Paris marathon April 6th 2008

seph

hello all, just decided to do the paris marathon,:eek:, if i can get a spot. The official site is closed for reg. but I think one of the official travel agents have places so hope to be lucky there.
Any one else thinking of doing same? Has anyone here done it?
This will be my first marthon and I only run about 3/4 times a week, longest run 10k, 46mins approx., so im a bit nervous about it all.
Any advice where to get a training schedule to get me over the line?
Any other advice for a novice, i.e. shoes, attire,diet etc.
Big thanks in advance for any help....:D

Lila

I ran Dublin as my first marathon last month and had followed Hal Higdon's Novice 2 programme (www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm). Found it great for a first timer as it gave me the structure I needed. Lots of different plans and resources out there though so just google - runnersworld.com, coolrunning.com etc.

Get a new pair of runners if the pair you have are very old. Maybe pop into a specialist shop for advice on the right pair for you.

Good luck as you start your training. It is such a good feeling to cross the finish line!

--amadeus--

Firstly, welcome to the club!!

I ran Paris as my second marathon and it is excellent. Course is very flat and - for the most part - very scenic. In particular the start down the Champs-Élysées is an amazing sight, you then run past a lot of the monuments, the Louvre, Place de Bastille and along teh Seine with the Eiffel Tower just over teh river (and through the Diana crash tunnel!) before a great finish by the Arc de Triomphe. Decent support but really good stands all the way round - you can sample wine, cider, beer and cheese as well as bananas and water if you want! Weather should be good too. On the downside I found the course very crowded and there is a section through a park where you run for miles out to run back in again, which would be fine except you can see the runners returning and I always find that tough.

All of teh above notwithstanding I have done 6 marathons including a couple overseas and I avoid official tours where I can, they tend to be quite expensive. Check out http://aimsworldrunning.org/Calendar.htm for alternative races.

As for training there are lots of intro plans out there, as Lila has said. Find one and stick to it and you'll be grand. Good trainers are vital, go to a shop where they know about running and get properly fitted.

Attire, diet, etc you'll pick up as you go along, especially as the long runs build so pop in with specific questions.

And good luck!

digitalage

seph I'm also doing my first marathon next year in Hamburg, its on the 27th of April, I heard its a good course too run. I have started halhigdons intermidiate II training and its going very well. I just bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 gps watch and I find it fantastic for keeping your pace, distance etc, also you can upload your times to www.motionbased.com to keep track of your training times. I also bought a pair of runners in http://www.amphibianking.ie/ out in Bray were he fits you out, well worth the trip. Anyway good luck with your training

seph

thanks all for the great info. i think ill try hal hidgeons novice 2 plan although it does semm a bit daunting to be honest.

digitalage....Where would i get that watch or something similar ?
sounds just the job ..... and im out to bray tomorrow to get me some fancy shoes!;)

Lila

Hal's novice 2 programme is fine, very manageable. Don't skimp on the long runs though as they are very, very important.

Irishfit.com has a great selection of watches, although in order to get the foot pod for speed, distance etc you're looking at making an investment - they're not cheap. Bought one for my husband earlier this year and he loves it though.

shanksmare

the 305 is available on http://www.handtec.co.uk/ for ~200 euros delivered.
I've seen them for closer to 400 here.

digitalage

Niceone seph you will be looked after in Bray, I got the watch off ebay from the US took over a week to be delivered cost 189euro including shipping, did'nt get stung for VAT as he marked the value as 40dollars and the item as a gift, heres the seller, http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZmyronglobal

SharkTale

Hi Digital Age, which seller did you buy off in the States, on your link

digitalage

SharkeTale these listings are for the one seller 'myronglobal' would recommend, took just over a week and he gives you a usps tracking reference, without asking he marked it as a gift and put the value to 40dollars to avoid customs charges.

SharkTale

Many thanks for the info.

seph

yeah, thanks.. that 305 forerunner is a serious bit of kit ..think ill get one...one of the irish bricks and motars stores have asking price of €405:eek:

digitalage

Rip off Ireland...here is a website I put my runs up on http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/network/digest/view.mb . If you do a search off your area you should be able to find some runs for instance I live near cabra, there a couple off people who use a gps watch and load on this site, handy for getting new routes for running.

MajorMax

My brother has signed up for this, I think he's crazy. Do they really hand out wine and cheese to the runners during the race?

hunnymonster

quite a few races have little quirks like this. The marathon de medoc is probably the most famous "wine marathon". In Seville they give out oranges (slippery when wet!), In Berlin it's beer. I did a marathon in the Arctic circle and they gave out some sort of strange berry alcohol.


Amadeus, I really must Run Paris one of these years, Could you make the Case to Mr Hunnymonster for Paris in the Spring for me? If you get me permission, I may even run my next race 13 seconds slower for you!:D:D

Abhainn

heh Hunnymonster fill us in on the details of the Arctic circle marathon. Was it in Antarticia? as in the 777 challenge?

Personally I think marathons in that they are such great human achievements
should be conquered in unforgettable locations.

Odysseus

Abhainn wrote: »

heh Hunnymonster fill us in on the details of the Arctic circle marathon. Was it in Antarticia? as in the 777 challenge?

Personally I think marathons in that they are such great human achievements
should be conquered in unforgettable locations.

+1 I would love to see this forum being used to spread the world about the more unusal or less know marathons, which in turn means my list keeps getting bigger;)

hunnymonster

the marathon was the santa claus arctic circle marathon

http://arcticcirclemarathon.com

It's help just inside the circle in Finland at night during the summer with the midnight sun. It was a really fun trip and I would certainly recommend it to anyone.

SharkTale

Hi Hunnymonster,
Were did you fly to to enter the Santa Claus run, did look on link but could find info. Please can you also give some detail on transport to venue from airport etc.....many thanks
Thanks

--amadeus--

hunnymonster wrote: »

Amadeus, I really must Run Paris one of these years, Could you make the Case to Mr Hunnymonster for Paris in the Spring for me? If you get me permission, I may even run my next race 13 seconds slower for you!:D:D

You'll never get him to Paris in the springtime - he'll worry that the metal you're after is a ring not a medal!

hunnymonster

Sharktale, Answered your PM re flights.
For anyone else interested, I Flew to Rovaniemi via Helskini with Finnair. I think it was about 400 euro. I stayed in one of the nicer hotels and I think that was approx 100 €/night. I also went on quite a few of the tours when I was there. You could question the sense in hiking up mountains in the Arctic the day after a marathon but this and the rafting and the quadbiking and especially the Shaman village (at least the local Shaman village chief proposed even if Mr Hunnymonster has no intention of doing so Amadeus!)