The Paris Marathon 2009: Miles 21-26.2
The course now continued west, leaving the city centre again. There was less atmosphere on running on these more anonymous back streets because there were fewer bystanders giving encouragement. This was precisely the point, however, where I needed it the most.The route followed the Boulevard d’Auteuil, passing the Roland Garros Stadium, then turned back on itself at the next roundabout, following the Avenue de la Porte d’Auteuil.
At the end of that road, at the Place de la Porte d’Auteuil, we took a ninety degree turn onto the Route des Fortifications – which was a mild incline. Any incline at this stage, some 37kms (or about 22 miles) in is unwelcome though. Running with the pacemaker and running in a group of other people, really helped at this point. Not only was the pacemaker shouting encouragement (in French, of course) but at this point in my previous marathons I’ve usually found myself virtually alone, which saps your resolve. Keeping up with the pacemaker and the group helped me keep on track when I know that, had they not been there, I probably would have slowed down and fallen back at this point.
About a kilometre later the course entered the final phase in the Bois de Boulogne, another huge park. We took another turn onto the Chemin de Ceinture du Lac Supérieur. This was probably the hardest part of the race, not least because it was the last few miles, but also because there were relatively few supporters around this section and the tremendous strain on my legs was now impossible to ignore. I wasn’t just tired, I was getting that achy feeling where when you stop running for any reason, trying to get going again is twice as hard because your legs feel like lead.
The scenery had taken on a dull tone because we were running along a section of the park that was rather uninspiring and because the sun had gone in again. The only thing that broke the boredom of this section was the appearance of several marquees, set up by several different French marathons, advertising their races. Some even offered samples of local wines – but naturally, I didn’t partake. The course turned onto the Avenue de Saint-Cloud, which was another of those long stretches which never seemed to end. There were a few more people around the Chemin de Ceinture du Lac Inférieur, but it didn’t feel like we were just a mile away from the finish.
Within what seemed like just a couple of steps, we were back in inner city Paris again, running around the roundabout at Porte Dauphine, then along the wide boulevard of the Avenue Foch. When I saw the finish line a few hundred yards ahead of me, it all felt a bit sudden. It was a short distance from there to the finish. The pacemaker congratulated us all on running a fantastic race then allowed the pack to split up and run past the marathon photographers.
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- Approaching Mile 26…only 385 yards to go!
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- Crossing the finish line
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- Tired yet proud
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- At the finish line
Finally, I crossed the finish line exactly five hours, twenty-seven minutes and five seconds after I started. Almost immediately the muscles in my legs started screaming and burning from over-exertion. I shook the pacemakers hand and had my photo taken by a defeated looking Frenchman sitting on a chair near the finish line.
Even though I completed the marathon under my target time of 5h30m and even though I beat my personal best (though only by a matter of seconds) it still felt a little bittersweet, because I felt that I could have run faster and shaved another half-hour off my PB.
However, I still stand by my decision not to try for a PB and to deliberately under-estimate my performance. This was my third marathon in less than a year, after all!
I suppose there is always next year…
Video: The final word
