This is a heritage discovery event, a shorter distance of 10km over flat terrain. The idea of this race is to enable more people to enter and to unite beginners and veteran runners in a single event. A friendly, open atmosphere run through the city discovering the major sights, the prairie, the castle, the city hall, etc. (limited to 5000 participants)

The race started at the expo, and you run down a tree-lined boulevard next to La Prairie racecourse, a harness racing track. The route then headed towards the town where it circled back on itself in one large loop.

A rock band was playing keeping the atmosphere alive. Shortly you reach the water stop at the 5km mark. The route then nears the Expo in the opposite direction to the finish. Spectators were cheering, all very motivating.

The course then heads up an avenue towards the town hall. Two music bands stood playing near the town hall. When approaching the final stretch, again the spectators were vocal and uplifting. At the finish, a local team of children were waving pom-poms and the compere encouraged you right over the line.

After crossing the line, you walked for no more than a minute and were funnelled through two marquees. In the first, while waiting in line to collect your limited edition anniversary T-shirt, you could help yourself to water, bananas, oranges, and dried fruits. It’s a shame there was not a medal for the event. I would have loved to add one to my collection, especially being the 75th anniversary of the d-day landings. This would have made a lovely memento and keepsake. In the second marquee, you could savour delightful regional products provided by Bienvenue en Gourmandie.

You can read my full blog review at http://runiversityoflife.com/normandy-running-festival-and-75th-anniversary-of-d-day