The competition was created in 1972 by Alexandre Joly, a French politician who would later become Mayor of Houilles. He was inspired by the Saint Silvester Road Race in São Paulo and decided to set up his own local race in his hometown with the same format – hosting the race on New Year's Eve. Initially a men's event only on a course of around , the race attracted high level competition from the beginning, with Poland's Bronisław Malinowski winning the 1974 race the same year as his gold medal win at the 1974 European Athletics Championships. Due to the race's growing popularity, the competition was divided into two segments: an elite-level race and a public race.