Marine Thevenet - Juneru 8C - The Journey

Juneru – 8c/v15 – has taught me a lot about my climbing and reminded me that, for me, climbing is the most collective of individual sports.

When you succeed in one of your projects, you inevitably think about all the things that made it possible.

For Juneru, the answer is simple: others.

Trying Juneru:

The first time I tried Juneru, in October 2023, was because my friend and I motivated each other, even though we were both intimidated by the grade. We looked at each other and said, “Come on, it’s too beautiful, let’s try it, we don’t care if it’s too hard.”

I wouldn’t have dared to try it on my own.

Photo Credit josephhallepee

Training for Juneru:

Before going back to Spain, I knew I needed to change my training a bit to be stronger for the bouldering. I asked a friend to help me to structure my sessions. Without her, I never would have been able to focus so much on preparing for just one project, and to accept that I was crossing all of France just to try a single boulder.

Drawing inspiration for Juneru:

I’m surrounded by amazing friends and climbers who inspire me every day. I see them pushing themselves in their own projects and share their successes and failures with them; we discuss their climbing styles and their views on climbing and performance. I’m not talking about a “quantifiable” performance in terms of grades, because I’ve never defined a climber’s value by a number and a letter, but by the capacity to push their own limits and be proud of themselves. By the ability to invest in something that motivates them.

Thanks to my work as a sports agent, I’m also surrounded by athletes I admire and support.

For Juneru, I’ve drawn strength from all of this. It’s thinking about my athletes who dedicate their lives to their sports for motivation; it’s doubting myself and reaching out to a friend in another country for support and advice on my boulder; it’s knowing whether she’s done some nice runs in her own project; it’s understanding that others doubt too ; it’s encouraging and supporting each other.

The after Juneru:

What I take away from it all is the support of my friends and loved ones before my send; it’s the beers shared in the evening to celebrate my send; it’s the hangover the next morning; it’s the messages from my friends.

Juneru is all of this.

It’s daring to try, no longer thinking about the grade, surrounding yourself to succeed, drawing inspiration from others, sharing with them, and being eternally grateful for them.