Yesterday I published Beth’s Paris Marathon Recap, Part 1. We left off with Beth in the early miles of her marathon. Here is part 2, in her words…
At about the 9 km mark, I was happy to spot a familiar tee shirt “Montgomery County Parks ½ Marathon” being sported by a fellow DC native! I ran along side and chatted with Erika and Nate from Rockville for some 8 km. It was nice to talk with someone from our neck of the woods and hear about their numerous marathon adventures. I told them all about the Cruisers and Debbie’s blog, so I hope they find this!!
I lost my Maryland friends at a water stop, just as the day continued to warm and get even more beautiful. A little past the halfway point I looked up and saw the glorious “26” marker. For the briefest of moments my heart leaped—until I remembered it was 26 kilometers I’d run, just north of 16 miles, and far short of 26. Still, there’s something about running 42,195 kilometers that seems superior to a mere 26.2 miles. Note the French virgule, or comma, in lieu of our decimal, makes it seem an even greater distance, as if it were really 42 thousand, one hundred ninety five kilometers instead of 42,195 meters that we would soon complete. Interestingly, of the nearly 50,000 runners who registered for this year’s race, only around 40,000 of them showed up—of which some 1,500 did not complete the race. But, enough math for now. One of those who did not complete the race was one guy who decided to run the race with a giant Eiffel Tower strapped to his back. The last I saw of him (and he was rather hard to miss), he was staggering off the course at just past the 27 thousand meter marker…
Kilometers, not miles
I missed Tom at the second spectator site where he’d camped out on the sunny side of the Seine just North of l’Isle St. Louis, but, had to laugh about the guy I saw spread eagle holding the black iron rail fence near the Tour St. Jacques, peeing no handed—and not realizing (or caring) that there were people strolling on the other side. Not wanting to miss any sights, I ran with my iPhone; stopping frequently to take photos or to text Tom my location. At one of the photo stops where video was being taken—something I didn’t notice when stopping to take a photo of the recently renovated Conciergerie—I took a couple of photos of my own. I know this because in browsing the Marathon website a couple days after the race, I can be seen, pulling off the course and magically morphing from a runner into a tourist as I leisurely took a couple photos before rejoining the race.
Beautiful course scenery
This is a decision I made before beginning the race: That, despite some of the hardest training I’ve done for any race, I wouldn’t let an opportunity for a great photo pass without capturing the moment! I finished strong, up Avenue Foch near l’Arc de Trimphe where it all began earlier that morning. While my race time ended up not being anywhere near one of my best, I can truthfully say it was one of my most enjoyable races ever. I heartily recommend this race to those seeking a nice change of pace. In Paris, you can not only run into each other, you can also see them peeing, snurging, or perhaps heaving a half empty water bottle at your head!
Paris finisher!
Until next year, au revoir, and vive les coureurs! Long live runners!
Beth’s post-marathon mousse treat!
- Questions:
- Do you befriend other runners during races?
- What’s your favorite marathon or half-marathon finishers’ medal?
- What’s your favorite post-race treat?
Wow! A marathon in Paris! I would be really struggling not to stop at 26 km, though! 🙂 Thanks for the entertaining recap!
I know, right Stephanie? I have enough trouble calculating miles toward the end of a marathon. I would be pitiful trying to calculate kilometers!
This exactly happened to me during my first marathon ever in Beijing. The entire thing was in KM, not miles and I was not prepared to convert in my head. Oh well. You live and learn. And the Beijing course is not nearly as scenic as Paris, I am sad to say. Thanks for posting!
HaHaHa! A taxi is your favorite post-race treat! Good one! 🙂
Thanks again Debbie, it was fun re-living my experience :). I must explain the mousse au chocolat photo! A friend recommended a wonderful restaurant, Chez Janou, (a favorite with the locals) and said we HAD to order the mousse for dessert – all you can eat! So I figured post-marathon would be a great time to try it. They bring a huge vat of it, and you take what you want, all for one price. So we ended up doing two huge scoops – way too much but it sure seemed like a good idea at the time!! 🙂
Beth, we have to try to recreate that chocolate mousse for a Cruiser event! 🙂
Congrats to Beth!! Love hearing recaps of races. I coolest race medal wasn’t mine, but my hubby’s for the rock n roll Vegas marathon, it glowed in the dark(cuz it was at night which made sense). My favorite treat after a race is definitely an large iced white mocha or iced caramel latte!!
A glow-in-the-dark medal? I want one!!! 🙂
Congratulations Beth! Thank you so much for writing this recap and sharing your experience!
Are the poncho’s Paris’ version of foil wraps?
I also tend to talk to other people during a race. Like you, it’s usually because I have something in common with them. More often than not it’s Hokie-related 🙂
Yes, the French post-marathon race wraps are far more fashionable than the American ones! Beth is a fellow Hokie so I’m hoping that she will run in the Hokie Half with us!