desire to embark on this challenge, that of reaching 100 marathons too! So we participated in 2017, in England and Italy, the events “10 marathons in 10 days”, which do not exist in France. Last year, we did the same thing in Ireland. The 4 marathons in 4 days, with a significant elevation, had been very difficult …
USA ( New York ), Greece , Belgium , Spain ( Seville ) are the other tourist-sports destinations of the couple, who planned to make the Berlin marathon for the first time in April 2020.
Since she started running in 2010, Cathy Léost has kept all her bibs. She has 202 of them today, which she has carefully kept “in protective documents”.
To measure her incredible feat once again, Cathy did not give up on any of her 99 marathons. Ditto for Ronan.
“I never put myself in the red”
Despite these thousands of miles swallowed in such a short time, her body is good. Her secret?
“I never put myself in the red race to avoid injury. I consults every week a sports physio for “a la carte” care so that each pain does not become an injury. Every year, I change my soles, my sneakers to 1000 km max. I train all year long to feel and feel between 45 and 90 km per week. “
The passion of running is not about to stop at Cathy:
“I like challenges, I like to achieve what seems impossible. When I run, it’s like a session at the psychiatrist. We think, we analyze, we solve her misfortunes and we appreciate her happiness! “
