Ever since I’d had my place confirmed, I’d half expected this event to be postponed. The world was still struggling with Covid and the goalposts changed frequently. So I tucked my acceptance email away in a ‘Paris’ tab amongst my emails and mentally put it all aside. Until, of course, it was time to start training. Marathon training is a hard slog but doing it without truly believing your event will take place is on another level. Still, I knuckled down.
As the date drew closer and there’d been no hint of a cancellation or postponement I decided I’d better get a spurt on.
I needed a medical certificate confirming my fitness to participate. Sporting events in France (and Italy) very often have this requirement. Obtaining this certificate was a really frustrating experience which you can read about here Have You Heard of Runner’s Heart? I Hadn’t and it Nearly Cost Me My Marathon Place
The race organiser’s are quite picky when it comes to this certificate-with what they will accept and what must be written on there. I used this one and it was fine:
Now I was pretty sure the marathon was going ahead, I was so glad I’d prebooked some (cancellable) accommodation as when I went onto the site again the prices had risen quite a bit. Paris is obviously an expensive destination and there was no way I could afford to stay right near the start line on the Champs Elysees!
When deciding on accommodation, my recommendation would be to firstly decide how you’d like to get to and from the race. I prefer to walk rather than get on public transport; it calms my nerves. I try and choose accommodation which is around 30 minutes walk from the start (bearing in mind that the walk back will be a bigger effort than the walk there!) I used the app Booking.com, entered Arc de Triomphe as my search area and then chose a hotel within the required distance and price range.
The marathon was on Sunday 17 October so I decided on a 4 day trip from 15-18 October.
I booked a single room at the Hotel Caumartin Opera from Friday 15 October 2021-Monday 18 October 2021 at a cost of £250.
It was a toss up between a flight and the Eurostar but as the Covid travel requirements appeared less oppressive on the latter, I went for that – travelling from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord in under 2.5 hours. From there you can access the Paris metro to all parts of the city and as I was intending to walk to most places I just bought a single ticket from the machine whenever I wanted to use it.
Here’s a Paris Metro Map
The room was perfect for my needs.
And with a bar two doors away and a pizzeria right opposite, us marathoners were all set!
Absolutely awesome narrative!! You covered all the points extremely well! Paris Marathon is on my bucket list. I went to Paris 2 years ago and was enthralled! The bistros, the gardens, the statues and architecture! So divine!! When the time comes, I’ll hit you up!