On Sunday 7th April, Grantham Running Club member Charlotte Wood took a trip across the Channel to take part in the Schneider Paris Marathon. This was only her second marathon and very different from London which she ran in April 2023.
Having had a virus for 10 days over Easter, Charlotte wasn’t sure she was even going to be able to run it so her taper wasn’t quite what she had hoped.
On race day it was very humid but thankfully there was some welcome drizzle during the run. It was a very chilled start on the Champs Elyseé where family could walk to the start area and stand and chat with runners before they set off.
There was some amazing scenery to admire en route. However, with over 54,000 runners, it was a constant battle to dodge other competitors as well as spectators who stood on the route and in many areas covered the green painted race line.
What Charlotte hadn’t realised was how relaxed the organisers would be about letting family members join their relatives in the last 2/3km meaning she was dodging people with pushchairs and bikes as well as the runners. Allowing supporters to climb the barriers near the finish to cross the line with their relatives meant it was fairly chaotic! Charlotte was completely surprised when her daughter appeared next to her about 10 metres from the finish line to film her, saying “everyone else was doing it Mum so I thought I would too!”.
Reflecting on the race, Charlotte didn’t enjoy the cobbles or the three tunnels towards the end which had steep inclines to exit just when the legs wanted to give up. But the well stocked water stations also had bananas, cake and croissant for those could stomach them.
Charlotte had hoped to achieve 4:15 but came in at 4:26:33 which was still 6 minutes quicker than London last year so she was happy with her new PB.
It was an easy marathon to enter and a great way to see Paris as well as a nice medal!
