Page 80 - Bulletin, Vol.83 No.2, September 2024

best results. It's an incredible feeling, and in that sense it's a race like no other (even
our Escalade de Genève can't compare to all that combined, even though our Escalade
race/walk is also a wonderful historical and patriotic event).

The race began in 1982 on the initiative of the local gymnastics club, the
Stadtturnverein Bern. With the aim of offering a running race of great importance to the
Swiss capital, Heinz Schild and Markus Ryffel, the club's coaches, found inspiration in
the Swiss Automobile Grand Prix held on the Bremgarten circuit and named the race
the Grand Prix of Bern. Initially, they wanted to create a half-marathon, but the course
proved too complicated. They decided to opt for an unusual distance of 10 miles. The
first edition took place on 22 May 1982 and was an immediate success, with 3,139
entries, making it the biggest race in Switzerland. With a record number of participants
at the time, it had its first winner: Markus Ryffel, the trainer from Bern. The number of
participants has grown over the years, and this year over 31,000 people took part in the
race!

But don't let the title fool you: the Grand Prix de Berne is not just for elite runners.
Participants of all abilities can choose from a variety of distances, including a 10-mile
race, and there's even a 1.6-kilometre race for children. All fitness levels and age
groups will find their place in this important event feeling included. In 1991, a new 4.7km
run and walk was added to the event, the Grand Prix d'Altstadt3, and this is what we
chose for our Cité senior team, knowing that we are a group of retired people with
different levels of preparation and fitness.

The departure time had been communicated in advance, ours was 2.59pm, and that
was the precise moment of our departure. After a short walk - and here we are - in the
heart of Bern, in its old town. This is the hardest part, because it's uphill. But the friendly
atmosphere, the smiles on people's faces and their support made it easy for us. And
here we are - on the finishing line, happy and content to have succeeded, to have
conquered and to have succeeded together. It was a wonderful day, spent together,
travelling together from Geneva to Berne, sharing a meal, talking, preparing our
challenge together, and of course facing it together. And together we won!

This is perhaps the most important feeling for me, in addition to the exhilaration of this
overwhelming event and the medal received: the feeling of conviviality with the people
of Geneva, of being among them, with the seniors of Geneva. Today, I can say that it's
a feeling of unity (because it's the result of many weeks of training together, which have
also strengthened our bonds). A unique feeling. It's probably the feeling that many of us
miss when we retire. I've been lucky enough to experience this feeling on several
occasions in the course of my work, working as a team towards the same goal, for the
same organisation and the same mandate; I've been lucky enough to experience this
feeling during the election campaign with colleagues from different organisations or
departments, but united by the same values to defend the staff during the Coordination
Council elections; and I've been lucky enough to have felt a strong sense of unity (even
family) as part of the former UN Special magazine for two decades.

78 AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 83 No. 2, 2024-09

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