Marathon de Paris

Back from the Paris Marathon… totally exhausted, took two weeks to get over it…. and I didn’t run it! Roz and Linda from Cambridge and Newmarket did and a whole bunch of us were there to support them.
We walked all over the place, crossed bridges and caught the metro here and there, simply to keep up with them and be in the right place at the right time to hand out drinks, pieces of fruit and cheer them on. The group was split into two: those who really had something to do with the marathon, the brave ones, and the “tourists”.


As well as dashing around the
city, people in my company, supporting the runners, had to speak French only or else pay a fine of one euro per sentence uttered in English…. to be spent wisely on some celebratory drinks later on, was the plan!

The others let us get on with it and enjoyed Paris in their own way: cycling along the avenues on a Velib, stopping for a drink or a bite at a café en route…. their own version of the marathon (!), shopping, sightseeing meeting up with the rest of the group in the evening.

After a few chilly days, the weather at the week-end turned out to be lovely, sunny but cool, perfect for the runners … and their supporters, all on foot and pressed for time…

The ambience was amazing. I am told that, unlike London and New York, the Paris Marathon is “quiet”. There was a bit of Jazz or drum playing here and there at a street corner or on a bridge, but on the whole it was more the colourful crowds, the odd friendly chat with perfect strangers and the sweet smells of the parks and gardens that prevail in the Spring.

The 30,000 plus participants ran softly and quietly, cheered gently by the public, along the circuit. Whilst Roz and Linda went on jogging, as fresh as daisies, we rested our feet on the metro and went to watch their arrival the Arc de Triomphe (also where it had all started at 8 in the morning). Our two stars made it in good time (4h40) and were hugged and congratulated for their performance. That way of seeing Paris was definitely different! Another Paris one might say!