I loved this marathon. They have been organizing this event for 40 years and they know what they were doing. It was seamless from signing up, to package pickup, from the starting line to the finish line. Everything is well laid out on the website, email notifications, they even have an app your friends and family can download to track you. The expo was massive, with lots of brands to choose from. Asics of course was a title sponsor so if you love Asics, you'll basically walk through a gigantic store. Unfortunately, the exchange rate wasn't great so I didn't buy anything other than a souvenir shirt. Runners get a free backpack with some treats and flyers inside, a medal, and a Finisher t-shirt (which you collect at the finish line). Lots of extra stuff including the free pace bracelet from Asics that they can print out for you plus the Tagheuer 41st km photo that you could've registered for (they would take your photo at the 41st km timing mat and post it automatically on your FB).

The course itself was gorgeous. You could just enjoy the scenery and try to forget how much pain you're in. The worst part was the last park where there were hardly anyone cheering and it seemed like such a tough slog to get to the finish. They had signs that told you what landmark you were running next to.

The aid stations were plentiful and included bottles of Vittel water, oranges, bananas, raisins and sugar cubes. It got quite slippery at these sections though, especially on the cobblestones so be sure to walk them just in case.

Start line and finish line were near Metro stations so getting there and getting back was not a problem. The stairs going down the stations are terrible on marathon legs though. Ouch.

I definitely recommend this race to anyone. Such an amazing experience. I got to run through parts of Paris that we couldn't get to while sightseeing. Everyone was so nice too.

Link to this review