Paris Competitions News: Paris Half-Marathon!

Paris Half-Marathon 2010 - Into the starting areas looking forward to the start...

On Sunday, March 3rd, 2013, it is the half marathon of Paris, a little more than 21 km (>13mi) for a race in the East of Paris. 40000 runners for this new edition!

A beautiful sports route and a good preparation for the next marathon of Paris which will take place on Sunday, April 7th.

A sports route but also a beautiful touristic stroll, so, of course, you will see at first and on arrival the magnificent castle of Vincennes, but even if you are in full effort, take advantage of the stroll, raise eyes and look at Paris around you... 
Maybe it will make your running easier?

So don't miss, for example:

Notre-Dame

On your road between the 12th and the 13th kilometer, Notre-Dame at your left on the "Ile de la Cité"

L'Hôtel de Ville

At the 13th kilometer, before turning left, have a look to the "Mairie de Paris", the City hall of Paris

The tracks of the Castle of "La Bastille"

Just before the place of the Bastille, between the 14th and the 15th kilometer, on the ground, tracks indicating the locations of towers and walls of the former Bastille castle
(if the crowd allows you to see them)

You will see many other magnificent and historic places all along the route, take advantage of it (and if you have other remarkable places that you want to share with us, say it in a comment, thanks!).

Enjoy your race!

From the Latin Quarter to the Eiffel Tower with Peter

Peter - "Place de l'Alma", far off in the axis of avenue Montaigne, the "Sacré Coeur" on the "Butte Montmartre"

10:09 AM - Peter, who lives in Arhus, Denmark, prepares his next marathon, which will take place in April (Rotterdam or Hamburg). The training of Peter began well, notably by a long Running Tour in Barcelona with our friends of Barcelona Running Tour, a 21 km tour (~13 mi).
On this Friday, February 15th, two days later, it is with a running done at a good pace that we did 19 km. We combined "the useful and the pleasant" by evoking the history and the cultural places of Paris.
As we can see above, we did a small break "place de l'Alma" (located just after the 28th km of the marathon of Paris ;) ) with in the continuation of the avenue Montaigne, the Sacred Heart which dominates Paris since the Mound Montmartre.

A little later, having "climbed" the small hill of Chaillot, a nice tourist suggested photographing us since the esplanade of the Trocadéro:

The Eiffel tower from the Trocadéro

Back to the left bank, in the garden of the Luxembourg, we admired the Fountain Medici, formerly called " Cave of the Luxembourg ":

Peter - The Fountain Medici - In the background, to the right, the Panthéon

By enlarging the photo, you can see Galatée and Acis the shepherd, threatened by the Cyclops Polyphème. It is Marie de Medici, the widow of king Henri IV, who made build this fountain in 1630, in memory of the Florentine gardens of her childhood.

Not far from the garden of the Luxembourg, since the street of the Val de Grâce, appears the church of the same name:

Peter - Church of the "Val de Grace"

Another queen, Anne of Austria, made build the Church of the "Val de Grâce". The building was ended in 1667 (one of the highest domes in the period). Wife of Louis XIII, she made the wish to realize this church at the birth of her future child, birth which arrived 23 years after its marriage! This first son, Louis XIV, the famous "Sun King", put the first stone of the building at the age of 7.

Merci Peter, have a good marathon! 

The route of the tour:

Ducks swimming on the route of the Paris Marathon?

Voie Express rive droite (Right bank express way) - Click on the picture for a larger view and some explanations

Paris undergoes small floods sometimes, generally in February.
Discover the one of this February 2013 => here.

For the Paris marathon, don't worry, we have some times...
In April, it will be dry. And, by the way, if you run a marathon the 7th of April 2013, Paris, for instance, it is time to begin you marathon training plan, it is in 8 weeks!