Hayley brings home a medal from Paris 2024!

Congratulations to Deputy Manager Hayley, from our Raised in Bristol at Felix Road Adventure Playground Nursery, who ran the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous (Marathon For All) last weekend alongside participants from over 120 countries!

Marathon Pour Tous is a mass participation marathon which followed in the footsteps of the Olympic athlete's route for the 2024 Olympic marathon. This was the first time in history that this running event was open to the public.

The route was designed to pay tribute to a key moment in French history and the French Revolution: the Women’s March on Versailles on 5 October 1789. This march was a revolutionary event in the history of contemporary France that saw several thousand women march on the palace of King Louis XVI in Versailles, forcing him and his family to return to Paris where people were facing starvation. Louis XVI never left Paris again and notably signed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens, which he had previously refused to do.

Setting out through the night of the 10th of August from the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville – Paris’ city hall, Hayley and her fellow runners crossed the capital for a spectacular and historic race against a backdrop of the region’s most beautiful monuments before reaching Versailles and then returning to the finishing line on the Esplanade des Invalides.

We spoke to Hayley this week who said although it was ‘gruelling and challenging’ she was proud to get through it and complete it. She also had the best weekend in Paris and got to watch the athletics at the Stade de France while she was there. 

Hayley got into running in 2016 after finding out her sister had breast cancer. It was her way of looking after her well-being – offering her an escape and it went from there, quickly becoming her hobby. 

What an amazing achievement to have been a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Everyone at Raised In is super proud of you Hayley – well done from us all!