Châteaubriant: The three childhood friends will meet the Moroccan desert of solidarity

It’s the story of three girlfriends who went to school together, to college and then to Saint-Joseph High School in Châteaubriant (Loire-Atlantique). All three aged 41 and connected by a friendship of more than 25 years, the original Castelbriantaises when adults chose very different paths. Yes Aurelie is math teacher and lives close by Segre, Elizabeth working in agriculture Guemene-Penfao while’Isabella served in a Angers University Hospital Laboratory.

A trip in the Moroccan desert

From 27 to 1 October^eh November this year, the Saint-Jo trio will be reunited for a very special adventure: the Rose Trip Morocco. A feminine and united nomadic journey in the desert, where no less than 180 teams line up.

At the origin of this crazy effort, a bad turn of fate. In 2020, Isabelle l’Angevine will get breast cancer. In the midst of a pandemic, isolation and the difficulties of the disease are even more significant. But Isabelle can count on childhood friends who support her from a distance, on the phone and on video. “They were very present,” Isabelle confides with emotion. In addition to this friendly support, Isabelle draws her strength from sports. She walks every day, even when she is sick. When she feels better, she takes Nordic walking. And it was within her group of hikers she first heard about Rose Trip Morocco. When she and her friends awaken the slightly crazy idea of ​​participating, Elisabeth and Aurélie are not long in deciding, their response is almost instantaneous, they are immediately ready.

When I asked my friends if they would consider taking on this adventure with me, Aurélie said to me, “I’m not going to give up. »

Once their decision is made, everything needs to be done for the Castel roses, the name chosen by the three friends. Because this Moroccan hike is far from a health hike. It is carried out in teams of 3. Every day the crews leave the camp with them beacons goal to find.

You have to walk 20 to 25 km a day on your own.

Training in the woods in Tugny

Bows coming back always at the same bivouac where the teams sleep every night. Before resuming the road the next morning, with the necessary supply of water and food for the day.

For their first training trip, ex-Castelbriantaises of course chose … Tugny wood!

We came regularly to the Bois de Tugny to play sports when we went to high school.

Still, the sweet freshness of the Tugny tree this April has little to do with what awaits the trio in Morocco, where the temperature can be around 50 degrees at the height of the day. For those who admit to playing a regular sport, the real difficulty will no doubt be the temperature. They are impatiently waiting for the summer evacuees to practice walking in full sun. And in the meantime, they drive miles on the beach as soon as they can, to get used to getting on in the sand.

They will also need a great mind to meet the coming challenges. In addition to the cause closest to their hearts, the fight against breast cancer through support for its emblematic association Ruban rose, the Castel ‘roses will also fight for the association Enfants du désert one of the aims is to “promote the autonomy of isolated women in the Moroccan desert by offering them looms so that they can make a living from their know-how.”

To carry out their adventures, in addition to sports training, girlfriends need to find sponsors. Each team must already pay 5200 euros to participate in the race. Not to mention the extra costs, including flights to Morocco, which Castel’roses plans to finance itself. All the money raised in addition goes directly to the associations they support. Before that, Castel’roses has formed an association, a meeting point for companies that would be interested in a sponsorship approach, but also for all individuals who would like to make their contributions, even modest.

After the race, the girls plan to continue supporting their association.

If we still raise funds, we will also help the associations Arsep, the foundation against multiple sclerosis, and EndoFrance, which fights endometriosis.

Send the message

Meanwhile, the Castel ‘roses are concentrating on their trek.

The goal is not to get high on the rankings, but above all to reach the end and raise money.

Regardless of their ranking, Castel’roses will surely experience great moments of emotion in Morocco. This will be the case during the delivery of the tissues to the women in the desert, organized on bivouac. On the final day of the race, Castel’roses and all the Rose Trip teams will set off to climb a dune. The competitors all dressed in pink will form a giant human chain in the desert. A strong media approach aimed at supporting early detection of breast cancer.

The best way to convey a message that is dear to them: sports are a very valuable ally in the fight against cancer. Also friendship.

Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow L’Éclaireur de Châteaubriant in the My News section. With a single click, after registration, you will find all the news about your favorite cities and brands.