Boosted by the explosion of running, the Paris Marathon will welcome over 60,000 runners this Sunday. A record for the event, which has also never seen so many female participants (20,800) taking to the streets of the capital.
This year, women make up 33% of the Parisian field (compared to 25% in 2022), a record according to the organization. But we are still far from gender parity, which other major marathons are approaching, such as the New York Marathon, where 45% of last year’s participants were women.
The first marathon for half of the entrants
In the streets of the French capital, 49% of the entrants will wear a gold bib, a sign of their first marathon. This is the case for 22-year-old Bastien Saut, a student at Sciences Po Bordeaux, who has been intensively preparing for three months. “I started running during Covid, and after doing the half marathon in Bordeaux two years ago, I decided to tackle the marathon this year,” says Saut, aiming for a time under four hours.
Additionally, 8,500 will run with a solidarity bib, obtained at a reduced price by committing to raise a minimum of 420 euros. This program has been in place since 2012 and is expected to raise 8 million euros for associations this year, another record according to the organization.
Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse sixth
Often ranked among the most beautiful races in the world, the Paris Marathon is not known for being particularly fast. The elite male and female runners started at 8am, while the last amateur wave will start at 11:32am, over an hour after the first finishers.
Among the men, Italian of Ethiopian descent Yemaneberhan Crippa won the race in 2:05:16, ahead of Ethiopian Bayelign Teshager (2:05:21) and Kenyan Sila Kiptoo (2:05:26). Frenchman Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse finished sixth, beating his record in just under 2:06, in a competitive male race where the gaps were made in the final three kilometers.
For the women, Ethiopian Shure Demise shattered the previous Paris Marathon record by over a minute, winning in 2:18:33 ahead of her compatriot Misgane Alemayehu (2:19:06) and Kenyan Magdalyne Masai (2:19:18). Demise achieved the sixth best performance worldwide this year.
The end of single-use containers
This year, the Paris Marathon organization is not distributing single-use containers to the runners at the thirteen refreshment points. So, no more plastic bottles or cardboard cups: participants must bring their own cup, flask, or hydration pack. This measure was already in place during the Paris Half Marathon last March. “I find it a bit of a shame. If every time I lose 20 seconds filling a flask and I stop ten times, I lose over three minutes,” sighs Bastien Saut.
For runners aiming for under 2:50 on Sunday, pre-filled water bottles can be used, if they are then left in designated areas after use. In a marathon like Paris’, the majority of carbon emissions remain related to the participants’ travel. This year, 29% of the entrants are foreigners.
