Our journalist gives his impressions after his race

The promise of the Marathon for All was to thrill the 20,024 participants, who then put themselves in the shoes of an Olympic athlete for one night. From the start, the event lived up to its promises. Under the starting arch, with the Hôtel de Ville in the background, the epic music of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games rang out. I got chills. It was 10 p.m. and I set off to thunderous applause from the first few meters. Rue de Rivoli, Louvre, Opéra Garnier… the spectators gathered all around the barriers crossing the most beautiful Parisian sites during the first kilometers. They shouted, clapped their hands, banged the barriers. During a race, I had never felt such human warmth emerge, almost suffocating me. Another Parisian passage that has become emblematic in two weeks: the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries gardens. I realize how lucky I am to also be taking part in this Olympic adventure.

110 countries represented

I was also struck by this Olympic crowd. Carried away by the euphoria that has been present in Paris for two weeks, the spectators make this race unique. Some are waiting for their loved ones and others stop to take part in this popular celebration. All along the course, I run not far from a Brazilian woman who has tied a flag of her country on her shoulders. All the South American spectators chant as she passes “¡Brasil! ¡Vamos!” Here, 110 countries are represented and all this diversity is expressed in the audience.

It would be a lie to say that I felt carried by as much fervor during the 42 kilometers traveled outside Paris and up to the Palace of Versailles. Sèvres, Ville-d’Avray, Chaville, Meudon… in Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines, the public is more timid but always present despite my late hours of passage. These towns, located in the heart of the Ile-de-France forest, have the advantage of bringing a freshness that I did not expect in the summer period.

Hell of the Guards’ Pavement Coast

The course was demanding but predictable. The first big obstacle was the five-kilometer climb after Boulogne-Billancourt. My muscles were stiffening before I was even halfway through the course. The second challenge, a well-known one, was the côte du pavé des gardes, at the 29th kilometer, in Hauts-de-Seine. An 800-meter “wall” on which Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, one of the fastest marathoners in the history of athletics, walked that very morning during the men’s marathon. To motivate the runners, the organization installed a rainbow-colored light tunnel that gave the impression, in the dark, of rising into the sky. Alas, the spectacle was not enough to motivate me to run: I realized that I was just as fast walking as running and that I was expending less energy. This was the option chosen by many runners around me.

At the end of the hill, I breathe, thinking that this was the last big difficulty of the course. Only 12 kilometers of descent to Paris and flat to the finish line at Les Invalides! This idea rekindles my enthusiasm again. At the 34th kilometer, I pass in front of the headquarters of Orange, official partner of the Marathon pour tous, which has done things in a big way. We go through a tunnel with light shows and a DJ. The theme music for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is heard once again. Even though I have been listening to it for two weeks, it still moves me as much. My eyes are filled with tears.

A mental challenge from the 34th kilometer

But then, if my eyes are moist, it is mainly because of the pain that grips me. From the 34th km until the end, my legs are stiff and my mind takes over. I divide the course into sections of 300 to 400 meters and I remind myself that each stride brings me a little closer to the finish line. The view of certain emblematic places reassures me. First that of the unmissable Eiffel Tower which stands in the distance. Several participants stop to take a selfie at the foot of the Iron Lady. Then the golden dome of the Invalides, signaling an imminent and saving arrival. “Only 500 meters to go,” encourages a spectator. It gives me enough energy to accelerate during the last 200 meters.

I finished the marathon in 4 hours and 51 minutes, a little before 3 a.m. That was twelve minutes faster than the Paris marathon, which I had run five months earlier. Even though the main thing was not the performance in this race, I am proud to have set my personal record on a course much more demanding than the Paris marathon. And, although I was worried about running two marathons in the space of five months, in the end, my body held up, to my great surprise. To think that five years ago I didn’t even imagine being able to run a 10 kilometers!