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Second largest race in the world? Check. Running past the Eiffel Tower? The Louvre? The Paris Opera House? Check. The Paris Marathon has it all.
The Paris Marathon is truly a majestic race day experience that allows runners the chance to see the city from a whole new perspective. The entire weekend was well organized, and I have no major complaints about my experience. From arrival and bib pick up to the finish line, everything was well organized. I did have some thoughts on minor changes that could improve the race weekend, but overall, it was amazing.
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Signing Up for the Paris Marathon
Sign up for the Paris Marathon is very standard when compared to other major races. The earlier you can sign up, the less you will pay in fees. The big difference here is the need for a Health Certificate.
In the past, this was a form signed by your doctor saying that you are healthy and able to run a marathon. But in 2025 they are phasing that out in favor of a Health Certificate. The health certificate for the Paris Marathon is a short course you take that covers risky behaviors, when to go to a doctor, the importance of life saving gestures, and access to good health practices. The form is valid for three months after you pass a brief test.
Training for the Paris Marathon
As this was my first marathon, I used a training plan designed to help first time marathon runners, but I made a few adjustments. One of the first things I changed was my long runs. The plan I had scheduled long runs around time, not distance. However, I wanted to ensure that I covered at least 20-miles before race day, so I made the switch to distance based runs. I know that you don’t have to cover 20-miles before the marathon, and that I could’ve trusted my training and been successful, but for my mental peace I chose to do a 20-mile long run while preparing for the marathon.
The other change I made was to add a de-load week to my Paris marathon training plan. Near the end of my plan, I was starting to feel very sore and tired, so I listened to my body. I took one week with lower mileage to allow my body a chance to recover before heading into the 20-mile run.
Marathon Diet and Race Fueling
Gearing up for my marathon brought a lot of changes to my body. I wasn’t prepared for my constant desire to eat. Which lead to me increasing my protein intake dramatically. I added more eggs, chicken, and other foods that had been infused with protein, like yogurts and milk drinks. Even with this, I also kept lots of snacks around my house such as nuts and granola bars to help maintain my marathon diet while training.
During this time, I also sampled a lot of different race gels. Every long run I bought a new flavor or brand to test until I found one that I liked. There were a lot of considerations I took into account when picking an energy gel. The most important thing is to make sure the first ingredient on the gel is either Glucose or Maltodextrin. I also opted out of using any caffeine infused gels, as I do not drink coffee regularly and didn’t want to upset my stomach.
I ended up using the Gold Nutrition Long Lasting Energy Gel, Banana Flavored. Since I was also flying in for the race and didn’t have much space for liquids in my carry on, I alternated the gels (which are liquids) with Gold Nutrition Total Energy Strawberry Jelly Bars.
I also read a lot about adding salt tablets to my race plan, but in the end decided not to. I had never used energy gels before and I didn’t want to have to balance too many new items at once. In the future I will look into adding them now that I have found gels that work for me.
Travel to Paris
If you are flying into Paris for the race, your best bet will be arriving via Charles de Gualle or Orly. These two airports are only an hour from the city center and have easy access to Paris via train.
Since Paris is so well connected via metro, you have plenty of options for hotels. I ended up staying in the 7th, near the Eiffel Tower, and it took me about 20 minutes by train to arrive at the race start.
Paris Marathon Expo
The first thing I did after arriving in Paris was drop my bags at the hotel and head to the race expo. Try to go there as early as you can, because with over 50k runners the expo can be crazy on the Saturday of race weekend.
The expo is huge and starts with the bib and bag pick up. Then you enter an area full of photo opportunities. These will have lines, but they also have volunteers there just to take your photo (a benefit when solo traveling). Finally, you enter the sponsor zone. There were a few free giveaways going on, lots of items for sale, and lots of different races to check out. I spent over an hour at the expo, only leaving when they finally closed.
Carbo Loading in Paris
Honestly, run the Paris Marathon just for the opportunity to carbo load with croissants. I don’t think I have ever had so much success with my carbo load as I did in Paris. Not only are the pastries amazing, but there are also lots of options for noodles and rice around the city. One of my favorite meals was at My Noodles, where all the noodles are made fresh daily.
Staying Hydrated
Since I didn’t want the extra weight of my water bottle while traveling, the first thing I did before boarding my plane was buy water. I then kept that bottle for the weekend and continued to fill it up with the tap water, since it is safe to drink in Paris. I also ordered water to go with every meal, but Paris is a city of tiny cups so don’t plan to get all your hydration in during meals.
Resting Your Legs Before the Marathon
I failed so miserably at resting my legs, but I failed on purpose. I had things to see and was willing to sacrifice some of my speed on Sunday to see everything in the city. However, if you want to rest your legs there are plenty of options. Paris has an amazing metro system that spans the city, which means you can avoid walking to most places.
Race Day!
