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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 41 to 51]
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M. H. from Slovenia
(5/11/2012)
 "Scenic, crowdy, ... yes, typical french..." (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Paris Int'l Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was another return to a great place. I always liked this course, and its fairly fast, scenic, and yes, it goes constantly up and down (at least from 25k-30k - though less hilly than in NY). What i disliked: - bad organisation of expo (bib pickup) sorry, but in Berlin and New York, bib pickup was more hassle-free and you didn't need to stand in line for a long time (and as always, there are plenty of queue jumpers). - organisation of starting boxes - i was in 3:30 group, and 20 minutes before start it was quite a long wait to get in. Inside felt crowded. - it got crowded at certain points - for example at around 30k, when spectators moved in... there should have been more barriers - very crowded at the start. Champs d'elyses are wide, but why did they have to put so many cars in the middle for the first 300-400m?!? - exit from the finish area was hectic... and completely disorganised... - toilets (or better lack-of them) in the start and luggage area. Though this year they had a few more. What I liked: - start in the city, with good public transport connections to the start. You don't need to go to at least start 3-4 hours earlier as in New York. - scenic and fairly good crowds, except in the parks - food and drinks available every 5k! water, oranges, bananas, sugar, ... i would prefer two or three more sports drink points, and i don't care about gels, as i prefer to carry my own. I have to say, that unlike others here, i really liked small bottles (20-25cl). Basically you can drink from them, even if you run fast. From cups you usually get more on you than in you. And bottles are great to carry if you want! - interesting medal, good finishers t-shirt (technical). I didn't find anything really useful in a goodybag. - delayed start for different groups And yes... it is one of my favourite marathons. Certainly coming back. Someday. | |
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m. w. from la, ca usa
(5/4/2012)
 "A MUST DO!!!" (about: 2012)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The first half of the course lived up to all the hype. The 2 tunnels and the quiet park during the last miles made the run harder. Having to pay for the medical certificate sucked. London crowds are more supportive but the runners at Paris were supportive! Water stops were the best I have seen rating all the marathons, 5K's, & 10K's I have ever done. Worth it to do it once! | |
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J. L. from Madrid, Spain
(5/3/2012)
 "World Class City - Shame About The Marathon." (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Overall Paris is a fast course, there aren´t any major hills but it is by no means a pancake flat course (like Berlin or Chicago for example) there are inclines/declines. Pros As others have said the course through the centre is stunning. Paris is arguably one of the prettiest cities in the world. As the marathon starts/finishes right in the centre it is easy to get to/leave. Don´t have to arrive ridiculously early to enter your coral - I arrived about 40 mins before the start and there was loads of room. Expo (Friday mid afternoon) was amazingly quiet, no queues at all. Even if you don´t speak French it´s not a major problem as some staff do speak some English. Weather. At this time of year unseasonably hot weather is very rare in Paris (unlike say Chicago). Luckily this year there was no rain. Temp was nice and cool this year (7c at start and was only 8c at 12.15pm) Finally introduced a wave start system. Free text updates (work on non-French mobiles) Samba bands were good. The earlier you sign up the cheaper it is. Rain poncho at end of race is better than a foil blanket as you can wear it. Poncho included in goody bag - more or less essential at the start line. Cons No energy drink at aid stations! This, for a mega marathon (on a par with NY or London etc) is unbelievable. This is a real deal breaker for me. There is one aid station at around the 33km mark, but it is too little far too late. Also there is no water at this aid station. No clock at the start line. No chip time at 40k for some reason. Aid stations only lined up on one side of the road, which creates an incredible amount of congestion. If you use the aid stations you will lose time. If the aid stations were on both sides it would instantly half the congestion. Very very congested route throughout. Paris streets just cannot handle this number of runners at one time (over 30,000 finishers) No communication at all about the wave system. In the end I waited 12 mins before I crossed the line (I was part of the 3.30 pace group) They need to have a wave system like in NY 3 waves 15 mins apart. This would work much better. No elevation profile available on line or at expo. Very few toilets and not marked on the course map. A little more variety in the bands on the course wouldn´t go a miss. No official runners reunite area - can make it very difficult to meet up with friends/family at the end. Crowd support for a marathon this size was a little disappointing. Even in the first 1km the only thing I heard about from hundreds of footsteps was the sound of runner´s Garmins beeping at Km1. From km9 to km19 you are in a large park with very few spectators and maybe only one or two bands. Parts of this route are quite narrow. Same goes from about km34 until 41, you are in another park and there aren´t many spectators and again only a couple of bands. It really is only in the last 1km-800m where you really hear the crowd roar. If you plan to run a time that doesn´t have a pace group, I strongly suggest you join the back of the group faster than you. Even at 3.30 pace the crowd never really thins out until well after the 30k mark. If you plan to go round in 3.15 or faster you probably won´t have a problem with crowds, but if you are going slower you will find it congested. I ran NY at 4hr pace and it wasn´t as congested as Paris. If you are used to running in North America bear in mind crowds at Europe marathons are much quieter, there are no bells, whistles etc. There´s very little shouting, cheering and very few people have (witty) signs. Race management need to organise this race better, either by capping the numbers (40,000 places are just too many) to say around 25,000 or so. Or they need to organise the wave system better and actually inform runners how it works. You do get the impression that this race has spiraled out of control and it is now too much for the organisers. They need together with some of the management from one of the 5 major marathons and learn from them. Until they have energy drink at the end stations and organize the start better I won´t be doing it again. | |
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S. D. from Bradford, West Yorkshire
(4/24/2012)
