Hundreds of swimmers, runners and walkers will gather in Villefranche-sur-Mer this weekend for the fifth Marinières en Rose, with all funds raised going towards support services for women receiving breast cancer treatment at Monaco’s Princess Grace Hospital.
Taking place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October at the Plage des Marinières, the annual charity event will bring together open-water swimming, aquathlon, walking and children’s races as part of the wider Octobre Rose breast cancer awareness campaign.
Created in 2022 in memory of Isabelle, who died from breast cancer, Marinières en Rose has raised more than €26,000 since its launch. Last year’s edition attracted more than 500 participants and generated over €11,000 in donations.
All proceeds from this year’s event will again be donated to the Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace to help finance supportive care for breast cancer patients. This includes services such as sophrology, yoga, massage and music therapy, as well as wigs and adapted underwear-assistance that can play an important role during treatment but is not generally reimbursed.
“The treatments save lives, but they are physically and psychologically exhausting,” said event founder Patricia Plessis. “These forms of support help women remain standing, preserve their dignity and find the physical and mental strength to continue fighting.”
A full weekend of events
The programme will begin at 2pm on Saturday with the opening of the event village, registration and race-number collection.
The Relais de la Rade, an open-water swimming relay consisting of three 500-metre sections, will start at 3pm. Children aged between two and 12 will then take part in the P’tits Roses races from 4pm, with distances adapted according to age. An awards ceremony will be held at 6pm, followed by the Apérose and barbecue at 6.30pm.
Sunday’s programme will begin at 8am with the one-kilometre and three-kilometre Traversée de la Rade open-water races. A five-kilometre solidarity walk will leave at 10am, followed by the Mini-Rose aquathlon at 10.15am, combining a 200-metre swim with a 1.5-kilometre run.
The Maxi-Rose will begin at 11am, requiring participants to complete the same swimming and running course three times. The weekend will conclude with an awards ceremony at 12.30pm.
The event is organised by Team Lafage Organisations and the City of Villefranche-sur-Mer. Online registrations are available through marinieresenrose.com, with limited registration potentially available at the event subject to remaining places.
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Photo source: Marinières en Rose