Marathon Pour Tous 2024 - An Olympic marathon... for 20,000 popular runners
With timing but no rankings, and along a historic route that commemorates the March on Versailles in 1789, the Marathon Pour Tous invited us to run with a camera in hand and "enjoy" the race.
Following the same route as the Olympic runners in the morning, we started from the iconic Hôtel de Ville. In the first 5 km, we passed by the Opera and the Louvre, enjoying the beauty of Paris while the sun shone in our faces and the heat began to take its toll. The race was crowded, and the narrow sections forced us to almost stop at times. However, after km 2, the route cleared up a bit, allowing us to find our rhythm.
We stopped briefly at the Tuileries in km 4 to hug our biggest cheerleaders, Pau, Victoria, and Isabel, before picking up the pace again. We turned right onto the Louvre Esplanade, where we could see the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries, creating one of the most iconic moments of the race. We then ran along the Seine, with the Orsay Museum and the Eiffel Tower by our side.
Without realizing it, we had accelerated to 3:45/km, so I decided to slow down to 4 min/km; the race is long, and there would be time to push harder if energy remained at the end. From km 7, we left the Seine behind and headed towards Sèvres, famous for its porcelain. Although the crowd's enthusiasm remained high, the excitement began to wane. Night fell, and the race entered a stabilization phase.
I put my phone away and focused on running efficiently, hydrating constantly, as I had been drenched in sweat from the start. The route began to incline; of the 500 meters of positive elevation gain, half were concentrated in two key hills, one at km 20 and another at km 29. Seeing Kipchoge drop out on those hills during the morning wasn't exactly encouraging.
We faced the first hill, my pulse rose to 170 bpm, and the desire to stop appeared, but we knew that wasn't an option. We reached the top and enjoyed the descent towards Versailles at km 23. Pacing myself on the downhill was tricky; many runners "let go" with long strides, but I tried to maintain control with short, quick steps to avoid punishing my muscles too much, even if it cost me a few seconds.
As we passed through Versailles, with the imposing Palace illuminated to our right, we began the return journey. The atmosphere was lively, with numerous music bands. Fatigue was starting to take its toll, and the worst hill was yet to come, so I took a couple of gels to avoid cramps in the final stretch.
At km 27, my friend Lloyd appeared with a camera and a smile on his face. It wasn't a good sign; he had positioned himself there to capture the hill! Which was no less than 1 km at a 10.5% incline, just when many runners faced the dreaded "Wall," which in this case wasn't metaphorical. At least the organizers had the courtesy to adorn it with illuminated color arches.
We leaned forward, shortened our strides, lifted our heads, and smiled; we knew it was the last significant hill. Reaching the top, we glimpsed the tip of the Eiffel Tower in the distance and began to feel the boost of knowing that, barring any unexpected issues, the worst was behind us, and we were almost done.
We headed towards Paris, with an estimated time of 2h50min, but a hint of cramp in my hamstring made me slow down slightly to ensure a sub-3h finish without risking it. Kms 32 to 38 passed along the opposite bank of the Seine. With my phone in hand, we ran between the Trocadero and the Tower, turning towards Les Invalides.
Despite being conservative, suffering was evident, but I knew I had to endure and enjoy the finish. The last km was a hive of activity, with many Mexican and Spanish flags, including Pau's, whom I met face-to-face and unexpectedly (this was captured in one of my videos!). We turned right onto the blue carpet and the Olympic finish line, crossing it with a "beautiful" time of 2h55min, taking home an unforgettable experience and a beautiful medal
#MPT2024
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