Happy New Year to the runners! A competition, competitions in Paris in 2012?

A wonderful year to you all! 
2012 will be an excellent vintage for the running in Paris! In 2011, the infatuation for the running competitions still confirmed, with more and more subscribers, competitions which post "full" very quickly, a public more and more numerous...
We propose you the list of almost all the competitions of running in inner Paris with one or several associated Web sites, photos, movies, routes and our comments.
In Paris Running Tours, we make all these races for a long time and we shall continue even this year. By hoping to see you participating with us.
Some explanations:
"prt" means that the race is a part of the 10 km challenge of Paris (the challenge Paris Running Tour which carries the same name as our company of sightjogging!).
Photos, movies and routes date generally 2011 even of 2010 or before (on certain photos, you can recognize our Paris Running Tour runners). Certain routes result from our GPS watches (less precise in the less wide streets)
Nice runs in 2012 !

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January
22/1/2012 - Les 10 km du 14è prt
10 km - A race dedicated to the performance, relatively flat, next to Montparnasse. First race of the year in Paris. 1,347 finishers. (14è means "14th arrondissement"="14th district of Paris") 

29/1/2012 - Les 10 km du 8è prt
10 km - A little bit hilly race near the "Place de l'Etoile" and the Monceau Park, organized with the nice club of the "Etoiles du 8è". 1,058 finishers in 2011. 

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February
11/02/2012 - La Course de la Saint Valentin prt
10 km - A very hilly race. 5 loops in the magnificent park of the Buttes Chaumont. Very nice race dedicated to variety, tolerance and conviviality. 320 finishers in 2011. 

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March
4/03/2012 - Le Semi-Marathon de Paris
21.09 km - A beautiful international races in Paris. >23,000 finishers in 2011. 

24/03/2012 - Les Foulées du Tertre prt
10 km - A very very hilly race on the Mound Montmartre, departure next to the "Place des Tertres" in the middle of the tourists ! 504 finishers in 2011. 

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April
15/04/2012 - Le Marathon de Paris
42.195 km - One of the most beautiful Marathons of the world! Arc de Triomphe behind you at the start and in front of at the finish line! More than 31,000 finishers in 2011. 

29/04/2012 - Les 10 km de Boulogne (formerly 10 km Planet Jogging) prt
10 km - A pleasant 10 km at the beginning of the spring in the "Bois de Boulogne" with a finish at the Auteuil Hippodrome. 2,748 finishers in 2011. 

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May
13/05/2012 - Les 10 km Courir Ensemble - Handicap International prt
10 km - Beautiful 10 km in the Bois de Boulogne among the races organized by Handicap International gathering valid and handicapped runners to be all together. 1,273 finishers for the 10K. 

27/05/2012 - Les 10 km du 19è prt
10 km - A beautiful race with hilly passages in the park of the Buttes Chaumont. A competitive race however. 962 finisher in 2011. 

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June
3/06/2012 - La Course du Château de Vincennes prt
10 km - A race in the "Bois de Vincennes" convenient to the performance (if it is not too much warm). Magnificent arrival in the castle and on red carpet! 3,268 finishers in 2011. 

10/06/2012 - Les 10 km du 10è prt
10 km - A not so flat 10 km around the nice Canal Saint-Martin(with a small ascent and descent on the bridge to be 3 times crossed). 432 finishers in 2011. 

17/06/2012 - Les Foulées du 12è prt
10 km - Flat 10 km in the "Bois de Vincennes" finishing on the velodrome of Cipale which was of use to Olympics 1900 and 1924 as well as to the Tour de France from 1967 till 1974. 738 finishers in 2011. 

24/06/2012 - 10 km de Paris / 10 km de l'Equipe
10 km - A race organized by the sports newspaper "L'équipe". First edition in 2011. 

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July
1/07/2012 - Les Foulées de la France des Iles prt
10 km - Estival 10 km in the "Bois de Vincennes" with the festive atmosphere of the French west indies. 898 finishers in 2011. 

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September
9/09/2012 - La Parisienne
6 km - An nice feast. Race reserved for the ladies around the Eiffel Tower. 21 682 finishers in 2011. 

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October
7/10/2012 - Les 10 km Paris Centre prt
10 km - One of the most touristic Paris races, starting avenue of the Opera, finishing in front of the Louvre. 4,678 finishers in 2011. 

14/10/2012 - Les 20 km de Paris
20 km - Another big international race leaving and finishing at the Eiffel Tower, passing by the "Bois de Boulogne" and the banks of the Seine. About 21 000 finishers... 

21/10/2012 - La corrida du 15è prt
10 km - A beautiful competition in the 15è district, flat, ideal 10 km for the performance. Organized with the nice 15è Athletic Club. 855 finishers in 2011. 

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November
18/11/2012 - Les 10 km du 9è prt
10 km - Beautiful hilly 10 km near the Paris Department stores. 702 finishers in 2011. 

25/11/2012 - Les boucles du 17è prt
10 km - Attractive, little bit hilly but competitive 10 km. 1,276 finishers in 2011. 

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If you want to make a competition in Paris and if you reserve a tour with us, tell us and we can show you the route and help you to prepare the race (the Paris Marathon, for example). An advice for these races? Ask us! Of course, if you do not want to participate in a competition and want to enjoy completely the tourist jogging, we are there. We like the competition and running but we like Paris just as much!

