Race Report from Jamie Ali
Arrived in Paris a few days early to visit the sites and the running expo. I had been overwhelmed by the support and best of luck wishes from family, friends and running club training buddies so was now ready to give it my all.
On Sunday 7th April 2013 I attended the 37th edition of the Marathon De Paris and as one of the top ten marathons in the world was very fitting with this being my first marathon experience.
Overall, there was a record amount of participation and a record number of "finishers". 40,108 of us were at the start, and 38,690 of us were at the finish line. The 42.195km spanned across the beautiful city starting on Avenue des Champs-Élysées and finishing on Avenue Foch, near the Arc de Triomphe.
Arrived in Paris a few days early to visit the sites and the running expo. I had been overwhelmed by the support and best of luck wishes from family, friends and running club training buddies so was now ready to give it my all.
On Sunday 7th April 2013 I attended the 37th edition of the Marathon De Paris and as one of the top ten marathons in the world was very fitting with this being my first marathon experience.
Overall, there was a record amount of participation and a record number of "finishers". 40,108 of us were at the start, and 38,690 of us were at the finish line. The 42.195km spanned across the beautiful city starting on Avenue des Champs-Élysées and finishing on Avenue Foch, near the Arc de Triomphe.
The starting line was buzzing; full of race anticipation with thousands of runners focusing on carrying out their pre-race rituals. The Champs-Elysées, Bastille Plaza, and banks of the Seine river have never seen so many enthusiastic runners. There were thousands of volunteers who all worked hard to ensure a great event happened like clockwork. There was water, fruit and sponges at every 5km mark, although I seemed to miss out on the cheese and wine that was being served towards the finishing line. There was nearly 90 international live bands playing a variety of tunes/music which all made life a much easier and was a welcomed distraction.
The crowd was amazing and managed to convert race grimaces into smiles. A Hedge End Running club training team mate had recommended that I try some ogy ogy ogy down a long tunnel which was very well received as I heard many runners joining in with me with plenty of oi oi oi’s. I even had time to enjoy some “high fiving” with kids in the crowds, a comfort break and to retie my shoe laces within this race.
The crowd was amazing and managed to convert race grimaces into smiles. A Hedge End Running club training team mate had recommended that I try some ogy ogy ogy down a long tunnel which was very well received as I heard many runners joining in with me with plenty of oi oi oi’s. I even had time to enjoy some “high fiving” with kids in the crowds, a comfort break and to retie my shoe laces within this race.
Please find the statistics for my 1st time Marathon:
Finish Time: 03 H 22'45''
Finisher Position: 4,376 out of 38,690 finishers
Category: VH1 (Male from 1964 to 1973)
Category Finish Position: 1,602
Finish Time: 03 H 22'45''
Finisher Position: 4,376 out of 38,690 finishers
Category: VH1 (Male from 1964 to 1973)
Category Finish Position: 1,602
I was positioned 12,347 at the 5km mark so must have overtaken some 8,010 runners before finishing & rocking in at 1,602 place in my veteran male category which I am very happy with.
In summary as much as this distance is the ultimate running challenge, I highly recommend it to all level of runners as a must try at least once in a life time experience and who knows you could be tempted to do more!!
It was truly an awesome experience with many amazing memories.
In summary as much as this distance is the ultimate running challenge, I highly recommend it to all level of runners as a must try at least once in a life time experience and who knows you could be tempted to do more!!
It was truly an awesome experience with many amazing memories.
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