I ran the Semi de Paris (Paris Half Marathon) in 2018. It was sponsored by Fitbit that year, but otherwise it appears little else has changed. It is a pretty awesome experience running an international race. While it is no world major, it was great to see what things they offered ex-US.

The first thing I found of interest was the requirement of proof of fitness to run. Yes, I needed to have a MD sign a physical form in order to race. I've since ran a few other international races and have yet to have had to repeat that requirement. Also, to no surprise, course markings were in KM as opposed to miles!

Other Pros: Huge expo which supported international attendees. Yes, they featured a lot of other European races, but all the vendors spoke better English than my French and I was able to enter all the raffles and get some neat giveaways. Speaking of giveaways, the swag was what you'd expect from an American race. A t-shirt in a pretty unique light green color (for me, light yellow for women) and a finisher medal for everyone. Easy access to the start and easy exit from the finish via public transportation (even for someone very out of town like myself). Friendly folks at all the aid stations and a good cheer squad scattered across the course. It was a pretty large race as well.

Other Cons: The course scenery was very nice, but missed out on a chance to really blow my mind. We really didn't run past any of the major tourist spots of Paris and didn't seem to do too much of downtown. Not bad, just missed a chance to be great. Likewise, the aid stations provided tons of fruits, but the cube sugar they provided, over things like gels or other quick carb providers, fell apart in the rain!