Paris 2024: “marathon for all” starts at 21:00!

Paris 2024 framed the news in a press release this Thursday, April 20th. Marathon for All, an unprecedented run scheduled for the last weekend of the Paris Olympics, will begin on Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 21:00. An equally new timetable for the long 42.195 km event. In France, only the Bordeaux (Gironde) marathon adopted this night format until 2019.

How Parisian On January 31, it was announced that the 24,024 people who had taken part in the marathon for all (24,024 people would also take part in the 10 km race) would thus depart at nightfall from the courtyard of Paris City Hall (IV). The first will cross the finish line on the Esplanade des Invalides long before midnight.

“Participating in the Paris Pour Tous at the 2024 Games promises to be an absolutely incredible experience. On the night of August 10-11, 2024, the 40,048 runners who will receive their starting numbers for the Marathon Pour Tous will have an exceptional new night experience, says Aurélie Merle, sports director of Paris 2024. If only the marathon were an experience in itself running the same course as the Olympic athletes, on the same day, in great surroundings and at night, promises to be a huge adventure for 40,000 participants. “The former tennis player Amelie Mauresmo should be there. “Marathon Pour Tous is a sporting challenge that motivates me incredibly! To participate in this unique race is a dream. I’m already planning! ”, announces the winner of the Australian Open and Wimbledon 2006.

The reasons for this nightly choice are varied, but they are primarily dictated by the safety and health measures of the runners. There will be high temperatures in the capital in August (over 30°C), and the organizers do not want to risk dehydration or discomfort.

The route, which will travel back and forth between Paris and Versailles, is already quite difficult: 436 m of positive altitude and a “wall” symbolized by the terrible climb of the road from the Pave de garde de Chaville (Hauts de Seine). 31 km, so as not to add complexity.

Recall that when determining the route of this unprecedented marathon, the organizers relied on an event that marked the history of France: the march of women to Versailles on October 5 and 6, 1789, which led to the ratification by Louis XVI of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and accelerated the return of the king to the capital.