Paris Marathon 2011

central park

Any advice for a first time Paris marathoner about the course, difficulty, medical cert, hotels etc? What is the verdict from people who have done it before?

groovyg

Here is the thread on Paris 2010, Its a marathon that gets mixed reviews. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055683740
As far as I remember you do need a med cert for it.

Wally Runs

You need a med cert for sure. They are very strict about it. Plenty of hotels to choose from I stayed near the start/finish for about €100. Not the worst hotel. If you are to fly out after the race see if you can get a late check out or see if they will let you shower etc. Cost me a €20.00 tip but was well worth it.

The race is very busy and well enough supported but as said mixed views. I loved it!

Daithi BC

It's one of my favourite ever marathons, but I have spoken to a few people who really didn't like it. In my book, any marathon where the Marathon du Medoc people are handing out red wine at 40km is got to be worth a visit.

Paris is not the cheapest place to stay, but the transport is so good that you don't need to be right in the city centre, and if you book far enough in advance, it's no worse than Dublin in my experience.

911sc

central park wrote: »

Any advice for a first time Paris marathoner about the course, difficulty, medical cert, hotels etc?

Marathon organisers are looking for specific wording on the med cert, so best is to print the sample met cert from Paris Marathon website, get it signed by your GP and post it. As simple as that..
Or you can give it at the expo the day before the race...but if anything is not right, that will be the end of the race for you. So posting in advance is best.

mark_jmc

Hi ,
i did the paris marathon this year- thoroughlt enjoyed it.
The course is fine- lots to see and fairly flat. No probs with water etc
feel free to pm me with any specific questions etc,
I used the medical cert from the site and brought it with me to the expo- no problems
Best of luck ,
Mark

IamtheWalrus

Are any of you running this this year? I am and am aiming for a very unrealistic sub-3.30. My previous was 4.40 (Dublin 2005) and 3.48 (Dublin 2009).

I have started my training but my long run is only 8m. Need to step up.

Are any of you aiming for a similar time?

rainbow kirby

After visiting Paris this week, it's definitely on the "to do" list for the future. Not this year though, my spring is already well booked!

central park

Have entered this, have been badly hit with flu over past two weeks so have I enough time to train?( 12 weeks tomorrow) Not looking for sub 3 or anything like it, would be very happy about 4.30. Any advice appreciated.

Boyler1971

12 weeks is loads of time.Regain fitness for the first 10-14 days and then put in quality sessions for the following 8 weeks and then taper.Five or six long runs is plenty for what you want to achieve.I am running Paris aswell and missed 10 days over christmas, trained steady for the last ten days and feel good now.Best of luck.

central park

Thanks for encouragement! Had my first run this morning in about 3 weeks, went better than expected but have a long way to go to get back fitness.Still it's great to be back and have a 10k race next weeknd.

aigster

Paris super ... Huge crowds mind..But lovely marathon... Worth doing as one to savour... Allthough if ur after a pb ... Also have super pacemakers

IamtheWalrus

Hi all,

I have started my training for this marathon 2 weeks ago and am basically running some 5, 8 and 10 mile runs, all at just under 8 minutes per mile. I'm tired when finished but not knackered. The marathon is in 12 weeks.

I am hoping to run a sub-3.30.

What are your opinions on my progress? Is a sub-3.30 a reasonable target?

Walrus

menoscemo

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Hi all,

I have started my training for this marathon 2 weeks ago and am basically running some 5, 8 and 10 mile runs, all at just under 8 minutes per mile. I'm tired when finished but not knackered. The marathon is in 12 weeks.

I am hoping to run a sub-3.30.

What are your opinions on my progress? Is a sub-3.30 a reasonable target?

Walrus

No need to be running all your miles under marathon pace, you will just tire yourself out and make it harder to get all the training done.

Vary your speed in training, do some runs much slower than marathon pace to promote recovery. Do some shorter ones faster. Do your long runs alot slower (the S in LSR stands for Slow) as a general rule but throw some marathon paced miles at the end of them.
Believe me, if you get to up to doing 18 and 20 mile runs and are trying to do them all at marathon pace you will just burn yourself out/get injured/ take all week to recover from them after and miss training....

