Paris Marathon: A love letter.

It’s only been 36 hours since I landed, now I am leaving you again. In those 36 hours, you have held me captive once again, as you have in my early and late 20s. I’ve had the best time living here (carefree) during a typical American Study Abroad – ‘studying French at the Sorbonne’. Now, I’ve just turned 41, with different goals in life, including rekindling my love for you by running through all the sights, pounding the pavement to the beat of your sounds. I breathe you in once again (this time, huffing and puffing) – all 26.2 miles of you!

Pre Race

From the airport, I went straight to the Expo to get my bib and took some pictures.

I chose to stay in Montmartre, my favourite neighbourhood, maybe even in the Top 5 favourite places I’ve ever been to. Even just a simple room with a shared bathroom would do, as long as this was the view.

I then walked over to Sacre Coeur, which I find more structurally interesting than the Eiffel Tower and it still gives me the same feels as it did years ago. I walked over to Place de Tertre to enjoy a glass of wine and people watch whilst I wait for my pasta dinner reservation.

At Tentazioni, it was a truffle pizzette and linguine with pesto and burratta. Sadly, I had no room for dessert. Back to the room to lay down and rest the legs.

At the Race

On Marathon Sunday, my alarm went off at 6 am. I had a bit of time as start time was 11 am, a bit late I think and almost high noon! Breakfast at 730, I was the only one in the dining room, too early. It would be sacrilegious not to have a croissant before the race. After breakfast, the usual prep ensued. I packed my stuff and managed to ask the hotel to let me use a shower when I got back after the race, even if I had already checked out.

Then it was time to get to the Start Line at the Arc de Triomphe. From Abbesses to Pigalle to CDG Etoiles. And there it was… there was no warning of what grandeur would appear upon emerging from the Metro. The Arc de Triomphe in all its glory! And this is where I will start running from.

Coming a bit earlier, I managed to wee 3 times! Yep, that’s right. I went back to back to back on the queue to wee – this proved very useful later on (preview: I did not stop to wee during the race!). Also, I was a bit ambitious and was on the 4:15 corral but then had a tattoo for 4:45 pacing.

Then it was cinq, quatre, trois, deux, un… Allez! First there was the Concorde/Obelisk followed by the Place Vendome then a loop around Opera Garnier followed by the Louvre. This was just the first 5 kms! And I had to stop and take a picture at the Louvre (1 of 2 planned photo stops).

Then it was running like mad and actually keeping track of every 5 km. I went a bit too hard in the beginning and thought ‘just keep buying time,’ and time I bought indeed which I started using up by the 30th km. Also, my brain started to struggle switching back and forth from the kilometres on my tattoo and the race markers AND also looking at miles on my Garmin and hourly time equivalents, keeping an eye on my pacing. This was all happening when any sugar I was taking in was going to my body not my brain. (Remember the guy who played chess whilst running a marathon? Yea I can’t do that.)

When I saw the July Column a second time around, I screamed ‘Bastille!!!’ to psych myself up as we were about halfway and running along the Seine was coming at the next turn. The Seine segment was what caught me by surprise, yes studied the course but failed to find out about the tunnels! There was one very disorientating tunnel and several down and up tunnels. This was when I started to lose focus and also could only go halfway up the uphills and walked a bit to get to level ground.

And just when I was really about to lose it, just as planned at 18 miles, I put Daft Punk Alive 2007 on full blast. How could I not? It would be sacrilegious yet again to not pay homage. Plus it has been my treadmill hill training.

Oh the only other planned photo stop…

At this point, I knew what was coming. Watching the course video 10x, 35 km was where the killer is. At the Bois de Boulogne, uphill with tired legs was not very kind. (As if this was a scornful punishment for not coming back sooner). This was hard and the only time that I hit 12 min miles. But I also knew that it is only the 6 km that is uphill, the very last 2 km is all downhill… all the way to the Finish Line.

And gun it I did, especially the last kilometre. By this time, Plan A (4:45:00) had already come and gone. However, I was determined to break my 3x 5 hour curse. And it was you Paris that had done it! I finished at 4:55:20. And I could not be any happier. Especially with only 7 weeks of training. AND the right knee was tight but did not bother me throughout the run! Win.

Post Race

After hanging around to take pictures, it was time to get back to Montmartre. How good to be able to shower, but this is also the point where I discovered where all the chaffed areas are. I also discovered I’ve sacrificed one little toenail.

Then as planned, off to the kebab shop for a Mixte plate and yet another surprise… Mojito flavoured 7Up?! And right before jumping on a train, one last stop for a glass of bubbles to celebrate not only the day’s accomplishment but also…

1) Passing Physics

2) Turning 41 and running my 11th marathon

3) Raising £1456 for Cancer Research UK!

Oh Paris, this was sooo much fun! You had me once and you had me once again.

Biggest surprise yet…

During the mad dash to the airport and queueing up at Passport Control, I immediately stopped and asked ‘Excuse me, are you Olly?’ ‘Yes’ ‘Hi, my kids, we, absolutely love you at our house!’ This is an amazing 11 year old guitarist – check him out on Youtube! I chatted with him and his mum, they were just coming back from Paris Disneyland. I asked about his upcoming gigs and if I could get a picture with him for the kids. This was probably more exciting than the medal around my neck.

A Special Note of Thanks.

A massive thanks to friends, family, and colleagues for sponsoring me during this run and donating to the Cancer Research UK. Altogether, we raised £1456 in 7 weeks AND without social media. I am very grateful for your love and support.