Paris Marathon

The Paris Marathon is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue.

Along with the Berlin Marathon and the London Marathon, it is one of the most popular long-distance annual running events in Europe.

History

The first Paris Marathon took place in 1896. A big crowd gathered to watch 191 participants. It was run over the 40 km separating Paris from Conflans and the organisers decided to award a commemorative medal to all runners who finished the race in under 4 hours.

The distance of 40km was chosen as it was the distance separating Marathon from Athens. The current distance of the race is 42.195 km – the standard Olympic Marathon length.

This first race was won by Len Hurst from England who crossed the finishing line in 2 hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds. His prize money was 200 francs.

Modern Paris Marathon

The present Paris Marathon dates from 1976. It is normally held on a Sunday in April and is limited to 35,000 runners. It is organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. It is notable for the attractive route through the heart of the city of Paris, and for the food and drinks stations which include wine, beer, cider and oysters. It is also known for lack of crowd support, especially through the final miles around the Bois de Boulogne.

The 2006 race was the 30th anniversary, and was marked with special souvenirs for the runners. The organisers, however, were embarrassed by the theft of finishing medals by members of the public pretending to be runners. Approximately 2,000 new medals had to be minted and posted out to runners who did not receive a medal on the day.

Unlike most other marathons, the Paris Marathon requires a doctor’s note affirming the runner is physically fit to run a marathon.

The route

The race starts on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées going downhill to circle round the Place de la Concorde before turning right onto Rue de Rivoli. The route passes the Louvre, then goes round the Place de la Bastille, and down Boulevard Soult to the Bois de Vincennes. A long loop of the Bois de Vincennes returns the route into the heart of Paris. The halfway point is reached at Rue de Charenton. The route now follows the course of the Seine, passing ÃŽle de la Cité and going under the Pont Neuf, then a series of tunnels. There is a large drinks station and foot massage at Trocadéro, opposite the Eiffel Tower. The route continues along the Seine, before branching off east to eventually pass though Bois de Boulogne, emerging for the final 200 metres and the finish on the Avenue Foch.

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International Association of Athletic Federations
Paris Marathon website
wikipedia entry

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