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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 61 to 71]
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James Skinner from Gloucestershire, England
(10/6/2009)
 "More about the city than the marathon" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Paris provides a memorable marathon experience. A pretty big event in terms of participants, although not the same caliber of event as, say, London or Berlin. With Paris, it is more about the course/city than the actual marathon itself. Running conditions were quite tough due to the hot temperatures (25/77), although thankfully the race started in the morning, so it wasn't too bad for the first half or so. The skies were blue with little breeze at all, which made for quite a spectacle. The course is pretty flat and does take in all that Paris has to offer - the marathon is a great sightseeing exercise in itself. If you are well grouped at the start, then a good time should be well within your reach. The organization is good, with a well-run pre-race expo selling plenty of marathon merchandise. The crowds are less good - a little sparse in parts of the course although better later on. A highlight is definitely starting on the Champs-Elysees with everyone lined up directly in front of the Arc de Triomphe. Amazing start to a marathon. Overall, well worth the effort, although I'd run London and Berlin first. | |
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c. m. from Toronto, Canada
(6/7/2009)
 "great race; great fun" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I could not disagree more with a lot of the comments here. The race was great, but keep in mind that I was running it as a destination race. The Paris Marathon is a great race in a fantastic city. As with most big races, it's not really a race to run for a PB, due to how crowded the course is; but besides that, it was an amazing experience. The race organizers have to be commended for how well this race is managed and run. I would do this race again in a second. Great course, great organization, and really great fan and city support. TRES BIEN! | |
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B. B. from Switzerland
(4/23/2009)
 "A fantastic marathon." (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I don't agree with lots of the comments below. This was a great marathon, run through a fantastic city. The start and finish areas were quite crowded but the course was wide enough that once I crossed the start line I didn't have problems with the people. Those who commented below that there were no sports drinks must have had their eyes firmly shut (or maybe they were just too busy staring at the scenery...). PowerAde was available at all stations after about 15K, along with water, bananas, oranges, etc. (every 5K from the start). The crowds were great (including military bands and, hilariously, drag-queen cheerleaders). I would definitely do this race again. | |
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J. G. from Chile
(4/22/2009)
"better than before but not enough" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Paris Int'l Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course is great - mainly flat. I do not understand how a race like this one does not have Gatorade or some other isotonic beverage for the runners. Water is not enough. The finish area is extremely crowded, and that is very unpleasant after a marathon. | |
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D. J. from London, England
(4/21/2009)
"Too crowded to properly enjoy" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Like many others, I applied for this race as I didn't get into the London Marathon. I felt the whole marathon really needs improving. The start was a melee - the barging and panic of everybody trying to store their clothes in the lockers really set the scene. By the time you got back up to the start, it was a mission to get crammed into your cattle pens (sorry, start areas). People just ended up throwing all of their clothes on to the pavement. The start took absolutely ages to get going. I was in with the 4-hour people, and it felt like we would never start. Eventually we did, but it was such a snail pace for the first 2K. When we got to the first water stop everybody in front had stopped stationary and the water bottles on the floor had turned the area into a danger zone. I saw one runner in front fall on the cobbles. My major gripe was that I felt like I was weaving to overtake people for the first half of the race - people clearly overstated their ability. This used more energy and required us to go up on footpaths, etc. There was also no space to get into stride until mile 16 onwards - it was too cramped and congested because there were too many runners. Sponges were all used by the time we got round, which just summed up the lack of supplies for this number of runners. That said, there were positives. The bands and crowd support were awesome. The expo was good, although it was a bit of a pain as it was out of the way. I may try another marathon in a different country to compare, but Paris has put me off for awhile. | |
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G. C. from USA
(4/19/2009)
"Nice scenery, poorly planned" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I agree with all the previously mentioned comments regarding the disappointing aspects of this marathon. A wave start is sorely needed as standstill stops at a water station should never happen. The randomly strewn, used water bottles, and banana and orange peels were all extremely hazardous, I personally witnessed a few runners fall because of these obstacles. There was no crowd control, lending to random spectators trying to cross the crowded marathon path with their bicycles, strollers, and multiple toddler children in tow, all throughout the course. The post-finish area took forever to walk through - very painful. I'm pretty sure I will never run this marathon again... well, unless I see better reviews on here in the future indicating that they have fixed their deficiencies! | |
