Jean-Claude Vollmer, who coaches French record holder Mohrad Amdouni, gives his insights to the very specific route of the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous, on which the Olympic Athletes will also compete. It is better to know what to expect…
Original and demanding
“Totally unprecedented”: Jean-Claude Vollmer, coach of French record holder Mohrad Amdouni, who will be contesting the Elite race, does not beat around the bush when it comes to describing the route for the Marathon Pour Tous, which will be run at night. He has examined the route from every angle, with his athletes as well as with experts and even a “surveyor in charge of re-measuring the sloped sections”. His verdict brooks no argument: “When I say that it is totally unprecedented, I mean both in its originality and toughness. We have witnessed difficult marathons at the Games, in Atlanta (in 1996), Barcelona (in 1992) and in Athens (in 2004), but nothing that will compare with what the athletes will tackle between Paris and Versailles. The watchword was to create unique Games and for the marathon, they have certainly succeeded”.
16% gradients!
In more detail, “the first 15 kilometres will be relatively flat, with some upticks and several small classic inclines; a leisurely tour of Paris, in short. However, it all gets complicated when the race arrives at the Pont de Sèvres bridge: ten kilometres of non-stop ups and downs towards Ville-d’Avray and Versailles. There are at least four climbs of between 6 and 8% on this portion, which also includes the Fausses-Reposes forest. This part finishes with a progressive descent to Versailles”. After that, the hardest part begins with the Pavé des Gardes road near to Chaville. “It is like a wall, almost, with an average gradient of 12% and portions at 16% on which it will be almost impossible to run, even for runners who have been training on slopes,” warns the coach. ach. Almost straight afterwards, after several slight inclines, it drops down, obviously. “For 2 to 3 km, it descends all along the Côte des Gardes slope,” which the runners in between Paris and Versailles usually tackle on the way up. Then there are ten more leisurely kilometres to the finish - at least flatter, but which are not necessarily easy after all that has gone before…
Avoid setting a target time
“It will be a route that is difficult to control, which will completely reshuffle the cards, especially as the heat will also come into play,” warns the coach. “Knowledge of yourself and your pace will be paramount. First time marathon runners will have to walk very often, there’s no doubt about that. Even runners who can usually achieve a time of 3 hours should not be setting themselves goals or should add 20 or 30 minutes to the time for which they usually aim. Their objective should just be to have fun, while remembering to regularly take on fluids, because cramp will always be a present danger”. The ups and downs on this rollercoaster route will put a huge strain on the muscle fibres. “There will be plenty of aches and pains associated with the climbs, but the descents will also break a huge amount of fibres, especially as some runners may overestimate themselves and go too fast on the way downhill,” points out Jean-Claude Vollmer. “The runners must always be careful to avoid overdoing it. In any case, I wish good luck to all those who have managed to get a race number!”
This article was written in association with the French Federation of Athletics.
