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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 101 to 111]
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M. D. from Paris, France
(5/28/2007)
"2007 was my first (and definitely not last) time" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 As an Irishman living in Paris, I had to eventually try what I suppose is now my "home" marathon, after a number of years of choosing London as my spring marathon. And apart from the fact it was 26/27°C (80°F), I enjoyed this run immensely. The course really is unique and has a spectacular start, a great early section through typically Parisian neighborhoods, a wooded section through halfway, a trip back through the city along the banks of the Seine, and a late quiet wooded section to gather your determination (or even, bizarrely, have a glass of wine!!) before one final burst back onto the city streets and a finish on the broad Haussmanien boulevards. Regarding toilets and organization, personally I did not have a problem and I cannot see where this idea of lack of toilets comes from - there were rows of port-a-loos on Avenue Foch. The organization at the start was good and the first couple of KMs on one of the widest avenues in the world helped to minimize overcrowding. Apart from the two wooded sections, there is a large number of spectators, although in the last few kilometers they have a tendency to encroach and make the route very narrow, which is irritating when you are exhausted. Overall a great experience and I will definitely be doing it again, very probably next spring. | |
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p. k. from Mumbai, India
(5/14/2007)
"Pretty darn good marathon" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Here are my comments on the various aspects of the marathon: Expo - easy to reach but very few English speaking staff (I could locate just one!). They certainly need to have more English speaking staff to help out the non-French speaking runners. Pre-race: Easy to reach but the toilet scene was a chaos. A lot of men were using the fences, etc. They need to put more toilets out there. Course: Beatiful, Beautiful. Flat except for the tunnels along the Siene. Water Stops: Adequate water (I ran in 4.30). Water bottles were a distinct advantage. They also had Gatorade type of stuff in plastic cups as well as bottles (slightly different shape than water bottles). They also had various fruits (fresh as well as dry) at the water stops. Medical Support: I thought was inadequate as I saw atleast 3-4 runners collapsing along the course with no medical help in sight. Crowd Support: Plenty and cheerful. However, they were encroaching in the last 1 km or so. The organizers need to put more barricades before the finish area. Other Runners: The course get crowded at many places. A little bit of elbowing here and there. Post-race: A long walk to the family reunion area. They need to put less barricades after the finish area. They also need to provide more food after the race. Overall, a pretty darn good marathon to run. | |
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Jeff Siebold from Warsaw / Chicago
(5/8/2007)
"Great course and city to run a marathon" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Like the others, I agree that the largest strength of this marathon is the beauty of the course itself. Although I did it in 3:16, I did stop and have my wife take a photo of me along the Seine with Notre Dame in the background. How can you beat that? The ultimate would be to run under the Eiffel Tower, but it is within easy view at many times, and starting and finishing on the Champs-Elysees is a real goose-bump feeling. The course was a great combination of city and infamous French countryside - going around a large park, a few horse tracks, and even a small farm with tractor, sheep, and a man on an old bike fetching his morning baguette. Other positives include the fantastic weather this year (70's-80's and sunny), although not so fantastic for the slower runners who weren't able to get water at some of the stops. The most unique positive for a non-metric-native is the mile markers shown very prominently at each and every mile along the course (who said the French don't like Americans?). Negatives include the organization of the race in general. It's enough of a problem for me to say if you have to choose just 1 marathon in Europe to do, and want to make sure the marathon is a good experience, do Berlin (which I've done twice). Better crowds, also a beautiful course, and unmatched order (leave it to the Germans to organize things!). The lack of toilets was amazing, and the fact that the toilets that did exist at the start were actually on the road of the course (do you like waiting for the race to start with the sound and smell of urine next to you?). Not smart. Starting area in general had the feeling of chaos. There was no clear direction on either the website or goodie bag regarding leaving a personal bag at the finish to pick up. I only learned of this as I passed the booth at the finish. If you're a 4 hour + runner, use caution at the water stops. On top of not having enough water, the water being given in water bottles is a positive and negative (negative in that it makes it more dangerous). Banana peels on the road can also add a cartoon-like obstacle to your run. But at least they fully resolved their lack of finisher medals that occurred in 2006. Despite all this, I do actually strongly recommend this one. As a foreigner, this city and the course should fulfill all of your high expectations of how this marathon should feel. A great excuse to come to Paris in the springtime, when the city is at it's best. 70% of participants are French, with the US having the 4th largest number of participants. But again, if you have to do just 1 marathon in Europe, do Berlin. | |
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gustavo marks from los angeles
(5/7/2007)
