Story Paris Versailles

Story Paris Versailles

BEFORE THE RACE:

I had said to myself that I would never come back to this race again, but three years after my last participation, here I am at the starting line again.
The training has been greatly reduced this time. About 5 to 6 long distance sessions, no track sessions to work on speed. The sessions lasted from 1h30 to 2 hours with hills climbed at a steady pace. It must be said that I have no pretensions, my participation is friendly as part of my company's participation, I have no competitive aspirations. My motivation is actually found in the pleasure of running, and the festive spirit found in Paris Versailles.

On the competition side, it is better to come with a sharpened mindset and references to get a privileged bib, in order to start in the 1st wave.
Paris Versailles is part of the pedestrian rallies and not pedestrian races. People come here in a festive spirit even if it means sacrificing two hours of their time standing at the starting line. Yuck, I hate waiting in line and starting without warming up, but that's how it is in this kind of "race".

The race:

The start this year is at 10:30am. Still a lot, a lot of people for this edition, with the scouts at the start to record your bib and a start by wave. After a little warm-up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, I decide to start around 11:00am. After 20 minutes of waiting, having trampled among empty bottles, full bottles, and the T-shirts and sweaters of previous competitors, I am engaged, the wave is the 53rd. This means the first runner has already arrived and a long river of runners is ahead, it will be difficult to overtake, I will have to give elbows and apologize, but hey, I shouldn't have come!
The start is calm, the road is wide at this point and the flat until the foot of the hill of the guards goes well. An old pain from fifteen days ago resurfaces after 6 km and forces me to slow down, I know it will be tough, that I will suffer to reach the finish line, but I continue, having no aspirations, I'm not missing anything, I know it's not serious to continue. The hill of the guards arrives, the turn to the left, then to the right and here we are.

Despite my contracted calf with the elevation and which forces me to limp, I go as fast as those around me. I have adopted a low stride, so as not to work the calf, it looks like I am walking fast, but I am making progress. In the peloton, it's silent. With the increasing elevation, the road narrows.
I pass colleagues from work whom I encourage, hoping to motivate them a little. Gradually, the pace quickens, the crossroads come quickly, but the road to the castle is there and we're back in the woods. I try to speed up, to have fun, on the flat, but nothing works, I'm in pain...
The long straight line in the woods passes relatively quickly, in fact, unable to run, I feel absent, I don't feel like I'm in the race and I rarely have good sensations. I try to joke with the other competitors, but nothing works, they suffer more than I do.

At the end of the straight line, there is a right turn near the lakes, with a climb on the right, then a passage under the N118 and a new left turn to re-enter the woods. This part is my favorite. I have to say that this woods is my training ground, from Meudon to Versailles, all in the woods, which is very convenient for heavy marathon training sessions. I still don't feel anything in terms of sensations, and the change of surface doesn't change that. At the end of the straight line, there is a steep downhill slope, and I take it philosophically, reducing my stride and increasing my cadence.

As for my time, I have no idea where I am. I know I started at 11:20 (I had to ask a scout for the time, there was no clock or watch at the starting line!). After the downhill, there are a series of hills and false flats, and I suffer. I'm going at the same pace as the pack, which is not great. I still manage to pass some colleagues from my company and I find myself in the final uphill, which is actually the penultimate one. Then there's a short descent towards Chaville and then the road to Paris. The road is wide, the road is long, and I'm unable to accelerate. I wait to see the finish line and cross it. This false flat is tough, I'm suffering, but I'm not out of breath and not sweating either.

After the race

I have to wait again for the competitors in front of me to move forward. I take the opportunity to ask a scout for the time (still no clock at the finish line, there was a fixed clock on the course, but it wasn't very helpful, a watch would have been more understandable - I wasn't in the mood to calculate the time based on the winner's starting time of 10:30 and my own starting time of 11:20). A scout writes down my bib number and congratulates me, another gives me the medal, and a third hands me a 1.5-liter bottle of water and a large bag from the sponsor with two cereal bars (!!!). I'm lost in the crowd. For my first participation, there were fewer people, not because there were fewer participants, but because I started with the tenth wave with a time around 1:05, so I didn't have to wait at the finish line. It's harder, but more enjoyable. As usual, I look for the massage tables, but they are always crowded, and since I don't feel like waiting, I prefer to leave.

I must have taken between 1:20 and 1:25, which is not great, but I participated and overall enjoyed it. Paris Versailles will have a hard time charming me, because of its organization by waves, which I don't like. Every Friday there are as many people on roller skates in Paris, and I don't think it's as chaotic, except for the drivers, supposedly, but I would have a hard time judging, as I would be on roller skates at that time. In the same category of race at the end of October, there is the Marseille Cassis half-marathon. I have participated in it five times and it was magical every time. I have never been let down by my performance or the organization, and there are a lot of people as well. Marseille Cassis is not the same atmosphere, the Gineste and its 327m altitude are very manageable, and Cassis offers a magnificent setting for the finish of a half-marathon. It's really a race to do and redo.