 "C'est Magnifique!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Paris Marathon website, the text messaging service, runner tracking, the I phone/Android App, pre race videos on youtube, pictures, facebook updates, personal in race videos are absolutely state of the art and second to none. Getting a medical certificate to participate was a necessary pain but we have the NHS in the UK so it was free :)I arrived in Paris on Friday and headed straight to the expo which was much quieter than I expected. I thought my number for the bag drop would be included in the packet with my race number, it wasn't which was a minor inconvenience not being able to take a bag. The expo was okay for me but if you speak french (I don't) you will obviously get more enjoyment from it. We were given two good quality shoe bags but there wasn't much going free. I didn't have any problems travelling to the start area and finding my pen it was much quicker and easier than London, NY etc. One thing I didn't like about the pen control was security allowing people to jump over the barriers because they had got into the wrong pen. There was also quite a bit of gallic pushing and shoving from over excited people! The course was fantastic and whilst the architecture and history were amazing the areas through the leafy parks and trails made it a real gem. It is very fast and flat. I liked the water bottles to carry around and the eco system where people were rewarded for dumping empty bottles in special areas. It does get a bit congested in places but after all its a huge marathon and its easy to enter, a smaller race would necesitate a balloting system.Crowd support was very good indeed. Oddly the T shirts for men started at Medium but they were very good quality. We also got a finishers rain poncho which all seemed to be XXXL! T shirt shaped medal, very trendy... | |
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C. B. from Toronto, Canada
(4/23/2012)
"Nice course, brutal expo and organization" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Just ran the Paris marathon, my first outside of North America. The course is stunning and you get to see a lot of the city. Ran with a friend and this was his first marathon. The race kit and medal were terrible compared to the other four marathons I have done. Also there are points on the course that are quite narrow and you get cut-off by people. There is only ONE sports drink station at 33 k which is crazy and no gels. The start of the race is extremely hectic and chaotic and it took 15 minutes to even get over the start line. If you want a scenic course then Paris is for you but if you want all the bells and whistles including a decent race kit and medal this is not for you. | |
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E. A. from Dayton, OH
(12/14/2011)
"Do NOT purchase cancellation insurance!" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I purchased the 11 euro cancellation insurance and tried to use it due to a knee injury. I completed all required paper work (doctor's signature) and provided all necessary banking information. After more than 15 email messages and 7 months I have received no reimbursement and have stopped getting replies from the race organization or the bank in charge of reimbursement (Aon Hewitt). | |
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WILLIAM PINE from BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
(5/8/2011)
"Too many runners for the course!!!" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 3 Paris Int'l Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran Paris in 1995 and 1996 - very nice. I ran it in 2011; NEVER AGAIN. I have run 68 marathons. I have never been pushed, shoved and crowded like this. NEVER AGAIN! Great course but too small with many "bottlenecks." NEVER AGAIN! | |
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Michael Smith from Shanghai, China
(4/26/2011)
"Beautiful course, bad organization" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Paris Int'l Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my 4th Marathon de Paris, and it appears that they are never going to get some things right, despite every year asking for feedback. Negatives: this year I went to the expo on Saturday and it was a freaking zoo; on the big day there are not nearly enough toilets at the start to accommodate 35,000 people (is anyone surprised it's 90% men? I heard dozens of women say they would never come back); the pens are not well managed, so beware getting stuck in the wrong pack if you're not 2 hours early or have very sharp elbows; there are several places (Concorde, Bastille, Parc de Vincennes) where it gets too narrow for the crowd and you can lose upwards of 30 seconds just shuffling; the pacers are very popular, which creates these impenetrable walls of runners that can be frustrating when you're stuck behind them. Positives: there are tons, but having the City of Paris to yourself is worth the price of admission. Sign up early and pay less - what a great formula. Oh, and be prepared to suffer after the race simply getting out of the runners' area as it gets completely jammed with runners and awaiting friends/family. All in all, it's still a great marathon. | |
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Serena Eley from Champaign, IL USA
(4/15/2011)
"A must-do marathon!" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Mostly flat course with a few gentle hills: Cons - Give out small plastic water bottles instead of paper cups (insane!) - I finished in 3:15 and there was plenty of water. A friend claimed they ran out of water by the 1st water stop (5K) for the 4:30-group. - Didn't see a gel stop and I saw only 1 sports drink (PowerAde) stop. (I carried my own electrolytes.) - Could smell cigarette smoke from spectators - Boring medal - No small finishers' shirts Pros - Very scenic course - Despite the number of racers, the course felt roomy, with no bottlenecks - Dense spectator support along entire course - Marked in miles and KM - Was not treated like a running ATM (ahem... Rock 'n' Roll). At the finish, I was immediately given water and food. - My friends and I all PRed. (Good course for that.) | |
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Eugene Nyunt from London, England.
(4/13/2011)
"Sugary Sweet Delight plus an unexpected PB." (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course is relatively flat, although there are a few dips under bridges in quick succession along the middle of the course. These do sap away some of your energy. It's quite easy in fact to set off a bit too quickly at the start, but the final few miles are more or less downhill. The course ticks most boxes as to city sights visible while you run or walk. It was quite hot this year although thankfully the mercury didn't climb as high as had been projected. Water in bottles, raisins, sugar cubes, half bananas and orange slices at each station, plus Powerade close to the end meant relief to many including myself. I've only given three stars for the spectators because some runners may clamor for a total racket, à la London; but frankly, the Parisian crowd was absolutely great, without your eardrums being blown away. I was even urged on by a spectator when, with a few miles left, my overly quick start came back to me with knee pain and foot trouble. I did start running again at that point. |
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