After all the months of training and a few injuries the train left Norwich on Saturday 10th April on time carrying a small team of Norwich Road Runners to Paris to race in the marathon. The six, Julian Allaker, Emma Appleton, Andy Crook, Wayne Easlea, Jamie Guyton and Mark Merrywest were looking forward to a great race, if a little apprehensive about the renowned ‘French’ organisation.
They weren’t to be disappointed. From the starting buzzer to the finished banner the race itself was fantastic. Everyone was there to run, there was very little in the way of fancy dress or people who had trained for 2 weeks to walk around in 7 hours. Beginning on the world famous Champs Elysee, the route weaves through the middle of Paris along wide boulevards and between famous landmarks. If you survive the mad dash for bottles of water and bits of fruit, you are rewarded with a beautiful run along the Seine, past the Eiffel tower and finally back to the Arc de Triomphe.
Even with 40,000 runners the run is not crowded for either runner or spectators in a marked contrast to the London Marathon. The same can unfortunately be said for the organisation at the start and end of the race. Race information is limited, and at points it felt a little more like a large race in Norfolk than a major marathon. After very long queues for the pre-race ‘pit-stop’ everyone just about made it to the starting pen before the gun. Luckily the gaps in the fence made it easy to find a good spot. Finding each other at the end proved to be even trickier, but after 2 hours the group made it back to the hotel for a well-deserved beer.
Top tips for anyone wanting to run Paris:
- 1. Get to the start in plenty of time!
- 2. Make arrangements to meet your friends and family well away from the race exit – ignore the meeting points
- 3. Check that what you think is Vaseline is not actually Deep Heat.
- 4. Ask any of us about the race before you go – it will help you to plan!
5. It’s a brilliant ‘runners race’ !
Everyone obtained PB’s for the race.
Emma Appleton was the first home from the group, knocking over 17 minutes off her PB in a time of 3hrs 25 minutes and 13 seconds. She was the 159th female overall in the race out of over 5000!
Not to be outdone totally by his running partner, Mark Merrywest’s official time was 3hrs 25 minutes and 14 seconds, nearly 25 minutes off his PB
Julian Allaker – aiming for 3hrs 30 himself made it with seconds to spare, also knocking 15 minutes from his PB.
Andy Crook – on his third attempt at a 4 hour marathon and coping with injury worries over the winter smashed his time by 27 minutes – coming in at 3 hrs 35.
Jamie Guyton and Wayne Easlea took a rather more relaxed approach having been unable to run for several weeks before race due to injuries. They enjoyed the run/jog/walk and finished their first (and probably last!) ever marathon in 4hrs 12 minutes.
London is next for Emma, Mark and Andy and all are feeling strong and ready to go!