"Impossible to fit 30000+ runners." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The race would be ok to handle 15000 to 20000 runners. It was very hard to run among so many people. We stopped completely at many sections of the race due to the size of the crowd, specially at the water stops. It was very difficult to maintain the pace that I trained for. It was ok to see the city while running, but I would not do it again. Finally, I hope I do not offend anyone with this comment: please guys, it would be nice to use deodorant before the race. Waiting in the starting line for more than an hour, was very uncomfortable. | |
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Michael Murphy from Giessen, Germany
(5/2/2007)
"Excellent Course; Minor Organization Problems" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Ran this as my first. Living in Europe as a military member and coming back from Iraq with only 8 weeks to train, this was an excellent choice as it was a flat course and had beautiful scenery along the way. The crowds were fantastic, very enthusiastic, and they had seemingly every band in Paris strung along the course playing a variety of music. Fast course, unseasonably warm, but who can help that? I did a 4:26, and felt I could have done better, but I stuck with some friends maybe a little too long at the beginning. I thought the food and water were great, but some of my friends had slower times and didn't have water at several stands late in the race, and that really hurt them. Also, although there were urinals for us guys at the beginning, there were very limited facilities for women; after the start, there were basically no toilets throughout. I had to pollute a small fence in a park and I hate doing that. Other than these problems, though, this is a great race, a great start, and I look forward to running my next one (USMC) this October. | |
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D. H. from Chicago, USA
(4/30/2007)
"Beautiful course makes up for shortcomings" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 All the comments about a shortage of toilets at the start are true. In essence, every tree, fence, bush and building near the rear of the start line served double duty. Also the lack of water for back-of-the-packers at 5K and 15K was also true. However, everything else was perfect. All was made well with the cup of Bordeaux I was given somewhere around the 35K mark. A beautiful course, an afternoon organ recital at Notre Dame and an evening cruise on the Seine made for a great day that would be tough to repeat at any other race. | |
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J. J. from Aarhus, Denmark
(4/24/2007)
"Would do it again - Paris and others" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 First marathon, and I was quite pleased with the time due to the weather. Too hot compared to the weather during training in Denmark. Agree with the toilet situation at the start line. Only two in the blue zone. So a lot went to the nearby McDonald's - finally useful. :-) Course takes you through many sights. And saw some new parts of Paris too - nice. Not too many troubles with other runners at the refreshment points even though it was crowded in the 3h30m pack. Only a bit of pushing at one point and at another point collided with some others due to the slippery conditions, but every one in a good spirit. Lot of spectators couraging you on from the half-way mark; nice when I hit the wall at 32 KM. Would definitely take part in more marathons after this superb experience. | |
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m. r. from greenville, sc
(4/23/2007)
"Great course and fans. Awful organization." (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I love the city of Paris, and was impressed by the course, especially between mile 15 and 20 when you are right along the right bank. The weather was warm so there were more supporters than I'd expected (based on previous years' reviews). Fun bands at every mile. Bands at every mile, but only a handful of toilets. Use the bushes in the 2 parks. Water! Water! Water! I was in the 5+ group, and no water until 20KM. I bought one bottle, and then spent the rest of the race picking up discarded bottles, and drinking from them. I saw several others do the same. If you run this race, bring your own water and gels. And toilet paper. | |
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Radek Kobierski from Warsaw, Poland
(4/23/2007)
"I can recommend it to you" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Generally you take this marathon to run next to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame or Luvre, and spend some time in one of the nicest capitals of Europe. The organization is a little bit worse than at the Berlin Marathon (like at the start and finish area, and in regards to the water and fruit supply during the race). During the race there was less fan support, and the starter package was really poor. However, I can recommend it to you. It is worth running at least once, but also consider the Berlin Marathon if you want to run in Europe. | |
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S. S. from Naples Italy
(4/23/2007)
"Can't Run Well With NO Water" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Paris Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 My first marathon. I was very excited that it would be in Paris. The course was beautiful, the volunteers wonderful and the fans were great. I was very disappointed about the provisions though. There was little to no water available for the slower runners. At the first stop, 5Ks into the race, no water. That was scary and set the mood for the rest of the race. It was very hot and I saw runners falling out of the race all around me. I had to purchase water along the way. Thank God for the eager volunteers with the hoses and the oranges that provided a bit of hydration. Would I run it again? If I did, it would be with my own CamelBak for hydration. |
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