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Paris Int'l Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Paris Int'l Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.6 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 191 [displaying comments 161 to 171]
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Chris Barrett from Southport, England
(3/5/2004)
 "Fantastic and enjoyable event" (about: 2003)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I really enjoyed this course and I hope to run it again within the next 3 years. It was well organized and there was a friendly atmosphere. | |
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Barry Smith from Sydney
(1/17/2004)
 "Outstanding event" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I loved this race! It had atmosphere during the whole day, from the start lining up on the Champs Elysee, throughout the whole course, and finishing near the Arc. Fantastic scenery to take your mind off the pain, and the crowds were continuous. I would do this again tomorrow if I could. (Excellent expo the day before as well. Catered well for lazy English-speaking runners!) | |
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Andy Walker from Guernsey
(10/28/2003)
 "Paris in the springtime" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Great start on the Champs Elysses with the Arc de Triomph as a backdrop, although a bit disorganized (as was the finish). Good undulating course: but - the huge numbers now taking part have outgrown it, meaning bottlenecks and having to be very alert at all times to avoid tripping up, etc. (see the sites day before; not much chance on run!!). Take care at slippery water stations. Tunnels by the Seine good fun when the runners gave out a roar which was amplified and echoed. Tons of bands to help you along and good crowd support. Expo excellent. | |
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Y. L. from San Francisco
(5/12/2003)
"Beats a Tour Bus!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 What a great way to see Paris! A very cool start for us casual marathoners: running down the middle of the Champs Elysee and around the fountains on the Place de la Concorde! The rest of the route is just as interesting: passing monuments, through arrondissements where tourists don't usually go, into the nice parks, along the Seine, and even through the creepy tunnels. The organization was so-so... no big deal. But do watch out for the empty water bottles, and orange and banana peels! Saw more than several people wipe out. The finisher medal is very nice. Of course, staying a few days after the race made the trip more than another wonderful visit to gai Paris. | |
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Reiko Cyr from New York, NY
(5/3/2003)
"Courage madame!! Allez-y!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The 2003 Paris Marathon marathon was great!! My husband and I came from New York City to run it (we've run NYC twice). We finished in 4h32. Organizers had to limit registration for the first time to 34,500 runners. Just over 30,000 runners finished and only 4300 of them women (14%). A lot of French men run this marathon. The average finish time 3h30 is one hour faster than the average finish time of NYC (a 1st-time-marathoner-friendly course). Key logistics: safety pins are not in the goodie bag, so bring extras or look carefully at the expo. The start at Arc de Triomphe is corralled by predicted time and each corral has only 4 porto-johns. Ridiculous line-ups. Never made it to a toilet. We stayed close by in a hotel (small expensive rooms) so only arrived at the start at 8:15 AM. Finish line baggage drop is on the other side of the Arc. Bring coins for public toilets on the way (few porto-johns on route). Waiting at start is chilly. Cheap throw-away clothes can be bought at Tati (chain store like K-Mart). Wore shorts and T-shirt for the run. Water stations every 3 miles (330ml bottles of H2O, orange slices, bananas, sugar cubes, raisins). Stations get VERY slippery from the peels. Never saw gatorade type drinks on route. Hard to find in Paris anywhere! Brought Gus with us. Flat course. Pacers identified by colored balloon that's easy to locate. Streets narrow and quite crowded with runners from start to end. Course has km markers. Early start means few spectators, but they were very encouraging. Some offering wine!! Lots of bands en route. Tunnels are not bad. GREAT scenery. Paris in the spring time - magnificent weather! Last leg through Bois du Boulogne park is quiet. At finish, you get a nice medal and a sticker. Bring money for afterwards. Lots of vendors at finish with gyros. Recovered on Champs Elysees with crepes, croissants and cafe cremes. Yum!! Post-run touristy stuff: Lonely Planets Paris very helpful. Check out Mont Martre, where Amelie was filmed. Good French onion soup up there. | |
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J. D. from Chicago
(4/28/2003)
"I really enjoyed this one!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I liked racing through Paris and would recommend this race. 30,000 runners and I lined up in the back and still started within 10 minutes. Nice course through neighborhoods and all those historical sites. Running along the Seine was great. And unlike races in the states, the course is smooth, NO potholes to trip you up and the occasional cobblestone was short lived. The crowds were ok but they just stand there and look at you, not loud and festive like London. yes you did have to carry your own sports drink but you knew that going into it, and the full bottles of water are much easier to work with than the paper cups. The orange slices are a menacy and should be outlawed at marathons because they are like running on ice, and I never appreciated the sponges, but that's the worst of it. The expo had been ok and the post race area worked great for me. | |
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M. S. from Atlanta,GA
(4/18/2003)
"FABULOUS Marathon!!!!!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I guess the negative comments are about the marathon in Paris, Tennessee because the one in Paris, France was outstanding. Wah, wah, wah! So you have to walk a few extra feet at the finish to get your medal - so what! You get to run past the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, The Seine, a 3300 year old monument!! You're running in a beautiful city with amazing history all around you. I had no problems at the start other than the same ones you experience in most big marathons - having to step over discarded clothing along the way. The water stations were well organized w/ fruit at every station. I loved the bottled water. There weren't as many spectators out as you would think but the ones there were enthusiastic. And the 9am start is also great - you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn for this one. Overall I give the Paris marathon 2 thumbs UP, 5 Stars, Aces all the way. It's a MUST DO!! | |
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B. B. from Chicago, IL
(4/18/2003)
 "Paris - great city, terrible Marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Everyone has forgotten the tunnels. I have heard nothing but complaints about our one tunnel in Chicago, in Paris they have more than 3 and one is very, very long (over 1 K) and very dark. Never really saw the Seine as you are in tunnels and traffic too heavy to get close to it. There are very few spectators, very limited water stations (only every 5K) and poor organization at the start and finish. You are never out of a crowd from the start and at the finish you basically stand waiting to get out of the finish area for 20 minutes. Oh, yeah and there are lots of rolling hills. This is not a flat course by any means. The only thing saving this marathon from truly being horrible is the fact that you are in Paris. | |
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A. N. from Sao Paulo, Brazil
(4/16/2003)
 "Great course, poor organization" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I can not imagine a better marathon course than that of the Paris Marathon. The course is scenic, mixing urban and rustic settings. The course is relatively flat. There are no boring points on this course. On the other hand, organization at the start is non-existant. A corral system by anticipated finish time was attempted but lacked adequate access. Most runners resorted to climbing over the barriers to get into the corral I was in. The finish area is even more unorganized than the start. No sense of order for the arriving 33,000 finishers. Nonetheless, I would strongly recommend the marathon based upon the course, but beware of the start and finish. | |
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Austen Raine from UK
(4/16/2003)
"Not one to get excited over" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Start area poorly organised or not at all. Route unsuitable for the number of runners - came to a halt twice. Waterstops poorly organised and road too narrow-lost time here also. After the finish was a disaster area |
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