David Redor, 228 times at the end of his tether
Born in Nancy, trained as a lawyer and now a world traveller, he has completed 228 marathons in nearly thirty years — from the streets of Paris to the ice of the North Pole. Portrait of a man nicknamed Crazy Dave by his running companions, who has chosen freedom in a pair of trainers.
It all began in 1997, on the Parisian tarmac of a first marathon run without pretension. David was no endurance prodigy — he admits this with a smile: in his school-leaving exams, he didn't even achieve an average mark in the endurance test. On the roads of the world, he found something: the thrill of pushing himself beyond his limits, the exhilaration of travel, the warmth of a community of athletes. Since then, he has run an average of twelve marathons a year, on every continent, in sometimes extreme conditions. It was in 2004, thanks to an uncle who was a skipper, that he fell in love with Saint Martin. He lived there for several years before returning to mainland France, where he is now based.
From the peaks of Everest to Colorado
While most marathon runners are content with the world's major capitals, Crazy Dave seeks out the unusual and the hostile. His Everest marathon — the highest in the world — remains his greatest source of pride, an experience he describes as unique and formative. Pikes Peak in Colorado, at an altitude of 4,500 metres, presented him with the greatest physical challenge of his career. As for the North Pole, he speaks of it with a kind of quiet wonder: the total isolation, the silence, and the safety instructions against polar bears as race rules. And when the marathon is no longer enough, he sets off on ultras—including the legendary 100 km of Millau, which he has completed several times. His next dream? To run up the slopes of Mount Fuji in Japan. Because this crazy passion has given him much more than medals: it has taken him to the four corners of the world, to meet incredible people in places where it is not common to find yourself. Places that ordinary tourism doesn't reach, and that only running allows you to experience from the inside. For him, every start from the starting blocks is a promise of elsewhere — a way of reading the world with long strides.
Passing on the torch
Now based in mainland France, David no longer runs just for himself. So it was only natural that, after recently completing the Miami Marathon, he extended his adventure with a stopover on the island. For him, Saint Martin is also a training ground in its own right: running around the island is roughly equivalent to the 42.195 km of a marathon. And the conditions here are not easy — heat, humidity, elevation changes — which, in his opinion, makes it ideal training for preparing for races. He notes with satisfaction that the local level is very good: more and more runners are training seriously, and some are performing very well. This dynamic delights him and reinforces his conviction that the desire is there, just waiting to be nurtured. Behind the extreme runner lies a mentor who aspires to pass on his passion, convinced that the marathon is much more than a sport: "You never really know what you're capable of until you dare to cross the starting line."
