13 April 2011 - Mission: Sub-4 hour. Status: complete
I had mixed emotions about running the Paris marathon, add to the mix the hot sunny weather that the BBC was predicting, it’s the first time I can remember cursing such a forecast…I was just hoping that as it was France, they’d got it wrong. But on arriving in Paris, for once, I accepted the BBC were spot on. Looking at the blue cloudless sky, panic set in.
Training over one of the coldest winters hadn’t prepared me for a scorcher of a day. However, by the time I set off, it didn’t seem to matter. I was well prepared and told myself I had nothing to worry about. Kitted out in a cap and having that handy sweatband on (now I know why people wear them), I forgot about the heat and just enjoyed the run…a beautiful marathon route that took in most of the major sites in Paris. Quite how I missed the Eiffel tower is beyond me…I must have been ‘in the zone’. The highlight? Completing the course in my personal best time of: 3:49:49. Shaving 22 minutes off the last marathon I ran!
If, like me, you enjoy stats, here are some from my race: 26.2miles or 42.2km in distance; 25 degrees on the day; less than 20% of the runners were women; placed 628 out of the 6129 women; 2:22:51 fastest woman; 2:06:29 – fastest man.
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