Short version: 4:43:34

Intro: I had planned for my 25th marathon to be a bucket-list/destination marathon. Paris has always been a favorite city to visit. I had run one race here previously (Le Grande Classique) in 2010 and had a blast. My oldest daughter’s best friend had started running last year and had said that running a marathon was now on her list and that we should run together. Her husband was stationed in Germany soon after this. I mentioned that running the Paris Marathon together would be fun. Everything worked out and both of us along with her husband registered for the race. My 25th and their 1st marathon were now booked.

Pre trip: For a variety of reasons the trip was going to be a quick one, ie. leave on Thursday and fly home on Monday after the race. We had hotel points to use along with frequent flyer miles, so it was not overly expensive. We were able to book a free hotel, plus were able to upgrade to business class for the trip!

Pre race: Arrived in Paris without incident and met our friends at the runners expo after getting all checked in. The expo was large, very nice, & well organized. I even broke one of my superstitions and bought a souvenir race shirt and hat. After the expo, we went looking for pasta and found a nice Italian restaurant on the Left Bank. After a superb meal, exhaustion set in so we made our way back to our hotel. On Saturday I did my best to avoid much walking. Other than a bit of shopping, we did not venture far. Saturday evening we met up for a pre race meal of pho at a nice Vietnamese restaurant on the Left Bank. Even with dining early by Parisian standards (7:00pm) we did not get back to our hotel until after 10:00pm. I laid out my gear and turned in for the night.

Goal: No specific goal in mind. I hoped for around a 10 minute per mile pace (4:22 marathon). I mainly wanted to enjoy running through Paris & help my friend complete her first.

Gear: MM hat, InknBurn tropical print short sleeved tech shirt, 2XU shorts, throwaway gloves and arm-warmers, orange 2XU compression socks, & New Balance 769RC shoes.

Start: We all met up at our hotel for the ½ mile walk to the bag drop area. Bag drop was efficient and easy. Then we walked past the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees to the start line to take pictures before moving back to our corral. On the way back to the start corral a reporter asked me to be interviewed. I forgot which paper he was with though.

We had all signed up for 4 hours, but knew that we would not make that goal so we lined up at the back of our corral. Here’s the view looking forward & back:

As you can tell, we were pretty far from the start. When the race started, it took at least 45 minutes for us to cross the start line as each corral was started with a 5 minute gap between corrals. When we finally reached the start, we got separated and did not see each other until the finish.

A quick review of the course: The race starts at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees, the Rue de Rivoli to Bois de Vincennes. It then continues along the Seine past Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. It then leaves the Seine to go up into Bois de Boulogne before finally finishing on Avenue Foch with the Arc de Triomphe once again in full view.

Race: Since I started at the back of the corral and was trying to “go slow”, the course did not seem to crowded. Part of that was due to the size of the Champs Elysees, but even when we jogged over to Rue de Rivoli there was plenty of room to run. Running by the Tuileries Garden then the Louvre and Hotel deVille passed rapidly. Pace was a bit fast, but I felt good other than not liking running on cobblestone streets. The race then turned uphill towards Chateau Vincennes running first through neighborhoods then eventually the Chateaus parklike grounds. The wind was at our backs through here and it got pretty warm. Once at the Chateau, we turned back down hill towards the Seine, crossing the halfway point just before turning on the road that runs by it. The light breeze was in our face here and the cooling effec t was very nice. We went passed by Ile St Louis, then Ile de las Cite (Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, & Pointe Neuf), by the other side of the Louvre & Tuileres, and then into & through a couple of tunnels before emerging to see the Eiffel Tower off to the left and crowded narrow streets ahead. Once we were even with the tower, the course angled off to the right towards Bois de Boulogne an urban park similar to Central Park in NYC. I was hoping upon seeing the tower (mile 18) that I would still be in good shape, instead I was slowing down and by mile 21.5, I was even walking. Once reaching the park, I was pretty much out of gas and was mostly walking. We made our way through the park in what seemed like a serpentine pattern before finally emerging at Porte Dauphine onto Avenue Foch with the finish in sight. I was able to run the last 5K.

A little more about the course: Aide/refreshment stations were located every 5K and were well stocked with fruit & bottled mineral water. Also, lots of drum corps, bands and cheerleaders were cheering/playing along the course. Spectatators were present along the entire course also. One neat thing on the course was the continuous “blue line”. The “blue line” followed the shortest path along the course.

Finish: 4:43:34. Finish area was typical, initially crowded getting medal, finisher shirt, and space blanket. After that, on to refreshments and to the meet up area. It's a good thing we arranged a post race meet up area because I never saw them until then. My daughter's BFF finished with a 4:43:08, so we  were close together on the course but never saw one another. Her husband finished with a 4:21.

Post race: We took a few post race pictures, then walked back to the hotel. That evening we met up for dinner and ended up eating Italian again. The next morning we made our way to the airport early and were seemingly on course for an uneventful return. Just before boarding though, we were informed the plane had mechanical problems and would be delayed. After another hour, the flight was cancelled. We got rebooked, checked into our hotel, and then caught the train back into Paris and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening there.

The next day, no problems on the flight home.

Took me a minute to remember how to post them. They should be there now.

Also, if you're interested in video. They had video cameras set up to record you just passed timing mats in the last half of the race. Here is the link to my video. Caution, it is HD so you'll need a high speed internet connection.

Video

Paul

Great report, Paul - Congrats to you and your friend ~~

And holy cow on the amount of people at the start!  45 min to get to the start line?  Dang ~

And what, no French food while in Paris?  Isn't that a crime or something?

Magnifique! C'est un maraton quI est tres belle. Vous etes un Bon courir (Excuser mon mal Francais).

Guessing that Henry is NOT from Montreal

 

excellent report and race!  Pretty neat place to run and  sightsee at the same time.

Right, I'm from Toronto.

When Marj and I were in Paris we ran through many of the sights very early in the morning before the crowds.

Congrats on marathon #25.  It's neat you got to run with friends.  I enjoyed the report and pictures.

TomS

I really enjoyed your report Paul.   Thanks!!     It must have been tough resisting the urge to walk around on Saturday.    Great about that flight delay, huh?      Congratulations on your 25# & on your friends' first.   It's wonderful how this plan came together!   
Great pictures....   thanks again

great race and great report!