Paris Competitions News: Ready for the 2013 Paris Marathon?

Champs-Elysées - Kilometer 1 - Just before "place de la Concorde" before turning left to the Rivoli street

In spring, strange signs appear on the Parisian road, blue lines accompanied by indications which seem to be coded: "KM1", "KM2", "KM3", etc. 
These are the kilometric marks of the Paris marathon! In other places, all the miles are indicated too.

On the photo above, the first kilometer. Magic kilometer going down the Champs-Elysées. Imagine, you are in the middle of the road of one of the most beautiful avenues and you are running applauded by the crowd!
Take care, in spite of the enthusiasm, don't lose your head. If it seems to be easy, it is because you are running downhill. keep your energy.

One kilometer earlier, the start, in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. The mark is already present:

The 2013 Paris marathon start at the level of the Marbeuf street

Here you are, ready to make a magnificent route in Paris. Find the route in detail by clicking the image below, with a view of monuments, buildings, streets:

Having crossed and taken advantage of Paris up and down, here you are, very close to the finish, in the kilometer 42:

Avenue Foch - 42th kilometer - In the background, the Arc of Triumph

Only 195 meters to go (enjoy it, this moment is extraordinary) and you arrive!
Here is the location of the finish, rather discreet for the moment:

The finish line ! Behind the Arc of Triumph, the Champs-Elysées from where the Marathon started!

We wish you a beautiful Paris Marathon!

On the Paris Marathon route with Magdalena

Magdalena - "Lac Inférieur" of the "Bois de Boulogne" - Close to Kilometer 41 (mile 25.8)

9:31 AM - Magdalena, who lives in Poland, prepares the 2013 Paris marathon. It will be her second marathon after the one of Warsaw. We thus chose to follow beautiful portions of the Paris Marathon route by running about 20 kilometers (12.7 miles).

We joined at first the magnificent Wood of Boulogne, awaiting the arrival of spring. 
It is in this wood that are located the last six kilometers of the marathon. For example, very close to the big lake, is the kilometer 41, an important passage!

Out of the wood, at the beginning of the avenue Foch, we reach the kilometer 42 of which you can see the track registered on the ground in the photo below (track of the 2012 Paris marathon - find the very fresh mark in this other article of April 2012). The 2013 road markings are soon going to appear...

Magdalena - Avenue Foch - Kilomètre 42, à 195 mètres de l'arrivée !

Kilometer 42, only 195 meters to go, Rich in sensations and feelings...
Before the "Arc de Triomphe", is the "triumphant" arrival (we can see the location of the arrival on the photo above, at the green light - click on the picture for a larger view).

We then stroll up the avenue Foch to find the Champs-Elysées, located on one of the branches of  "the Star", center of which is the Arc de Triomphe ("Place de l'Etoile"="Place of the star").
The Paris Marathon starts in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. What a magnificent place to begin a marathon! (See a photo of the start in this other article.)

Magdalena - Place de la Concorde - Having left the Kilometer 1 on the Champs-Elysées

Champs-Elysées, "place de la Concorde", the street of Rivoli, the Bastille, the Wood of Vincennes and its magnificent castle, the splendid banks of the Seine, the Wood of Boulogne and the grand finish avenue Foch.  Aren't you tempted by this route?

Route of the 2013 Paris Marathon

Merci Magdalena ! Good Paris marathon!

The route of the tour :

Paris Marathon 2012, Kilometer 1, with Sarah

Sarah - Place du Canada

6:56 AM - Sarah from Canada, who works and lives with her family in the Bahamas, has already run several marathons. We went to visit Paris by running on a circuit of a dozen kilometers. Several times, our road crossed the path of the very next marathon of Paris (April 15th), which allowed us to share our experiences of marathon runners. Sarah evoked the magnificent marathon of Nassau, Bahamas, along the sea.

Going up to the Chaillot hill, we crossed the Palais de Tokyo, contemporary art museum.
Above the entrance is a huge countdown. But what does it count?
The artist, Gianni Motti, the creator of this digital clock, appropriates one of the biggest future natural disasters: his "Big Crunch Clock" is the detonator activated "to provoke" the explosion of the sun (planned in 5 billion years by the scientists). This clock deducts the time by tenth of seconds to trigger the 5 billion years "scheduled to trigger the explosion."

Entrance of the "Palais de Tokyo" - Contemporary Art Museum - "Big Crunch Clock" Gianni Motti

But let us return to the marathon. By way of the Champs Elysées, we noticed that the kilometric marks on the ground were already there, for example, the kilometer 1 at the bottom of the magnificent avenue, little before reaching the place de la Concorde:

Paris Marathon 2012- Kilometer 1 - Champs-Elysées

The number which provokes so many feelings to the marathon runners is doubtless "42".
The kilometer 42 is also already indicated, as well as the arrival, a little less than 200 meters farther, in front of the Arc de Triomphe:

Paris Marathon 2012 - Kilometer 42 - Avenue Foch (and Mile 26 a little before)

Miles are indicated on the route as well such as the mile "26" which is for our English-speaking marathonian friends the "mythical" number (Marathon = 42.195 km or 26 miles and 386 yards).
Discover the marathon route here. 
We wish you a beautiful Paris Marathon!

Merci Sarah !

The route of the tour :