SR. MAYIE IN THE FOULÉE DU FESTAYRE !

"Beti gazte", always young! 

As tradition would have it, the Foulée du Festayre set off on Wednesday July 10, as a prelude to the opening of the Bayonne 2024 Festival. A pedestrian event (run or walk) linking Biarritz to Bayonne via Anglet, based on the values of benevolence, inclusivity and sharing, and a celebration for all participants, able-bodied and disabled alike. 

A new record was set for this 23rd edition, with no fewer than 8,003 runners, 3,569 walkers and some sixty joëlettes. 

And, aboard one of these joëlettes, Sr. Mayie Etchelet, Servant of Mary!

An initiative of the teams at EHPAD Mariama, the Notre Dame du Refuge retirement home in Anglet, in collaboration with the reception center of  unaccompanied minors (MNA), both managed by the association Missions Père Cestac, who wanted to share the atmosphere of the Bayonne Festivals with their residents, notably by taking part in the Foulée du Festayre. And this wasn't the only way for them to take part in the Fêtes, since on the same day, an espadrille-throwing competition was also organized on Mariama's terrace, followed by a convivial snack.

So, in the early hours of the morning, surrounded by her 8 team members (support staff, nurses, care assistants and 4 young MNA), all of whom were "taking care", Sr. Mayie, all smiles, took her place aboard one of the Foulée Joëlette all-terrain wheelchairs. A team race within a team race, accessible to people with disabilities, and an important moment of integration for participants with reduced mobility.

All set off from the Côte des Basques in Biarritz, in the midst of a huge, enthusiastic and "a little noisy" crowd, according to Sr. Mayie. As they passed through the Atalaye tunnel, which she describes as "a hellish tunnel", she admits to having plugged her ears a little!

Along the way, she heard herself being called "Léonie", which made her laugh out loud. Indeed, it was Sr. Léonie Mouesca who was due to take part in the Foulée, but after suffering a fall 3 days before the event, she had to withdraw and Sr. Mayie took over. 

At the finish line, on the Pont Saint-Esprit in Bayonne, the team of runners was joined by a dozen Mariama residents, accompanied by their caregivers, who had come to cheer on our intrepid festayre. This was quite a challenge for the Mariama team, who had to brave the crowds to get all these people safely to the center of Bayonne.

Then, all together, they settled down on the terrace of the Victor Hugo bar, epicenter of the festivities, to share a well-deserved aperitif, to the sound of the bandas and in the middle of an overexcited crowd in red and white; "a little kir" for Sr. Mayie!!!

It was Sr. Mayie's very first participation in the Fêtes de Bayonne, "an incredible adventure and a wonderful gift in the midst of all these young people, I'm very touched", she says, "what's more, I was able to exchange ideas with Mariama's team in a different way, which brought us closer together; today, we know each other in a different way". Ongi egina (bravo) Mayie, our champion!

At 87, "I don't count anymore", Sr. Mayie keeps in Olympic shape thanks to an assiduous daily program: 20 minutes of cycling and two sessions of walking, morning and evening, in the heart of the Refuge's privileged site; not forgetting that, since 2020, she has participated every year in the Lourdes pilgrimage for the sick, invited by the volunteers of the Hospitalité Basco-Béarnaise de Mauléon.

Well done and all the best to Sr. Mayie! And good recovery to Sr. Léonie...