Photo by Yann Caradec from Paris, France via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Marathon de Paris
Marathon in Paris, normally held in April. A mixed marathon course — Champs-Élysées start, along the Seine and through both the Bois de Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne.
The Marathon de Paris at a glance
| Distances | Marathon |
|---|---|
| Main distance | 42.2 km (marathon) |
| Usually held | April |
| Course | Mixed |
| City | Paris, France |
| Typical conditions | 15.5°C high / 5.8°C low, rain on ~33% of days |
Champs-Élysées start, along the Seine and through both the Bois de Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne.
Entering the Marathon de Paris
Entry fees, closing dates and start times are set by the organiser and change every year, so they are not reproduced here — a stale deadline is worse than none. The organiser’s own site and its social channels are the authoritative source for the current year, and are where entry opens.
What is stable, and what this page covers: the month the race is held, what the course is like, the conditions you should expect, and how long a build-up the distance needs.
Weather at previous Marathon de Paris races
Across the last ten years, Paris in April has averaged a daily high of 15.5°C and a low of 5.8°C, with at least a millimetre of rain on about 33% of days.
These are recorded observations for the race month averaged over ten years, not a forecast and not a single past race day — race dates move, so one day’s figures would mislead. Source: Open-Meteo historical archive.
How to prepare for the Marathon de Paris
How long to train
Build for 16 to 20 weeks from a base you already hold rather than from nothing. For marathon the block should peak at a longest run of 30–32 km, reached at least two weeks before race day so there is time to taper. Three weeks of taper is standard: cut volume by roughly a third each week while keeping some race-pace work so the legs stay sharp.
Training for this course
The course mixes surfaces and gradients, so build a training block that does the same rather than repeating one flat loop. Vary where you run week to week so nothing on race day is unfamiliar.
Conditions in April
Conditions are usually good for racing: highs average 15.5°C and lows 5.8°C in April, which is close to ideal for marathon running. Dress for the temperature about ten degrees warmer than it actually is, since you will warm up within two kilometres.
Fuelling
Over 42 km you will need 30–60 g of carbohydrate an hour from early on, not once you feel empty. Rehearse the exact products in training — the gut trains like anything else — and check in advance which brand is handed out on course, because switching to an unfamiliar one mid-race is a common and avoidable mistake.
Race week
Sleep matters most two nights before, not the night before, so protect that one. Keep eating normally with a modest tilt toward carbohydrate, lay out kit the night before, and do nothing new: no new shoes, no new breakfast, no new socks. Plan to arrive at the start with time to spare — marathon fields move slowly through bag drop and security.
Distances and where the race is run
- Marathon — 42.2 km
The pin marks Paris city centre, the area the Marathon de Paris starts and finishes in. This is not the course line: the route is set by the organiser and changes between editions, so the official course map for the current year is theirs to publish. The routes below are for training on the same roads.
Train on these roads: 10K routes in Paris · long runs in Paris · GPS art routes
Other races in Paris
- Semi-Marathon de Paris — Half marathon, March
- 20 km de Paris — 20K, October
- Paris-Versailles — 16K, September
- La Parisienne — 6.7K, September