On July 29th, Herve' Leconte, a 57-year old resident of El Dorado County, will begin his 12 day, 500 mile run, from Sonora in Tuolumne County, ending his final leg of the run in Siskiyou County. Herve' will travel through 15 rural counties of Northern California aka State of Jefferson that encompasses a total of 21 counties.
Herve' is a native of France, becoming a proud American in 2000. He and his wife Julie, became immediate supporters of Jefferson in 2015, after attending a State of Jefferson El Dorado County Town Hall. Herve' appreciates the freedom and liberty that is America and that emphasized and supported by the State of Jefferson. Additionally, Herve' is more appreciative and knowledgeable about the Constitution than many Americans.
Herve' was raised in a Parisian suburb called Malakoff, which to this day is still run by the Communists. He has seen firsthand the many faces of Socialism and Communism. Growing up, he remembers his French mother tearing up, when she told the story of being liberated on D-Day by Americans/allies. His French father also recounted many stories from experiencing the German Occupation of France, leaving Herve' with a deep understanding of Tolaterian regimes and a reverence for Freedom.
Herve's love for running began in 2013, after joining Julie at her gym. Once he discovered the treadmill, he began running and discovered that he loved it so much that he never wanted to stop. Julie will tell you, Herve' has a very active mind and is always busy and found that running actually calms his mind and gives him peace or perhaps his form of meditation.
He soon jumped into the world of Ultra Running and enjoys every minute. He scoffs at those who consider that running long distances is extreme. Some might find that Herve's early history is even more extreme, when told that in his youth he participated in the annual epic Paris-Dakar, where he traversed the Sahara Dessert alone on a Yamaha 500 XT with only maps and a compass.
Today, Herve' has put his hobby of running to good work by using it to raise funds and awareness for various causes that are dear to his heart. Herve' has done numerous runs for law enforcement, first responders and military families. In fact, Herve' is the Chairman of the Board for a local non-profit called Military Family Support Group and he and his wife work tirelessly to help veterans and military families in their community
In May of 2017, Citizens for Fair Representation dba State of Jefferson, filed a lawsuit against the State of California for lack of representation and dilution of vote. For over three years the California State Legislature has ignored these rural county citizens requests to return to the fair/equal representation that existed, prior to 1964, when just about every county had one State Senator representing the concerns and needs of their constituents.
Currently, California's population is just under 40 million, represented by 40 State Senators and 80 Assembly members. The same number of representatives that in 1862 represented 416,640 people.
Claimants state: “California's refusal to increase its level of representation to reflect its exponential population growth is both arbitrary and unconstitutional.”
Because Herve' firmly believes that Liberty & Freedom are the building blocks of the American way of life, as is proper representation, he felt there was no better time or cause to once again put on his running shoes.
Herve' stated: “This is why the “Run for Representation” is so important and I am determined to bring more awareness to both the Citizens for Fair Representation and the State of Jefferson movement and do all I can to make it a reality”!
# # #
Herve' Leconte – Run for Representation
Hervé was born in Normandy, France in 1960, but was raised in a Parisian suburb called Malakoff which is still to this day run by the Communists. So he has seen firsthand the many faces of Socialism and Communism!
His French mother was liberated on D-Day by Americans/Allies – the family farm she was raised on in Normandy had been commandeered as a German command post. His French father recounted many stories from experiencing the German Occupation of France, so he has a deep understanding of Totalitarian regimes and a reverence for Freedom.
Hervé became a proud American in 2000. His children helped him study to pass the citizenship exam. The US Constitution is appreciated by this man in a way that most American natives can never do.
In 1986, he met his future American wife, Julie, at the Los Angeles Olympic Games: She was a volunteer crowd director for the soccer event at the Rose Bowl Stadium and he happened to be a spectator. In the crowd of 117,000 people, they ended up standing next to each other, began a conversation, and have been together ever since! Their first two children were born in France and then they immigrated to the US (1989) and had two more children in Julie’s native California.
In 2013, Hervé decided to join his wife at her gym to see what it was all about…he started out stretching and moving slowly eventually finding his way to a treadmill. Once he began running, he discovered that he loved it and never wants to stop! Hervé has a very active mind and is always busy…he found that running actually calms his mind and gives him peace. He does not run with music – no headphones!
Pretty soon he jumped into the world of Ultra Running and is enjoying every minute. When some have suggested that running the long distances he does is considered extreme, he scoffed at that notion. Not surprising when you consider that in his youth, Hervé participated in an epic annual road rally called the Paris-Dakar where he traversed the Sahara Desert alone on a Yamaha 500 XT with only maps and a compass to guide him! In his heart, he has always enjoyed ‘extreme’!
Flash forward to today. Hervé runs for enjoyment, but puts his hobby to good work by using it to raise funds and awareness for various causes that are dear to his heart and showing appreciation for the liberties that we Americans are privileged to enjoy.
Hervé is Chairman of the Board for a local non-profit called Military Family Support Group and he and his wife work tirelessly to help veterans and military families in their community.
During the King Fire in 2014, Hervé determined to show his appreciation for fire fighters and law enforcement – all first responders – and made signs of gratitude which he displayed for hours each day at the same spot on a local highway traversed by all on their way to and from the fire. His photo was featured in national newspapers across the country and online.
On July 4th, 2016, he ran to raise awareness about the challenges that our veterans face and that Freedom isn’t free.
10 days later, after the murder of five police officers in Dallas in July, 2016, Hervé dedicated a run to raising funds for these 5 officer’s families.
Hervé recently heard about a local sheriff’s deputy who was also an Army veteran who was raising money for his canine to become a K9 deputy and he ran to raise funds to help.
The following is some of his Run History to date:
May 19, 2017: 130 miles in 37 hours (fundraising for Law Enforcement K9)
Apr 8, 2017: 150 miles in 46 hours. (Placed 15th - all ages - General classification)
Jan 21, 2017: 100 miles in 24 hours (Placed 2nd - all ages - General classification)
Aug 20, 2016: 92 miles in 24 hours (Placed 1st - all ages - General classification)
July 14, 2016: 65 miles in 17 hours (fundraising for Law Enforcement morale)
July 4, 2016: 118 miles in 28 hours (fundraising for Military Families)
Mar 31, 2016: 200 miles in 68 hours (Placed 2nd - all ages - Male classification)
Mar 28, 2015: 100 miles in 27 hours (Placed 12th - all ages - General classification)
Since Liberty & Freedom are the building blocks of the American way of life, so too is proper representation which we are not provided in many rural counties in the state of California. That is why this “Run for Representation” is so important and Hervé is determined to bring more awareness to the State of Jefferson movement and do all that he can to make it a reality!
