The second Golden Sands Trail announced in Omaha on August 21, 2011

The second edition of the Omaha Beach Trail des Sables d'or was announced for Sunday, August 21, 2011. Three competitive distances of five, ten and twenty-five kilometers, as well as a one-kilometer fun course, had to leave and arrive in front of the Les Braves monument in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

Laurent Guérin, head of the Omaha Beach Nature Center in Colleville and organizer under the aegis of the Trévières intermunicipality, explained that the event would no longer be limited to a race. It would include hiking, treasure hunt for children and parents, catering and entertainment in a village. Seventy volunteers had helped in the first edition; one hundred and thirty-eight were preparing the second. The organizers hoped for five hundred participants and counted about one hundred and thirty pre-registrations on the previous Tuesday, more than at the same time last year.

The newspaper gave two different figures for 2010: 237 runners in the caption of the photograph and 283 participants in the body of the text. Their respective perimeter was not specified.

Joël Routy, accustomed to long trails, had accompanied Laurent Guérin to recognize the course. After twelve kilometers in 1 hour and 15 minutes, they insisted on the necessary mental effort and the historical dimension of the event. The routes brought together Vierville, Saint-Laurent, Colleville and Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes, through many vestiges of the Second World War.

Over the twenty-five kilometers, the runners had to first follow the Braves beach to Vierville, return to Saint-Laurent, then reach Colleville through the cliffs. Country trails would lead them to Sainte-Honorine before returning from the heights to Colleville, then through the beach to Saint-Laurent. Four supplies were planned.

The morning program announced at 9 a.m. a traditional or Nordic hike of twenty-five kilometers, at five euros. At 10 a.m. the three trails had to leave: twenty-five kilometers at fifteen euros, from the juniors; ten kilometers at ten euros, from the cadets; five kilometers at five euros, from the minimums. A barbecue was planned at noon at the Eolia village.

In the afternoon, the trail award ceremony was set at 2 p.m., at the same time as a five-kilometer hike at two euros. The one-kilometer Baby & Grandpa Rally was to start at 2:30 p.m., open from the age of four with an adult or from the age of seven without a companion. The hiking and rally lots were announced at 4:30 p.m.

Postal pre-registrations with Éolia Normandie in Colleville ended on Tuesday, August 16 at midnight; online registration at omaha-beach-trail.com remained possible until August 19. Confirmation and collection of bibs were scheduled for Saturday, August 20 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., or Sunday 21 from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Registrations without prior pre-registration had to be increased by two euros.

Reconstructed or uncertain passages:
- The caption and body of the article indicate 237 and 283 people respectively for 2010. It is not established whether these are different categories of participants or a newspaper error.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/PhDoc16/2011-16Aout-Trail.jpg