Paris Marathon Reviews & Race Reports
19 reviews from runners who've completed this race
Paris Marathon reviews and race reports
The Champs-Élysées start and the monuments — The race drops downhill on the cobbled Champs-Élysées and packs Concorde, the Louvre and Bastille into the early kilometers. A couple of runners called the start amazing, and one was moved to tears by the crowd at Bastille.
The tunnels along the Seine — After the Bois de Vincennes, the course follows the Seine and ducks through tunnels. Each one is a short drop and a sharp climb back to river level. Several runners felt these climbs in their legs, though one called the course not hilly at all. Some tunnels had bands or club lighting.
The Bois de Boulogne and the Trocadéro climb — Around km 34 the course enters the Bois de Boulogne, with a steep hill, a cobbled stretch and thin crowds. Then comes a long climb to the Trocadéro, where the crowds return, and a downhill run to the finish.
Bottlenecks in a huge field — A few runners hit bottlenecks and found passing hard. A 2024 runner also saw spectators cutting across the course where there were no barriers.
Fought through pain to finish strong despite tough final miles
0-5k = the support was insane, starting down the Champ-Élysées was amazing. The start corrals were a little segmented so I'd ended up in an area without any pacers and only with my mate aiming for sub 2h50. Said goodbye to him in the first km and saw my wife and kids for the first time this race, high-fives all around! First km was downhill, with huge crowds of runners and supporters but I managed to control my pacing.
Cried with joy at Place de la Bastille during the race
The first 2km was a soup of nerves and testosterone. I took the outside track to avoid the chaos in the middle of the road, and slowly things started to calm down. I was hitting 3:35-3:40 and knew I needed to check myself. I gradually dropped to 3:50 and at km 4, I heard a stampede at my tail.
Fought through injury, nearly hit sub-3 despite training setbacks
After a caffeine gel before the start, we were away. I’d decided that the race was a bit of a free-hit due to the injury and lack of training so I was going to go out at my original goal pace (sub-3) and see how long I could cling on for. The first 5/6km ticked by and I was broadly on for around 3 hours, my HR was under control (sub-170 bpm vs max of 206) generally and I got my first gel down as I passed my family at the 7km mark.
Crashed hard after 30k, but finished strong with a fast last 2k
The first 30 kilometers were really uneventful, I was keeping a good pace and even managed to make 2 and a half minutes of extra time vs. the target. Then the climbs began and I crashed super hard - my pace went from just below 05:00/km to 05:17/km from 30th to 35th kilometer, then to shocking balls turtle speed of 05:38/km for 35th till 40th kilometer. As last time the end was way faster, got 05:05/km on the last two kilometers.
Felt strong until 37K, then struggled with boredom and tight hips
And we were off!!! The beginning felt so surreal and it didn’t hit me that I was actually running the Paris marathon after months of dedicated training until we reached faubourg Saint-Antoine after Bastille, that’s right next to the ophthalmology hospital I go to, and where my parents used to take me to get little treats after appointments as a teen. I was so happy and smiled the whole time!! I honestly felt excellent for the first 37 kilometres (23 miles), I stopped at every water station, took my gels and generally felt strong and so damn happy and accomplished!