I broke my personal best at the 2023 Paris Marathon, and I want to share the experience with you. Enjoy the read!
The 2023 Paris Marathon is my fifth marathon. I had never felt so well prepared, thanks to the experience of my first four marathons and a three-month build-up following the RunMotion Coach app to the letter.
But you never know what race day has in store at an event like the marathon. In fact, “event” is the wrong word: the marathon is an adventure that deserves to be lived to the full!
I first ran the Paris Marathon in 2019. Coming back from a knee injury that had lasted almost two months, I wasn’t ready to perform over 42.195 km. So my brother Romain and I decided to run at the front of the marathon for as long as possible.
The challenge was a chance to show off the jersey of RunMotion Coach, the app we had launched six months earlier. Leading the race down the Champs-Élysées was incredible! Then at Place Vendôme, Romain dropped back after running 2 km at over 20 km/h. We high-fived, a moment broadcast live on French television. I held on at the front for 2 more kilometres before finishing as best I could, with Romain, in 2:52.
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A successful marathon build-up
This time, in 2023, the goal is to beat the personal best I set in New York in 2019: 2:26:36. Given my form in training and in cross-country races this winter, I’m very confident. During the build-up I ran all my marathon-pace sessions between 3:20 and 3:22/km, which suggests a time between 2:20 and 2:23.
I start my build-up in early January, after finishing another marathon: writing my book Ma bible du running, du trail et du marathon (published in French), which hit bookshops on 28 March. Those long evenings and weekends of writing were fascinating, but nothing beats having finished so I could throw myself fully into the Paris Marathon adventure.
Overall the whole build-up went well, with six weeks between 100 and 110 kilometres a week. The only issue was the start of plantar fasciitis that bothered me for 4 to 5 days in early January. A visit to the osteopath and two days off, and I was back at it stronger than ever!
I shared a few runs with Romain and Alex, who is also running the Paris Marathon! These friendly moments are precious during a marathon build-up.
My last short session before the marathon, on the Wednesday, with 3 kilometres at marathon pace, feels super easy. I look at my watch and realise I didn’t notice the time pass: I actually ran 3.2 kilometres at 3:17/km. Now I just need to feel as good on Sunday!
I arrive in Paris on Thursday with Matteo and Romain from the RunMotion Coach team to run our stand at the Paris Marathon Run Experience expo. It’s a chance to meet app users and sign a few copies of the book. Of course I want to succeed for myself, but also to show that training with RunMotion Coach works whatever your level. And I want to succeed for everyone supporting me, near and far.
The day before, I do a short sophrology session to visualise the race. It fills me with energy for the marathon! On Saturday evening I eat my last big meal: a plate of white rice and a chicken breast. I set the alarm for 5:25. Sleep comes easily, and once awake at 5:25 I eat the leftover rice, a slice of ham and a Baouw fruit purée. I go back to rest in bed before getting up for good at 6:30 and heading to the start, set for 8:15.
42.195 km on the menu!
I walk to Auteuil metro station, then spot the first runners with their bibs on the platform: no doubt, I’m heading the right way!
As I come out, a few drops are falling, but the cool temperature is ideal for a marathon! My only worry is the wind, which is blowing quite hard this morning.
The warm-up can begin: 10 minutes at a very slow jog, then 3 or 4 strides of about twenty seconds to finish.
I meet Romain to give him my jacket and trousers. Fifteen minutes before the start, I move up to the start line. The adventure can begin!
I don’t feel any particular stress: the plan is clear. Start carefully on the Champs-Élysées, then settle into 16:30 to 17:00 per 5 km, depending on how I feel and the groups that form.
I line up in the third row, just behind the Ethiopian and Kenyan runners, favourites for the win. Here we go!
Running on the Champs-Élysées is a unique feeling!
The first 5 kilometres feel easy, and I find my place in a group of 6 or 7 runners. We take turns at the front since we have no pacer. Everyone gets along and, apart from one runner, we all share the work.
The atmosphere around Bastille is great! Then in the Bois de Vincennes the crowds thin out and the wind picks up. We go through halfway in 1:11:39, on 2:23 pace. My quads are starting to stiffen a little.
The section along the Seine is livelier! It gives you strength for those long kilometres by the river, where climbs and descents alternate. One runner in the group has stomach problems, and we start catching the runners who went out fast and are now cracking.
Around km 30, when one runner speeds up, I decide to follow him! Easy for him, having sat snugly in the group for the first 30 kilometres! We go from an average of 3:23/km to 5 kilometres at 3:17/km.
I pay for that effort a little on the first climb in the Bois de Boulogne, then I hear people shouting “Allez Mathieu!”. Mathieu Blanchard, second at UTMB 2022, catches me around km 37 and I can’t hold his stride. I grit my teeth: only 5 kilometres to go, including a big climb just after the Trocadéro!
Then at the top, I give it everything! A downhill 42nd kilometre in 2:57/km, and I see the finish line! I cross it in 2:23:11, a personal best by 3 minutes!
It’s great to find Romain and Matteo in the finish area, and then I can wait for a friend who planned to run around 2:40. These shared moments are also what make me love the marathon and racing in general!
Looking at the other results of the day, I know there’s a way to go under 2:20 on a faster marathon with a deeper field. Maybe in 2024! But for now, it’s time to savour this fifth marathon finisher medal!
Read also my account of my first marathon in Lausanne in 2018, and of my 2019 New York City Marathon, where I was the first French finisher.
