There are many reasons to run a destination marathon: a new goal, a change of scenery, or an opportunity to combine it with a vacation. Some aim to run the six marathon majors, while others look for marathons in interesting cities. It is certainly what attracts many to the Paris marathon, described on its website as ‘42.195km in the most beautiful city in the world.’

The Paris marathon was my fourth. I had run the Los Angeles marathon twice in college, and the Dubai marathon in 2010. I wanted to run a destination marathon, but the majors have their challenges, including qualification times, oversubscribed lotteries, and complicated logistics. What is great about Paris is that you get a scenic, well-organised, big marathon, and all you have to do is sign up. As an added bonus, the marathon coincided with our three kids’ Spring Break, so we made it a family vacation.

Post-race family pic on the streets of Paris

Preparation
For many months prior to the Paris marathon I had been training with the Desert Road Runners clubin Dubai and had run several races, including half marathons, 10Ks, and 5Ks. I set a 3:30 time for my marathon training plan, although I knew that was ambitious. My personal best was 3:49:09 in LA 15 years ago. However, I did have a more reachable goal: to qualify for Boston. The qualifying time for my age group is 3:40, but I would have to beat that by a few minutes. Last yearthere were so many applicants that only those under 3:37:30 were accepted.

The days before the race
The weather in Paris was cold (around 10-15C high) and rainy in the days before the race, and I was obsessively checking the forecast for marathon day. On the Thursday before the marathon I went for a run in the pouring rain, wearing two layers and a rain jacket, and came back with frozen hands.

On Friday I went to the expo to pick up my race bib. I also picked up my ASICS pace band, a wrist bracelet with one’s projected 5km split times. I chose 5.05 as my average pace, which would leave me with a finish time of 3:34:29. I then sought to calm my nerves in the Lululemon meditation bubble.We were told to write down our goal time and then listen to a five-minute monologue in French. I mainly grasped “your mind is stronger than your body” and “you have already arrived.” I was just hoping that the goal visualisation would subconsciously get me to my target time (mind over body, right?).

The remaining time before the marathon I focused on not tiring myself out too much. On Saturday there was the option of participating in the 5K Breakfast Run, but I said, “no way!” to that. Instead, the kids participated in their own race, 1.2 km for the 5-7 year olds and 2.2 km for the 8-10 year olds, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The night before the big day, there was nothing else to do except eat pasta, hydrate, and lay out my gear. I was still debating whether to wear a T-shirt or a singlet, but settled on a T-shirt, figuring there was no way I would be “too hot.”

Article_Nada El Sawy4

Start line with Arc de Triomphe

Marathon day
On marathon day, I wore an Emirates Airlines pyjama shirt over my clothes as my “throw-away shirt” and also put a trash bag over it, which actually was completely unnecessary and looked rather silly (leave it to a cold-weather novice to make that mistake). I downed a cup of green tea and a sports drink, ate my banana and peanut butter power bar, and then hopped on the metro, filled with fellow runners.
We surfaced at the majestic Arc de Triomphe, where the race starts and ends. I knew that the lack of toilets would be a problem, so I allowed around 20 minutes to stand in line and it did take that long. I then jogged to my pen on the world’s most famous avenue, the Champs-Elysées, feeling the excitement build.
There were 43,317 runners at the start – a new record.The weather was sunny and beautiful, around 16C. The staggered start times worked very efficiently and I set off with the massive crowds.

On the course
As I started running, facing directly into the sun, I immediately regretted not bringing my sunglasses and also wearing a black T-shirt. It’s ok, I told myself, my husband and kids had said they would meet me around 2.5km. I would just ask for my sunglasses then.
We passed a few notable sights early on, including the Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries gardens. When we reached the Louvre, I anxiously looked for my family, but could not find them anywhere. Over the next few kilometres, I kept my eyes out for them, but it was hopeless. I tried to keep focused on my race, happy that I was on track with five-minute splits.

I planned to have water at the stations every 5km and food at the stations every 10km. I had brought my own GUgel, two isostarpâte de fruits, and “energy jelly beans” in my waist pack. The food stations had piles of dried fruits, bananas, oranges, and sugar cubes, as well as gels at a few. At the 10km mark, I had my gel and a banana piece. I checked my time (50:34), which was within seconds of my pace band time.

By this timeI had entered the Bois de Vincennes, one of the two forests on the course. I had heard that spectators would be limited in those areas, but there were plenty of people supporting, as well as loud drumming bands. It was here that many male runners took the opportunity to dash off into the trees to answer the call of nature. As far as I was concerned, that was not an option for me!
When I found portable toilets shortly after the 15 km mark, I decided this was my chance. It was when I started running again that I began to get a side cramp. “Oh no,” I thought, “it’s much too early for problems.”A man next to me told me in French to breathe deeply. “J’ai mal ici (I have pain here),” I told him in my basic French, pointing to my side. “Respirez par le nez (breathe through the nose),” he told me. “Le nez!” he repeated again, as he ran off. I breathed through the pain, but clocked in 5:30 splits for 16 and 17km.

At 20km, I saw my husband and kids. I told them, “Finally!” and then yelled, “I need my sunglasses!” as I ran by. My husband fumbled around, but I knew I would have to wait until the next meeting point to get them. I reached the halfway mark at 1:48:39. Only a minute off from my pace band, I thought, still ok.

Running back into the city along the Seine river were the most scenic parts of the route, including Notre Dame and the Musée d’Orsay. But this is also where the series of dreaded tunnels began. I had heard about the long tunnel de Tuileries that lasts for 1.5 km, which was filled with techno music and bright lights last year. This year, however, the organisers chose a zen-like atmosphere with spa music and pictures of the Maldives (not exactly the energising kick you need in a marathon).

Thankfully, when you emerge, you are rewarded with a view of the Eiffel Tower at 29 km. But, lest you forget you are running a marathon, you then run in between a pretend brick wall “Mur de 30.” I did not appreciate the reminder, but felt grateful that I had not hit the wall – yet.

At 31 km I knew there would be the only isostar energy drinks station on the entire course, so I made sure to grab a cup. At 32 km I saw my family again, this time with my sunglasses. I yelled “Love you guys!” with a smile on my face just before entering the Bois de Boulogne, the forest at the back end of the course.

Then at 33 km my legs suddenly cramped up. This was the longest distance I had run before the marathon and it was as if my legs were telling me “no more.” I felt I had no choice but to stop to the side and stretch. When I looked at my 34 km split time, it was 6:18. I could feel that this was the moment when my goal of 3:37 went down the drain.

I told myself that I could still have a strong finish andI got back on track with 5-minute splits. I saw my family two more times, at 35 km and 40 km. By this time there were no more smiles, just a feeling of overwhelming emotion that it would all be over soon. When the finish line came into view, with tears in my eyes, I gritted my teeth and gave it all I had. Finish time: 3:39:18.

I was disappointed that I had not reached my target, but happy that I still took 10 minutes off my PB. I would definitely recommend the Paris Marathon for first-timers and veterans alike. Although crowded, it is a beautiful course. There was no shortage of spectators, many yelling “allez, allez!” (go, go!) and some even calling me by name. My favourite spectator sign of the race aptly sums up the marathon experience: “PAIN is just the French word for bread.”


 

Next year’s Paris Marathon takes place on 9th April. The first phase of registrations has already closed, but the second phase begins on 5th September, 2016. To enter, visit asochallenges.com.

Words by: Nada El Sawy