“On the post-race Insta post? I hope so with a big smile, the special finisher’s medal, a nice time, and to be able to say that finally, I liked it! ” In real life, Audrey is a hairdresser in Boissy-Saint-Léger in Val-de-Marne (94) where she has her own salon. Running has been her passion for ten years, she met her husband there and developed her community on Instagram around her “outings and preparations”. But since she started running “on a bet”, the marathon distance seems to have escaped her somewhat.
“For my 40th birthday, I decided to embark on the official 42.195 km, I who usually go on the 10 km or the half-marathon”, says Audrey, who then chooses two emblematic events: the Paris marathon and that of New York. “Lack of luck, it was in 2021, and it didn’t really go as I imagined. “For the 2023 edition in the capital, the 41-year-old hairdresser then decided to prepare for her race in her corner, revealing nothing to her followers, or even to most of her relatives. “I have a 19-year-old daughter who doesn’t know about it, neither does my mother,” says the runner. I felt more free in my preparation even if hiding it for three months was not easy at all, and especially to my community on Insta. ” For 20 minutesshe looks back on her misadventures that led her to run in secret.
“Giving up was not an option”
“In 2021, I turned 40 and I had decided to run the Paris marathons in April and New York in October”. But the Covid-19 health crisis goes through this: in April, France is reconfigured and the Paris marathon postponed. “My husband then had a brilliant idea: he organized a marathon off for me in the forests around my home, that of Notre-Dame and Grosbois. The runner is in heaven, she takes advantage of her friends and family scattered throughout the course. “When I arrived, I said straight out, ‘OK, when do we start again?’ »
In October, as she prepares for the New York marathon which is to take place in early November, Audrey finally participates in the postponed 2021 edition of Paris. “I had only done nine weeks of preparation instead of twelve, so no really long outing to test myself. In addition, I was in shorts and a T-shirt, it was 4°C, I think I caught a cold at the start. ” Result ? While she was impatiently awaiting this marathon, Audrey found herself in trouble from the 24th kilometer with intestinal problems. “Giving up wasn’t an option but I finished in 5h34 including at least 25 minutes of restroom breaks and alternating between walking and running. On the finish line, she is a shadow of herself and has lost 4 kg.
“There, I tell myself that it’s hell and that the marathon, I have to forget. In the end, she couldn’t go to New York to run the other legendary marathon she had checked off: the borders only reopened the day after the race. She is therefore preparing for the 2022 edition. “We arrive on Thursday with my husband to run on Sunday, I am completely jet-lagged on the starting line. It’s 25 degrees, 90% humidity, I’m not ready. From the 12th kilometer, Audrey suffered the race and finished, in her mind, saying to herself “the marathon, never again”.
Its decision and its preparation in the greatest secrecy
However, a few months later, the runner dives back and buys a bib: that of the 2023 Paris marathon. But she decides to keep the information to herself, only trusting her husband. “It’s a challenge within the challenge: on the one hand, not talking about it takes away the pressure that I put on myself when I share because I have a caring community and surroundings. On the other, Instagram allows me to talk about the sessions, for example after a difficult split session, and it’s reassuring and comforting. She has therefore followed her training plan since January in the greatest secrecy. “I think some people fried me, especially those who follow me on Insta and Strava, but here I have to take up this challenge for me. »
And what a challenge for the one who defines herself as “the one who likes to entertain the gallery”, “always surrounded at home and at work” and who likes to share her love of running! “I really hope to live my marathon experience better, I’m going into the unknown, I don’t know how I’m going to manage it but I need to do it for me”, confides a more serious Audrey. “And then, I’ll be alone on the starting line but who knows, maybe I’ll share a few kilometers with strangers, support us and push us towards the finish. That’s also what I like about running, the power of sharing. She also relies on her mind to (finally) enjoy an official marathon. “When we’re in a group, we’re going to tend to complain or to listen to each other more, there I have to rely only on myself. »
Approaching the 5 o’clock mark, a sweet dream?
With a PB (personal best or for the uninitiated, her personal record over the distance) of 5h34 in competition, Audrey intends to approach the 5 hour barrier. “We’re not going to lie to each other, people who run always have a goal in mind. I therefore plan to blow up my New York time of 5h47 and get closer to the 4h55 of my marathon off, but which was very flat compared to the course in Paris. “She is completing a satisfactory preparation where she beat her best time on the Paris semi two weeks ago, 2h06 this year, a race in which she has already participated several times. “In 2022, I did 2h07 and in 2019, 2h25. Going under 2 hours could be a post-marathon goal. Or embark on the Médoc marathon, she who admits that dressing up is her second passion in life. “There’s no pressure on the clock and it’s really the fun. I would like to live that one day but a marathon for performance, I’m not sure to do it again. If it’s the last one, it’s great because it would come full circle: 42 kilometers in the year I turned 42. »
To achieve this, Audrey already has a few tips in mind: “I always run without music. On my long ride, I started to feel a drop in motivation at mile 24 and put on my music. It boosted me quite a bit so I’ll keep it in mind. “And then, she also thinks about how she will announce it to her followers, whom she has deprived of announcements since the beginning of the year. Ready for HIS marathon? “My last big outing was 15 terminals on Sunday so yes I think I’m ready, ready to reveal to the whole world that I’m going to run the Paris Marathon 2023, she jokes. Finally those who will read this article. »