As a general rule of thumb you should only be doing two hard workouts per week (by hard i mean either fast or long).

If you train smart it sounds like you have the ability to run sun 3.30.

central park

Will be in Paris in 6 weeks! Where did the time go? Medical Cert sorted so that's good. How's everyone's training going?

Boyler1971

Looking forward to this now.Training going well.Only three long ones left,thank God, have a pain in me ar$e running endless miles on roads.Will be mi 13th marathon but never ran a foreign one so it should be good.

Caprica

Just over 5 weeks to d-day. Hope your are all enjoying your training. Was just wondering have you all been doing much racing? I have done a lot of cross country races, had planned on the Wicklow Half marathon at the end of the month for a final run out but it has been cancelled due to H&S reasons. Would have like to run a half just to see where I stand.

In relation to the medical cert are you going to post that over or just bring it to the expo with you?

central park

Not much going on in the way of races up to now but doing the Kinvara Half marathon tomorrow and the Craughwell 10 mile on March 20th, then the Big One! As regards the med cert, I posted it a few weeks ago and will bring a copy to Expo just in case. But they updated the runners list very quickly saying that they had my cert. Have heard of people emailing it, but don't know much about that. You still have time to post it though, enjoy the race!

aigster

I was wary last year of emailing cert, there's no bother to bring on day to expo...quick look and your sorted... It's a super day....the expo the only place you'll get a bargain in Paris!!
Enjoy!....and good luck to all.

Caprica

How is every one set for Sunday? I think I have come down with a bit of an injury, lower calf down to Achilles is not feeling the best today. Had a nice ten miler yesterday and it felt fine. Will be doing very little this week.

Long range weather is predicting a high of 71, hopefully that will be long after we have finished!

Best of luck.

central park

All set for the trip to Paris, ran 5 tonight and it was really windy out there! Looks set to be a warm one on Sunday but hopefully we'll get a fair few miles in before sun comes out! Wishing the very best to all the Irish gang running in Paris at the weekend, might see some of you at Dublin airport Saturday morning!!

A friend who ran this last year says to bring 4 safety pins as they don't supply them at French races, also don't forget passport, email confirmation page printed off the website and the all important medical cert! BONNE CHANCE A TOUS!

ButchMG

Overall I really enjoyed this marathon. The temperature was very high for running and that's my excuse for the slower than hoped-for time! Organisation excellent, public support superb, refreshments better than expected - and what a city. I would definitely do it again.:)

Boyler1971

Great day Sunday.Made the decision at the start to run 'easier' beacause of the heat.Never enjoyed a marathon so much and came home in good shape.Course couldnt have been better ,cheering crowds all the way , brilliant organisation,loads of water/fruit.A must for the diary and perfect for first time marathoners.

tHE vAGGABOND

Some of the photos I have seen on mates facebook sites of this race were really awesome. One I have seen a few places, of 40k odd people on the start line, on the Champs Elysses - looked truly amazing.

If I survive Dublin in October, will be seriously thinking about doing this next year

IamtheWalrus

I was in Paris to watch a friend run (I had to pull out because of injury) and the race looked great. I was very jealous. Not sure I could have coped with the heat though! My flight was supposed to leave for London at 6.15 yesterday but was delayed to 10 :mad:

Well done to all taking part!

Caprica

Really enjoyed this race, even if the weather done us no favours. Can not believe how hot is was. Found the last section through the woods quite tough, it just seemed to go on and on. I thought the support was quite sparse in places especially in both the wooded sections. Very impressive start on Champs Elysees and down to Place de la Concorde.

central park

Really enjoyed this race too despite the scorcher! Excellent organisation, great music, crowds amazing, calling out our names, loved the oranges en route too. I carried a sponge with me the whole way and it was a lifesaver just to stay cool. The showers/hoses were very good too. Really nice medal to add to my collection!Would definitely recommend this one. wandered round the finish area on Monday and the place was spotless, despite the huge event the previous day. Well done to all the Irish finishers and thanks to the Irish guy who encouraged me on the last few miles!