Image

The teams taking part in the Pasteurdon races – the 2026 editions of La Parisienne and the "20km de Paris" in September and October – have now been finalized. 

Once again this year, some 120 Institut Pasteur staff members have seized the opportunity to take part in these prestigious events, combining their passion for research with their love of sport and challenging themselves to reach new heights. Wearing the colors of Pasteurdon, they will be the best flag-bearers for the campaign over every kilometer of the routes they will be running. Their commitment to research will be clearly visible as they rise to the challenge, seeking a personal best or just some wonderful shared memories.

We wish the runners all the very best as they prepare for the big day!

•    "La Parisienne" race – September 13, 2026
 

Image

An enthusiastic team of female Institut Pasteur staff members are preparing for a race that is a firm fixture in the sporting calendar – La Parisienne. The theme of this year's edition of the festive women-only event is "Amazons." Some 60 runners from the Institut Pasteur will serve as ambassadors of Pasteurdon, flying the flag and embodying the messages of the campaign.

For this 29th edition of La Parisienne, the route will cross central Paris and take in several emblematic monuments. Participants can complete 7 or 10km, walking or running, and enjoy a great atmosphere right from the start line under the Eiffel Tower, on the Pont d'Iéna.

On September 13, they will be demonstrating how far they are willing to go for research! Why not come along and cheer them on?

Testimonials from Institut Pasteur staff running for Pasteurdon, visit to the Institut Pasteur by coordinators of La Parisienne
 

Image

“I discovered running in 2017 with Team Pasteur. Since then, I have enjoyed endurance sports: I find them a mental challenge, a chance to push myself beyond my limits, and a source of great joy. It’s a path that mirrors that of research, involving perseverance, setbacks, progress and achievements. 
Quite naturally, I joined the organising committee for La Parisienne. For me, it was an opportunity to send a strong message in support of women’s visibility in science and to raise the profile of the launch of the Pasteurdon celebrations. 
Every year, we deploy our energy and enthusiasm. Behind the scenes, the preparations are a time for sharing, teamwork, creativity and social connections between women at the Institut Pasteur.
Sport has helped me develop my ability to communicate and listen. I’ll therefore be there to support you and coordinate the Corporate Challenge during La Parisienne, where we’ll fly the flag for Institut Pasteur research – always in the top 10! "

Olinda Alegria-Prévot  research engineer
 

Image

“As a Pasteurian, athletic and runner in previous years, I have just joined the organising team for La Parisienne race. Once a year, we run for the Pasteurdon, which helps to advance research. The number of female runners is growing year on year, which shows just how popular this sporting event is – it combines the values of sport and research in an incredible atmosphere throughout the race. It’s a time for Institut Pasteur staff to come together and share a common cause, but it’s also a corporate challenge, so come and support us !!”

Valérie Lorin, research engineer

Image

“Like Valérie, I have taken part in several editions of La Parisienne and this year I am joining the organising team. Motivated by the challenge of the corporate event and the desire to run in support of Pasteurdon, I wanted to get involved once again this year in this wonderful adventure, which has now become an almost unmissable event that combines sport and Institut Pasteur research!”

Fabienne Dupin, cadre administratif

 
•    "20km de Paris" race – October 11, 2026
 

Image

On October 11, during Pasteurdon weekend itself, the latest Institut Pasteur team will take to the start line, particularly excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the campaign. They will be taking part in the "20km de Paris," a prestigious event known the world over, which attracts nearly 50,000 runners to the French capital every year.

A total of 66 runners from the Institut Pasteur will be rising to the sporting challenge. From 8am on October 11, they will head for the Institut Pasteur stand in Emile Anthoine stadium, which will also be decked out in the colors of Pasteurdon.

New this year 
The race organizers have invited a group of Institut Pasteur staff to form a relay to push an all-terrain wheelchair (or "Joëlette") for the race on October 11 in support of a Institut Pasteur cause which is still being finalised.
 

Testimonials from Institut Pasteur staff running for Pasteurdon, visit to the Institut Pasteur by coordinators of the “20km de Paris”
 

Image

 
"As a woman at the Institut Pasteur and a keen runner, supporting Pasteurdon was a no-brainer – it's a chance to put my energy to a good cause. With our team of more than 60 runners, including eight pushing an all-terrain wheelchair, taking to the start line of the 2026 "20km de Paris," we are standing up for our values and helping advance research through our determination."

Mallory Perrin-Wolff, Head of SPAIS

Image

"For the past eight years, I have been an enthusiastic supporter of Pasteurdon, a cause that is particularly close to my heart. As a keen runner and a member of the Institut Pasteur's running team, it has been a pleasure for me to assemble a group of colleagues, more and more each year, to proudly represent the Institut Pasteur in the 20km de Paris. At the start we were just a small group, but now we are a huge team, with a record number of runners, more than 70, taking part in 2026. Over and above the sporting aspect, this is a wonderful opportunity to bond as a team, to share a moment of solidarity and collective pride. Every year I am aware of just what it means to see the Institut Pasteur community gathering together on a Sunday morning under the Eiffel Tower, united in support of the same cause."

Gauthier Dulary, Head of the Security Department

Image

“It is always a great pleasure to get involved in the Pasteurdon and to run the 20 km race in Paris with a team of enthusiastic, supportive and committed pasteurian staff. In 2026, more than 70 of us will be taking part in this wonderful race to represent the Institut Pasteur. Beyond the sporting challenge, our participation will demonstrate our commitment to our institute, its values and its various missions in public health research and the dissemination of knowledge.”

Marc Lavigne, researcher

	On June 10, a delegation of four representatives from the organizing committee of the "20km de Paris" race – president Didier Eck, treasurer Marie-Hélène Dieleman, logistics and safety manager François Le Doussal, and public relations officer Mari-Vorgan Foirest, were invited to the Institut Pasteur campus to speak to several scientists who are also keen runners and have taken part in previous editions of the event.  They were treated to a presentation of the Center for Technological Resources and Research (C2RT) and the Mass Spectrometry for Biology Technology and Service Unit (MSBio UTechS) with Julia Chamot-Rooke, followed by a discussion about the Department of Global Health, an introduction to the research on viral infections conducted in Hervé Bourhy's laboratory and a presentation by Thomas Obadia of his research into the epidemiology of infectious diseases, especially malaria. They also discussed mitochondrial diseases, with explanations from Timothy Wai, and Nicolas Wolff spoke to them about neuroscience and structure research using the Titan microscope. The laboratory tours concluded with a discussion with Benoit Chassaing, Eva Chatonnat and Héloise Rytter about the microbiota. This was an opportunity for the delegation to gain an inside view of the sheer diversity of research at the Institut Pasteur and the passion that drives its scientists on a daily basis to play their part in improving health. Aware of the scale of the Institut Pasteur's participation in the 2026 race, the organizers offered the team the possibility of pushing an all-terrain wheelchair (Joëlette) in aid of health research on October 8. In 2020, during the pandemic, the 20km de Paris organizers made a major gesture by offering a significant reduction in the registration fee for the race, held in an online format that year, to support the Institut Pasteur's COVID-19 research (see the newsletter from October 16, 2026).   Image