a race in Valenciennes

This morning, as I walked toward Place d’Armes, the main square in Valenciennes, I realized that there was a running race of some sort going on. It seemed like some local race to raise money or something. The finish line was there, in Place d’Armes. Here are a few things I noticed;

1) No one was clapping or cheering or doing anything really at all to support or acknowledge the runners. There were metal barracades lined with people, spectators, all of them silently staring at the runners as they passed. Actually, I did see a group of people clapping once, but I think they must have seen a member of their family who was in the race.

2) I saw a guy who had just finished the race lighting a cigarette.

3) When I saw this, I was on my way to the track to have a run myself. I was wearing running clothes and running shoes. It was the first time I didn’t feel like a spectacle walking through town like that, as there were so many other people walking around wearing the same thing.