Why did I want to do this race? As it starts under the Eiffel Tower and ends on the steps of Versailles Palace. I had never been to Versailles and thought it was a good excuse to go there. Plus I like to do one race abroad a year now (making it a tradition, Berlin Half 2014!).
Race prep was fine as I had the Richmond Running festival 10 km the week before and the Royal Parks Half marathon the week after. So for a 10 mile race I was ready!
Race Organisation
I received a lot of emails for this race which was good. However they were all in French. For me this was okay as I have some French and my Gmail is great at translating what I'm not sure of. However for some one my friends running they had difficulty understanding the information. Also as an international runner a medical certificate was required prior to the race.
Race Expo
This was in a large hall south of the start of the race. It was clearly signposted and very well organised. There were lots of volunteers helping with the distibuting of the shirts and information bags. Following that there was a small area set up with stalls providing information on Versailles, the trains to and from there and any running gear you may have wanted. Oh and an elevation map......
Yes that is a humongous hill halfway through the race! And yes I seem to be not taking it too seriously here! Little did I know.....
Starting Location
Very, very central which made it easy to find! A sports centre had opened up to allow people to use the race track to warm up and drop yours bags and use the toilets there. There didn't seem to be enough toilets and as usual I avoided the ones the boys were queuing for as they had urinals and if they were queueing I really didn't want to be in there after them! There were no pens, which was a little annoying as the starting area was very crowded and meant we started 45 minutes after the first wave even though we turned up an hour before the start of the race. There is a time limit to the finish of the race so this meant you had to be on the ball if you didn't want the water stations to close up before you arrived. I think they could improve this. However they did let off people in waves of ~100 every 30 seconds which was nice.
Route
So the start was beautiful, running along the river past lots of nice buildings. We had to go through some tunnels which were long and boring but nothing like I hadn't seen before. Now I knew of the hill....the one hill right? Wrong! So wrong! I don't even think any amount of Notting Hill area hill training could have prepared me for this monster! So it turns out my hill training was bump training. We turned a corner where some nice bands were playing after a great water station and the first climb started. Okay I was alright at this stage, I had pre-empted this, I had this. We then turned another corner and the hill continued. Okay doubt started to cross my mind but I can do this, right? It seemed to level out as we came up to a roundabout. Yay, that's it! That's the hills over! Um no, turn the corner and the ascent continues....another band....more of the motorcycle film crew driving near me (exhaust fumes, yum).....I was pretty worn by this stage but I said there is no way I can stop to walk as I can do 10 miles easy, I could do 13 miles easy! Hills will not defeat me! Turn a corner....another hill. This one seemed steeper also. People were walking left, right and centre. It felt like I was crawling but I was still jogging. It was at this stage I did swear at the hill. I am not an angry runner but oh man, I couldn't believe this climb. I was so dumbfounded! Once we got to the top of that hill I saw the route level again.....surely they can't be tricking us again.....and they weren't. The next couple of miles were a level playing field. A little down hill, a little (now comparative) uphill, and then a massive downhill. My legs tumbled from under me and I found it hard to control the sharp decline. All I could think of while descending was the pain I had just endured! And the fact that I heard in the random english speaking whispers of another hill.....another hill....And sure enough 2 miles to go there she rose. But again, I was not going to be defeated especially since I had gotten this far. Up in the beautiful park region of Meudon I took each step as it came and reached the longest part of the race. The road into Versailles! This mile took forever to end but I got there! This was a PB as it was my first 10 mile but it was well below what I had wanted but I will smash it next time (on a flatter course....)!
Crowds
Not many people out at all! It seemed that maybe the whole of Paris was running instead! Even the finish line was very very quiet....
En route drinks and snacks
Lots of water, raisins and sugar cubes along the way. The people were great at handing out all the drinks and food. There was also sports drinks at a couple of the stops. At the end there was a large 2 litre bottle of water, yucky babies apple puree, granola bars and a banana.
Official T-shirt
Bright yellow Adidas t-shirt. Which I love. It has a little logo for the race also which is nice.
Medal
Nice chunky gold medal with an outline of the Versailles gardens on it.
Marks out of 10
8/10 Only faults were the lack of pens and toilets en route. Great race though. Would definitely recommend it!
Stretching outside Versailles Palace, as you do
My running buddies!
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