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L. V. from Dublin, Ireland
(4/15/2009)
"What else can I say?! C'est la vie!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 To kill a bit of time and distract myself from the pain in my legs after mile 20, I plotted in my head the good, the bad and the ugly comments I would use to describe this marathon. However, I am a little late after spending a delightful week in France after the race, the 100+ comments already added have summed everything up. The total lack of toilets (I counted fewer than 12), bag-drop area (downright dangerous mob scene!), and crowded/unmarked entries into the race chute were all a nightmare. Based on comments from previous years, these are always an issue and organizers don't seem to be concerned enough to make improvements. The expo was pretty good, though I'm not thrilled with the t-shirt or goody bag, and the medal isn't the prettiest one I've received. However, running through the streets of Paris makes it all worthwhile!!!! I was overwhelmed by the beautiful, scenic, historic course. Having my name on my bib was a nice surprise and I loved all of the spectators yelling, "Allez" and my name. I thought there was good support along the majority of the route. I did not find the course any more crowded than I expected. The finish line and chip removal area were well organized, at least when I got there at 3:55 (ironically, the time that the clock was stuck at for a while!). There were very helpful, lovely volunteers in the massage tent - merci! It was easy to get as much food and water as I liked after the race. It was also easy to get back to the bag-drop. Staying near the race start would be nice, but the Paris metro is so good that you can be back to your hotel anywhere very quickly, no matter which area of Paris it is in. I would definitely recommend this marathon to others, but all participants should read the comments on this website first, as I did, so that they know what to expect in advance. | |
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Thomas Kiwus from Berlin, Germany
(4/15/2009)
 "Nice course but poor organization and service" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 It was a beautiful day, with perfect weather for a new personal marathon record. The expo was tight and well organized. But it was a pity that there was no information where to store the clothes before the race. I was very impressed by the beautiful scenery along the first 34K. The race itself was fantastic, though the last 5K are not very attractive because of the park, which only has small crowds of spectators. The 3:15:00 pacers were very funny guys and we had a good chat along the race. Shortly after the race not even the long queue to the massage tent could demoralize me. After the massage (it took me 30 minutes to get to a bench!!!), the whole finish area was overcrowded!!! But it was a fantastic day ! I was very happy! But... ...now the "really" bad thing: My chip did not work; hence, I got no official race result! Since the 6th of April, I've been trying to get a certificate, which at least gives my time. I thought this might be feasible because you can see me on the finisher video. But so far, the only answers I've got are: "We are sorry, but I think it's a problem with the chips and it's not possible to change anythings" and, "We cannot send your certificate because there is no time from your chip (given to you with the bib number)!!!" Nice to know!!! :-) That is the worst service I've ever experienced! | |
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H. B. from Great Falls, VA
(4/13/2009)
"Big-City Marathon Debacle" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I cannot believe that a big-city marathon is run this poorly. The start was ridiculous - we were put in corrals but they need to institute a wave system like New York. They had 10,000 people per corral starting at the same time. The crowd never let up during the entire race. At one point we had to funnel into this narrow street and were at a dead stop. The water bottles are not a good idea. They were strewn all over the course and very dangerous with the bottles and the caps all along the race course. I did not see any electrolyte drinks. The finish - horrendous. I crossed the finish line and was stopped and inched along for over an hour. There was no place to sit; we were just creeping along. There are no evacuation points in the finish area, so you take tiny, little steps until you finally get out. | |
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H. B. from Virginia
(4/11/2009)
"Big-City Marathon - Very Poor Organization" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 For a big-city marathon, it was ridiculous. The organizers need to look to the NYC Marathon for help. The start was ludicrous. There were corrals but no waves, so about 10,000 people started in each corral and it was too crowded for the entire race course. It never thinned out. I had to weave in and out. Waves would resolve that. Make waves and release them from each corral. The start was littered with clothing, bottles and urine. At one water stop, i came to a dead stop because all of the runners funneled into a narrow street. Imagine 35,000 people trying to get into a 10-foot-wide road. Water bottles are a good idea, but they were strewn all over the course. That's plastic bottles and their caps - made for dangerous footing. The finish: I came to a dead stop and it took about an hour to exit. All I wanted to do was get out of there, but there were no exits. We took baby steps for one hour. I doubt I would run this marathon again until they get this stuff right. |
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