In front of the French Senate with Daniel and Wils

Daniel, Wils - Le Sénat

9:06 AM - With Daniel and Wils of New York (USA), we ran largely on the left bank: the garden of plants, the arena of Lutecia, the Pantheon, street Saint Jacques...

On our road, having gone down the Mountain Sainte Geneviève, we crossed the garden of the Luxembourg and met the Senate. The Senate with the National Assembly are the two chambers which represent the French legislative power.
The French Senate is also called Palace of the Luxembourg, place where sit the senators since the revolution. This palace was ordered in 1615 by the regent Marie de Medici, the widow of king Henri IV and mother of Louis XIII.

On our route, we noticed on the ground curious medallions:

These medallions, among 135, were put in Paris in 1994, on the line of the meridian of Paris (today, we use the meridian of Greenwich). They indicate the North-south virtual line of the meridian with letters "N" and "S".
The Dutch artist Jan Dibbets so realized the tribute to François Arago (1786-1853), scientist and French politician.
The meridian of Paris was established to allow the creation of the Astronomical Observatory of Paris created in 1667 (Arago was in particular the director of the Paris Observatory).
Moreover, by running in the garden of the Luxembourg, near the Senate, Daniel pointed out to us the Observatory far off by looking at the South of the garden.

How many "points Arago" will you find going through Paris? Follow the meridian!

Merci Daniel, merci Wils !

The route of the tour:

Near a man of the "Enlightment" with Elisa

Elisa - Thomas Jefferson - Far off, the "Sacré-Coeur"

9:09 AM - Elisa, from Atlanta (USA), takes back the running having ended the New-York Marathon. On this Sunday of December, we chose a tour along the river Seine. On our road, we crossed Thomas Jefferson, a great friend of France, who liked Paris very much. He was in the same way as his French counterparts, a man of the "Enlightment" and succeeded Benjamin Franklin as Ambassador of United States in France.

Thomas Jefferson enjoyed a lot the Architecture. Thomas Jefferson's statue is, besides, situated just next to a building which he admired very much, the hotel of Salm, otherwise known under the name of the Legion of Honor Palace. This palace was often imitated. You can see, for example, a copy in the Lincoln Park, in San Francisco (USA).

If you look closely at the photo with Elisa, quite at the bottom, you will see the "Sacré Coeur", the very visible church because at the top of Montmartre, in the North of Paris.

By running along the river, we may be under the impression to go straight on. By going East by the left bank (for example), at the level of the Bir Hakeim bridge, we can be surprised seeing the "Sacré Coeur" in front of us, while at the another moment, next to Thomas Jefferson for example, we will see it on our left. In Paris, the river Seine is a curve!

Join the right bank by the Bir-Hakeim bridge, the "Sacré Coeur" will be on your right. By the footbridge Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, it will be in front of you. At the level of the towers of Notre-Dame, you will see it on your left. 

In Paris, the Seine is a curve!

A little later, we joined the square of Notre-Dame. Have you already noticed on the ground, the point Zero of the roads of France?

Elisa next to the point Zero of the roads of France

Yes, indeed, Paris is a big city and it is necessary to have a precise point in Paris which serves as reference for the distances with the other cities.
What is the distance between Versailles and Paris by road, for example? Not the one who meets a limit of Paris but the one who finishes in the point Zero:

Between Versailles (the Castle) and the limit of Paris: approximately 14 km (in red), between Versailles (the Castle) and the zero point: approximately 23 km (in yellow)

What about you? Where is the "point zero" of your city?
Merci Elisa !

The route of the tour :

By way of the bridge of "l'Archevêché" with Ellen

Ellen - Pont de l'Archevêché - Notre Dame

7:58 AM - Ellen, from Antwerp (Belgium), runs regularly very early in the morning. On Saturday, we ran a little later to take advantage of the light which offered us the sun of December. 

Our road led us on the bridge of  "l'Archevêché" which is on the East point of the island of "La Cité", behind Notre-Dame. As on the Pont des Arts, situated in front of the West point of the island, the padlocks prosper in abundance. Padlocks?
Yes, indeed! Padlocks of love! As formerly on trees, the lovers register their both names on a padlock, hang on it to one of the most beautiful places of Paris and throw the key in the river Seine... 

This fashion would have begun in the 80s in Eastern Europe and appeared on the "Pont des Arts" in 2008 (see the photos of the "Pont des Arts" in this blog).
Sometimes, all the padlocks disappear at one go without that we know why, the services of the city of Paris being not at all responsible for these disappearances. Thieves of metals? Padlocks quickly return however. Even the "bouquinistes" (secondhand booksellers along the Seine) adapted themselves and sell, besides the usual books, padlocks!

A little earlier on our route, Montaigne:

Rue des Ecoles - Montaigne

In front of the university of "La Sorbonne", is the statue of Montaigne, philosopher and writer of the Renaissance. Originally, it was a white marble statue, created in 1933 by Paul Landowski and offered to Paris in 1934. The stony sculpture was so manhandled by the students and vandalized that it was replaced in 1989 by a more resistant, bronze version.
Its right foot would give luck. By touching it, the pronounced wish would come true.
In marble, the foot, highly sought, was numerous times broken. In bronze, it resists but loses its patina and becomes golden!

Merci Ellen !

The route of the tour :