The Corrida de Houilles, officially ''Corrida pédestre internationale de Houilles'' (Houilles International Footrace), is an annual

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

that takes place at the end of December in

Houilles Houilles () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is a northwestern suburb of Paris, located from the Kilometre Zero, center ...

, France. The competition was created in 1972 by Alexandre Joly, a French politician who would later become Mayor of Houilles. He was inspired by the

Saint Silvester Road Race The Saint Silvester Road Race ( pt, Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre) is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil. Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the Brazi ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

and decided to set up his own local race in his hometown with the same format – hosting the race on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

. Initially a men's event only on a course of around , the race attracted high level competition from the beginning, with Poland's

Bronisław Malinowski Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (; 7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942) was a Polish-British anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthropol ...

winning the 1974 race the same year as his gold medal win at the

1974 European Athletics Championships The 11th European Athletics Championships of 1974 were held from 2 September to 8 September in Italy, at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results Complete results were pu ...

. Due to the race's growing popularity, the competition was divided into two segments: an elite-level race and a public race. Un peu d'histoire
Corrida de Houilles. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.Festou, Michel (2014-01-09)

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2014-02-23. Annick Loir was the first known women's winner in 1975, but a separate women's division (over around ) was not formally established until 1983. The race distances were set at for both men and women from 1996 onwards, allowing the race to serve as a qualifier for the French 10 km championships. The date of the race has not always been 31 December due to organisational restrictions, but it is usually held within the final days of the year. No race was held in 1999 due to

Cyclone Lothar and Martin Cyclone Lothar is regarded as the worst European windstorm recorded during the 20th century. Crossing France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany between 25 December and 27 December 1999, Cyclone Lothar resulted in 110 fatalities (inclu ...

. The races for 2000 and 2005 were held on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

instead. The competition gained IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status in 2013 and

IAAF Silver Label Road Race World Athletics Label Road Races are races that the World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as one of the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of ...

status in 2014.2014 IAAF Label Road Races
/ref> Top level athletes from both France and abroad have competed in Houilles.

Jacky Boxberger Jacques "Jacky" Boxberger (16 April 1949 – 9 August 2001) was a track and field athlete from France who specialized in long-distance races. He was the great hope of French middle distance running, breaking the junior world record in the 1500 me ...

had much success in the early days of the race, amassing four wins in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Morocco's

Khalid Skah Khalid Skah ( ar, خالد سكاح) (born 29 January 1967) is a Moroccan track and field athlete, winner of the 10,000 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Born in Midelt, Morocco, Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner ...

had a record eight wins from 1988 to 1997. Ethiopia's

Ayelech Worku Ayelech Worku (born June 12, 1979) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, most known for winning two World Championships bronze medals on the 5000 metres. She was born in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia province, the same region as double Olympic cham ...

is the most successful woman at the race, having won four times consecutively from 1995 to 1998. Anpther Ethiopian woman had three straight wins from 2003 to 2006

Merima Denboba Merima Denboba (born 21 August 1974 in Arsi) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner, who specialized in the 5000 metres and cross-country running. Denboba won the 2003 Oeiras International Cross Country, beating two-time champion Leah Malo ...

and Kenya's

Micah Kogo Micah Kemboi Kogo (born 3 June 1986 in Burnt Forest, Uasin Gishu District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in the 10,000 metres. He is the former world record holder in the 10 kilometres road race event with a time of 27 ...

achieved the same feat on the men's side from 2006 to 2008. The course records are 27:12 minutes for men (set by

Daniel Ebenyo Daniel Simiu Ebenyo (born 18 September 1995) is a Kenyan middle-distance and long-distance runner. Early life Brought up in Baragoi, Samburu County, having lost his father early in life to cattle rustling, he was raised by his mother and late ...

in 2019) and 30:32 minutes for women (set by

Norah Jeruto Norah Jeruto Tanui ( kk, Нора Джеруто Тануй, born 2 October 1995) is a Kazakhstani (formerly Kenyan) steeplechase runner. She won the gold medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She wa ...

in 2019).

Past winners

Key:

References

;List of winners *Festou, Michel (2014-01-09)
Corrida de Houilles 10 km

. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.

External links

Official website
{{coord, 48.9244, N, 2.1875, E, source:wikidata, display=title 10K runs Recurring sporting events established in 1972 Sport in Yvelines New Year celebrations December events Annual sporting events in France 1972 establishments in France Winter events in France