Paris Marathon ramps up
Paris is preparing for the Schneider Electric Marathon on April 12 with nearly 60,000 runners registered, blending elite competitors and many first‑time marathoners into a major spring fitness event (thereviewmag.co.uk). The race also highlights inspiring personal stories—66‑year‑old Aurélien Olivan will run his 28th Paris Marathon, and reporters note his cumulative miles equal about a quarter of the distance from the Earth to the Moon—underscoring the event’s community and lifetime‑fitness appeal (lequipe.fr).
The race is set to start at 8:00 a.m. local time on April 12, with staggered start groups and a full departure plan — including wave colors, toilet locations and transport advice — posted by organizers so each runner knows their exact start window. (schneiderelectricparismarathon.com) The course again threads past Paris landmarks — Palais Garnier, Notre‑Dame, the Eiffel Tower and finishes near the Arc de Triomphe on Avenue Foch — and the event’s elite list shows depth: organizers say about twenty men on the start list have personal bests under 2 hours 10 minutes, and a few women have sub‑2:20 histories, with named contenders including Kinde Atanaw (PB 2:03:51) and Leul Gebresilase (PB 2:04:02). (schneiderelectricparismarathon.com) (stadion-actu.fr) The race carries a World Athletics Gold Label — a certification that indicates the course is officially measured, the event meets strict organizational and athlete‑welfare standards, and a high‑quality international elite field is required for the label. (worldathletics.org) The route profile shows the full marathon distance of 42.195 km with total climbs and descents listed as roughly +256 m and −252 m, meaning runners should expect several modest rises and falls rather than a perfectly flat course. (schneiderelectricparismarathon.com) Organizers use “SAS” (starting corrals) to group runners by predicted finish time so faster athletes start nearer the front and congestion eases; the published departure plan explains how to find your SAS and the colored‑wave system. (schneiderelectricparismarathon.com) Individual start times are assigned by wave after registration, so runners receive a precise slot based on their declared or estimated pace. (schneiderelectricparismarathon.com) For context from the previous edition: the organisers reported a record field of 56,950 finishers in 2025, with 51% of entrants running their first marathon, 31% women, and about €5 million raised by roughly 6,000 charity runners — figures underscoring both the mass‑participation and fundraising scale that this April’s race will build on. (schneiderelectricparismarathon.com) Aurélien Olivan, the 66‑year‑old featured in recent coverage, has been at the Paris race almost every year since 1999, missed only the 2020 cancellation for COVID‑19, and brings that long personal history — including a former international career in roller‑skating — to his 28th start. (lequipe.fr)