Weather During the Paris Marathon
Early April in Paris can still be a bit chilly, and the weather on race day was absolutely perfect. I had been nervous heading into the race that it would be a rain marathon, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that. Luckily, the race ended up being mostly dry. There were a few moments of spitting rain, which was honestly lovely by mile 20. But the clouds kept the heat of the sun back and the lower temps felt perfect with my overheated body.
Morning of the Race
One of my favorite things about the Paris Marathon is that the race spreads the starts out over several hours. And you don’t have to be at the starting line until your allocated time. The starts this year took almost three hours to send everyone out. Having the extra hours in the morning meant that I was able to wake up at a reasonable time for breakfast, relax in my hotel room, and not worry about rushing to the start line.
Since I like to buy my breakfast at the store, instead of risking a cafe on race day, my breakfast before the Paris Marathon wasn’t the most delicious. But it covered all of the nutrients I needed and was very practical. I bought pre-made Pancakes for simple carbs, a banana, and nuts. I also had a bottle of water, but finished it over an hour before I left.
About 20 minutes before the race started, I ate one of my energy jellies for a final charge to my system.
The First Half
The thing about running a marathon, is that in the first half it should feel a bit easy. I mean you have done this a million times in training. I spent this section of the race settling into my pace and allowing myself to enjoy the views. The Paris Opera House, the Louvre, a castle, and the gorgeous cobblestoned streets of Paris. Because of how they spaced the starts, the crowds were not too intense. Unfortunately, my hydration plan did mean that I had to pee around the 10-mile mark. I brought toilet paper from the hotel and there was no line at the porta potty. I was quickly able to rejoin the race.
The aid stations along the course were also very well stocked. Since I was near the back and runners had been passing through for hours I was afraid that some of the stations would be running out of supplies, but that did not happen. They also had large buckets of water along the way for people to splash themselves with water to cool down.
I had decided during my training plan that I would take an energy gel at every aid station, which was approximately every 6k. This worked very well for me and allowed me to avoid cramps and not have to carry any water to take with the gels.
The Second Half
During the second half is when I had to turn the engines on. After you re-enter the city, runners face a series of small up and down hills as you travel through tunnels along the Seine. Due to the rain in the week leading up, part of the course was flooded and changed, so the 2024 route was actually flatter than most years.
Having trained in Lisbon, I did not find the hills to be a challenge, but many people around me had to stop and walk. Another thing of note – one of the tunnels in this portion of the Paris Marathon was actually the one Princess Diana died in.
It’s during these sections that you also pass the Eiffel Tower. The course does not go directly next to the tower, but rather crosses on the other side of the river. If we’re being honest, the Eiffel Tower is one of the last sights I enjoyed before I had to focus on my race. Around mile 22 there is an uphill, that I’m told can be a challenge if you do not have hills in your training plan.
As you re-enter the city for the final stretch, the mental game begins. The end of the marathon course has three things working against it.
- The course has lots of turns. Now a turn wouldn’t be a problem, but I knew that the finish line was almost directly after a turn. So everytime I approached a turn I was praying it was the finish. It wasn’t.
- The cobblestones. This section of the city is old and the roads have cobblestones. Combined with feet that had started to blister and the uneven pressure on my foot hurt 10x more than usual.
- The crowds. The road here does get a bit narrow, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is family and friends who are trying to run with their racers. I kept finding people with large backpacks running around me in this section.
The Finish Line
Once I turned that final corner, I was thrilled to see the Arc de Triomphe and the green signage of the finish. It’s a very wide finish, and there are so many people out and cheering for the runners. Even wanting to die, I was able to appreciate the emotions of the area.
After crossing the finish, you are greeted by the teams with your medal and finishers t-shirt. It was very quick to get through, which is good because I was dying. There was also a table set up with water and some snacks. I did find this area to be a bit lacking. There was no electrolyte drink available and very limited snack options. I still grabbed what I could carry and walked over to a curb to immediately sit for 40 minutes.
Overall, I would strongly recommend the Paris Marathon to any runner. Despite the large size, the race was still very well organized and it felt like a much smaller event. I also really appreciated that the Paris Marathon organizers were able to create a course that truly crosses the city. So many races in big cities take place primarily in small neighborhoods because city officials don’t want to shut down the city.
If you are interested in signing up for the 2025 edition, you can find the link here.
Why is Paris Not a Marathon Major?
A question I see asked a lot is why is Paris not a Marathon Major? After all, it is one of the largest races in the world, roughly the same size as the New York City Marathon. It’s well organized, and it’s in a famous city. It is hillier than some of the other options, but only slightly more than the newest Major, Sydney.
To be honest, there isn’t an official answer on why Paris isn’t a major, but the biggest reason is most likely that Paris has never applied to be a Major. The Majors have only been around for the last 18 years, and were started as a marketing attempt to attract more elite runners, and more sponsors, by banding together in one racing series. Paris might not have as many elite runners, but they have plenty of sponsors and regular runners, consistently staying in the top five for largest races in the world.
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