Hilly Paris Olympic Marathon Course Revealed + Free Mass Participation 10k and Marathon

Looks like I was 20 years early. I'll be back to run in 2024.

Free mass participation, with ~40k runners in both the marathon and 10k?! That sounds incredible!

But how will they cap entry? First to sign-up? Since some wannabe entrants might jump, on that, only to drop out later (or not show up), will there be a dynamically updating waiting list?

Not Kipchoge-certified.

When was the last time, if ever, there was a FREE mass participation run in the USA?

I imagine the Paris events will rely upon a lot of volunteer labor, but how much will the other things (securing roads, timing, drink logistics/provision, etc.) cost?

Bump

Shouldn’t this increase Kipchoge’s chances of running Boston and New York to be better prepared for the hills?

I think Old Kippy will struggle at 40 yrs old with these hills and am expecting to see a new Olympic Champion. But we're all pulling for him

Hills are too far removed from the finish. Nothing can match the Montjuic (sp?) finish in Barcelona 1992. 150 meter vertical climb in the closing kms.

Should suit runners who have excelled in XC.

KENENISA MF BEKELE!!!

I don't get this thinking that Kipchoge can't run hills. Is the thinking that where he lives and trains all roads are pancake flat and he never runs any hills? Or do you think he is fat and overweight and have too many kilos to lug up the hills?

Interesting. This course looks AMAZING. I can't wait.

I was thinking the opposite. When i saw the course I thought, "KIpchoge should now give the middle finger to the WMMs and run London and Valencia next year and just wait til Paris to prove he can run the hills." But your more positive take may make more sense.

Has a date been established for US OTQ, and has a decision been made between Orland and
Chattanooga?

This has to favor Chattanooga, doesn't it?

Looking at the elevation chart, all the hills are in the middle portion.

Do you think anyone will try to charge up the hills and drop the field there? Or will it be a tight lead pack and a bunch of them will start flying down the last big downhill and see who hangs on for the final flat?

You'd think that someone would give it a crack up the hill. Even if they don't, you'd think a hill like that would cause the lead pack to break up.

Looks great.

Just because Kipchoge is always chasing fast times on flat courses doesn't mean he's no good at hills. But it is a bit of an unknown.

This course is very interesting.

It's actually not a hilly course it is basically a one hill course. That hill is very big though!

It would actually be hard to pace this course. Almost all of the course is flat fast running but there is one big uphill. For these athletes, the uphill won't be that hard I think it will come down to whose quads can handle a fast downhill 20 miles into the race. The leg fatigue will make it hard to finish hard in the last two miles.

I think this course will favor unknown winners more so than anyother course.

I still give Kipchoge the win. He'll train for it and be ready to dominate.

Will definitely favor a runner who can handle the hills. A little similar to the Atlanta trials............come on down Galen Rupp! Your 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist! Book it.

Tell me you don't understand analogies without saying you don't understand analogies.

It'd be fun to see some elite runners who just missed qualifying for their country show up and run, and run a faster time than many of the olympians in the race. There would be a bunch of 2:06-2:08 Africans who could do this, and some other sub 2:10's from a few other countries. Imagine one of these guys showing up to run 2:09 on this tough course and that would have been top 10 if they were in the actual olympic field, showing that there are many good runners not qualifying for the olympics that are better than most olympians.