“Where are the others?” The story of Les Runneuses

Age 7

A new country and a refuge

I was 7 when I arrived in France. I grew up in the south, through a lot of change. One thing never left me: sport. It was my refuge.

Later, studying mathematics in a system where you had to keep up, it became my balance. CrossFit first. Then the marathon, competitively.

The exchange

Montreal, love at first sight

I came to Canada for a university exchange. I was supposed to go back. I stayed. I fell for the education system here: I did my master’s and graduated top of my class.

Between exams, I ran. Sport helped me hold on, breathe, manage my emotions.

The hijab

The only one in the room

Early in that exchange, I started wearing the hijab. I knew gyms by heart. With a veil, it was a first. I was scared of how people would look at me. But the urge to move was stronger: I went.

And everywhere, the same thing. I was almost always the only one. People even told me it was nice to see a different kind of woman there. I kept wondering: why don’t the others dare to come?

The pause

When the body says stop

Sick leave forced me to put intense training aside. I turned to pilates. I went often. Very often. And an idea took shape: what if I organized the class myself?

The first class

15 women, mats and a brunch

I invited my friends, and my friends’ friends: a free pilates class followed by a healthy brunch. Fifteen came. None of them needed to be sporty. None felt out of place. They left happy, and I left certain: Montreal was missing something.

The first Sunday

The Sunday it all began

I launched a run. One post on social media. The next Sunday, 20 women showed up.

The concept: one group that mixes walking and running, one that runs continuously, a bit of strength work, then coffee together. Nobody gets left behind. That Sunday became every Sunday.

Today

360 women and a campaign

360 women in our WhatsApp group. Les Runneuses t-shirts you recognize in the street. A collaboration with the Beneva Montreal Marathon. Miles with Ciele.

And a poster campaign to finally show the women nobody saw: women who wear the hijab, mid-workout, in the middle of the city.

Tomorrow

So no woman has to ask

The question hasn’t changed: where are the others? My mission is that no woman ever has to ask it again. Creating safe places for different minorities, where everyone can move, be herself and feel she belongs.