“Most beautiful city in the world, most beautiful avenue in the world. What other marathon to do once in your life? » For the majority of readers of 20 minutes, like Emmanuel, who responded to our call for testimonials, the answer is Paris. At 46, this ex-runner got back into racing last year after a double knee operation. Result, he finished in 2h58.
For Patricia, running the Paris Marathon for the first time in 2021 was “an extraordinary experience”, with a lot of pride at the finish. She is also eager to resume the start on Sunday April 3 for a 42.195 km crossing in the capital, but this time “taking the time to observe the monuments”.
“We are never alone”
To allow athletes to cross the City of Light, several roads are closed to traffic on race day. “Finding yourself with Paris at your feet is almost enjoyable,” writes Jean-Christophe, who has already completed the “CDM” three times. “We discover or rediscover monuments, buildings, architecture of exceptional richness during a walk”, he describes.
Geoffray has crossed the finish lines of marathons in Tokyo, New York, Berlin and even Geneva, but Paris is the only one to have made him shed his tears. Jean-Philippe salutes the warmth and encouragement of the 50,000 spectators who came to watch the event. “We are never alone,” he says. “There is a real moral mutual aid which is good in difficult times or times when you would like to take the metro”, he adds.
Too expensive a race?
Training, sacrifices, discipline… The Paris marathon is not done in a day. It has required many of our readers to find time to practice. After replacing the president of his racing association at short notice last September, victim of a heart attack, a few weeks before the start of the 2021 edition, Mehdi trained for 12 weeks to improve his time by four hours. For Pascal, this will be the 29th participation, that is to say “almost 30 years of going to the limit of oneself each time”. At 53, he braved the editions, the varied weather, the fear of attacks, the Covid-19 and recorded around fifteen lap times under three hours. Former participant, with seven marathons on the clock, Vincent is now on the side of the spectators. “The emotion is still as strong to see the runners set off on the Champs and cross the finish line”, confides this painter specializing in sport.
But if all agree on the pleasure of running, others like Benoît express some regrets. The 50-year-old, who did it in 2019 in 4:12:05, considers the registration price expensive. Prices range from 100 to 295 euros, depending on the experience desired by the runner. For her part, Dominique prefers the New York marathon to the Parisian one. He regrets that in the French capital the participants run near “cars often stopped in traffic jams with the engines running and that the marathon runners in the effort breathe gas”. With his wife, they also appreciated the fact that the New York crowd could wait for the last runners even 5:30 after kick-off.
A personal challenge
The race has its reasons that reason ignores. Not very athletic, Nicole set out to overcome bereavement, on the recommendation of her collaborators. For a year, she trains, does a semi, before launching into the deep end on April 3, 2004. Despite the pain, she hangs on, encouraged by onlookers and especially her colleagues. “At 44, I ran my first marathon in 5:25, an unimaginable challenge,” she recalls. Six years ago, Laurent was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Six months after the verdict, he crossed the finish line of his “greatest race” in 4:20 with a friend, in tears and “with enormous emotion”.
It is also the disease that motivates Guillaume to participate for the first time in the Paris Marathon this year. On January 6, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “This will be the first post-diagnosis challenge,” he explains. Eddy also launches into the unknown at 50 years old. The co-president of the association Les Enfants du Paradis imagines himself experiencing “a turning point in his life similar to the film Le Winner with Michael Douglas. “A marathon changes a person, it’s an unforgettable experience! “Summarizes Jean-François. Good race to all participants.