Paris Marathon 2023

Running my first marathon.

Whenever I reached the finish line of a half marathon I always thought how on earth would I ever be able to run that distance twice? 

Well, it turns out that I can, and I did…and so can you. 

Choosing the marathon: ballot entry, charity entry, payment entry?

For the last eight years I have entered the London Marathon ballot but have been unsuccessful every time. It’s gutting but not surprising, because the chances of getting in through the ballot are something like 2%. Of course, you can run for charity, but raising enough money doesn’t feel possible at the moment because the targets are very high, and my husband and I would need to raise the same amount each so that we could run it together in the same year. With the current climate, now does not feel like the right time to be asking friends and family to donate that much money. 

So, we bit the bullet and entered the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon for a simple payment of 80 euros each. We figured that if we can’t run London, why not visit a beautiful city that we have never been to before, and explore it by running a marathon? 

Side note: to run Paris you have to get a medical certificate from your GP saying you are fit enough to run a marathon. You can’t run without one.  

Pick a training plan that suits you.

My husband and I both wear Garmin watches, so we looked at the Garmin marathon training plans vs the Nike run app marathon plan. Whilst Garmin plans are excellent, I loved the idea that the Nike run app offers guided runs that motivate you along the way – such as the Grateful 5k and the 20-mile guided run that Nike Running head coach Coach Bennett and his team have become so well known for. I knew that I would need as much encouragement as possible to help me through the darkest miles, and to help me build the self-belief that I could run a marathon. And so it goes that the Nike app won. It was the best training plan I have ever done, and I loved it. It’s free.  

Stick to the plan (but it’s ok if life gets in the way now and then).

18 weeks before race day we pressed GO, and so the training began; every Friday we did our long run, and across the rest of the week we did a mixture of recovery runs, speed runs, interval runs and tempo runs. We also learned a lot about nutrition, fueling and hydration, and we prioritised sleep and rest days because rest and recovery is just as crucial as running across a solid training plan. 

And as the weeks went on, I started to absolutely love ‘running a long way’ around Bristol. I found a route that took me to places I had never been (I see you, Pill!) and began a journey that took my mind and my body to places I had never been. And even though each week the mileage increased, I found that the longer I ran the easier it became. I was beginning to believe. Sorry, Matrix fans.

And when life got in the way I adapted. It’s ok to go off course a bit, life happens. Don’t stress.

Injuries and niggles.

I experienced a few ‘hiccups’ along the way because a) I am not a machine and b) I didn’t incorporate enough strength and conditioning into my routine which is ironic considering I am a personal trainer.

Stupid decision number 1: on my first attempt at the 20-mile run I tried out some new insoles for the first time. Big error. Whatever you do, don't try some new insoles when you're going to run 20 miles because you may end up getting a taxi home and spending many, many quids on a podiatrist. 

Stupid decision number 2: 10 days before the marathon I felt a sharp pain in my quad (on the school run) and I ignored it. Big error. I thought it was just a one off and would go away with time. It didn’t, so I went to see my physiotherapist Claire Callaghan who noted that I had severe fatigue in my quads, amongst other things. She treated me that day and advised that I could still run the marathon, but I was to start slowly and take it very steadily. Most importantly I was to stop if I needed to. After all, long-term health and well-being is much more important than any finish line. 

In my humble opinion, a DNF (did not finish) is NOT something to be ashamed of – it’s something to celebrate. We only have one body and we need to look after it. Is one race worth ruining that for? NO. Better to DNF than break.

Paris Expo.

Off to Paris we went on the brilliant Eurostar, with the first stop being the Paris Marathon Expo. This is where you collect your run number, speak to run experts, get help about the start and finish areas and browse the many running stalls. It’s a Running Nerd’s paradise. I cried when I collected my number because I have wanted to run a marathon since my Dad did and finally, I was going to!

Paris is beautiful.

The next day we did the tourist thing and visited many of the amazing places Paris has to offer whilst also trying to make sure we didn’t walk too far – no one wants to walk a marathon the day before they run one. We also ate plenty of great food and made sure to keep on top of our hydration and sleep.

THE BIG DAY.

This was it. The big day was here. I was going to run a marathon, or at least try very hard to! With my husband by my side we made our way to the start line near the Arc de Triomphe. And oh boy was it well organised! I didn’t have to queue for the loo once and was absolutely thrilled to find there were female urinals in the starting pens, so if you needed a last-minute-nervous wee you were covered.

Before we knew it, we were off. My husband had gone in a slightly earlier starting group than me, so I knew he was already on his journey to 26.2 when I crossed the start line. The next 4 hours 20 mins and 35 seconds just sort of rolled past me in a blur of incredible support, smiling faces, a ton of emotion and a whole load of me breaking my own rules*. It’s fascinating; they say you should not do anything new on race day, e.g. don’t wear new clothes, make sure you only eat food you have tested in training, don’t try new shoes, and I am a firm believer in this. So imagine my surprise when I went against that entirely when it came to food. There were excellent water and food stations every 5k along the route, and for some reason I decided that my body wanted a little piece of banana at every station, as well as some water and an energy gel that I was carrying (and had already tested). It was a risk, but I got lucky and it didn’t backfire. No one wants you to backfire in the middle of a marathon, especially not the person behind you. 

My pacing strategy was to run steady 10 min miles for the first half and then speed up for the second half if I felt good. It worked perfectly. I had never run further than 20 miles before but even the final 6.2 felt relatively good. I crossed the finish line with a tiny amount left in the tank. Who knew that was possible?!

Was it the banana, or was it because we are capable of much more than we think we are?

Somehow I think that the human spirit trumps banana.

*Don’t be like me. Don’t try anything new on race day. Don’t.