Valentin Pawelec was knocked down by a car and suffers from serious cranial trauma. He is 14 years old. He is, nevertheless, one of the 812 participants in the marathons des sables, proudly wearing number 326. Valentin has come with his mates Corentin Vaisy, Maxence Brethous and David Sidibe, who, like him, suffer from acquired neurological complaints. The four boys take turns on the Joëlette, a kind of chair with wheels towed and pushed by the courageous runners from the raid aventure firemen’s team. They are experiencing the race from the inside, encouraging those who are carrying them, singing with them; it all comes down to having a unique experience...
Doctor Mathilde Chevignard, who monitors them at the Saint Maurice hospital (in the Parisian region), explains: “it really does them good to experience different things. They become more autonomous, gain confidence”. This moving orange convoy is systematically welcomed by applause each time the competitors come back to the bivouac. We’ll also give you the names of the heroic firemen who have, in this way, allowed poorly children to travel the world for the last five years: Sébastien Comte, Stephane Douillard, Laurent Naudenot, Laurent Le Carre, Christophe Desrumaux, Denis Pages, Jerôme Travers, Didier Douillard, Françis Dermigny and Teddy Bosmorin.