# TONTONS DU PACE, EPISODE 1: GRANDPA BERNARD

By Lionel Fracture · 5 January 2026 · Spé JF

<https://joliefoulee.fr/en/articles/tontons-du-pace-episode-1-grandpa-bernard>

We're kicking off 2026 with something that will be a resolution, a tribute and a guiding line for the future all at once. Maybe drag running down a little less, and instead lift up and celebrate, through our Tontons du Pace series (our pace uncles, and aunties), the old-timers, the old guard. The ones you don't see much on social media, first because they don't understand a thing about it, but also because they're probably not sexy enough for brands. Not enough reach.

But if you think about the ultimate influencer for Lionel, it's clearly Bernard. His moustache, his colourful and not always matching outfits, his passion for the Tour de France and for Marvejols-Mende, his boundless admiration for sportswomen (starting with Marie-Jo Pérec), his involvement in the local club, his vision of running with your mates, whatever the time on the clock.

So we couldn't have dreamt of a better way to launch Tontons du Pace than with the honorary president of the Ozon Courir club, 81 years old and still fired up, whether in front of his TV or behind the mic, hosting the [Printemps d’Ozon Courir](https://joliefoulee.fr/en/articles/10k-du-printemps-dozon-courir) or the Corbas 10K.\
In this video, Bernard talks about his relationship with running, the pleasure he still gets from hosting races and cheering runners on, and the surprise bib his friends gave him for his 70th birthday, on the race closest to his heart.

And since the sporting gods were on our side, we shot it on the day Jimmy Gressier was crowned 10,000 m world champion. It's a long format, no sponsor, no carbon plates, no hype, but deeply sincere and authentic.

You can watch the video [on our Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTHqH8kAspN/).

Thanks to Matthias for the hard work and the razor-sharp images.\
A thousand thanks to Bernard for his smile, his energy and the inspiration.

Long live untalented running. If you know a Tata or a Tonton du Pace, feel free to drop us a DM on Instagram to suggest them :)

Video and photos by [@mattcxr](https://www.instagram.com/mattcxr/) / Tontons du Pace artwork by [@florentgobet](https://www.instagram.com/florentgobet/)

![Grandpa Bernard, honorary president of Ozon Courir](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/7380b4806cf47a9c8a7ceb18c42e379d7f8218fe-1707x2560.jpg?w=1600)
*Grandpa Bernard*

![Bernard focused in front of his TV](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/29f9bb1395e08e320f3fdcd37441c5ca5652c706-1707x2560.jpg?w=1600)
*He's not laughing now, our Bernard!*

![Portrait of Bernard, Tontons du Pace](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/ec3f280139d4f754faa67e1612e02ef0b07192af-1706x2560.jpg?w=1600)

![Bernard at home, 81 and still fired up](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/4f81ad551bb6fb605c71abd03d5429153f921330-1707x2560.jpg?w=1600)

![Bernard on the day Jimmy Gressier won the world title](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/d16cca04690fdd2cbcee878e0381da7f3294496e-1706x2560.jpg?w=1600)
*At this point, Bernard had no idea Gressier was about to steal the 10,000 m*

![Grandpa Bernard and his passion for running](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/d5b3bdd5a3b8bd0bac5a1f34829e01e47cf7a761-1707x2560.jpg?w=1600)

![Tontons du Pace artwork, Bernard episode](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/47b1abdb2fc73c843aed660d8aa2b34603302bd3-1024x1280.jpg?w=1600)

![Tontons du Pace with Grandpa Bernard](https://joliefoulee.fr/media-proxy/images/2aurc9wy/production/18d25a5ce8ccf5833107a340ca00c016a9caf691-1024x1280.jpg?w=1600)