Race Report 9 October 2022 5 min

20km de Paris 2022 — A New Personal Record in the City of Light

One week after Lyon, I lined up for the 20km de Paris on heavy legs. A memorable race that delivered a brand new personal record.

A new race weekend, just one week after the Lyon Half Marathon. This time no travel needed — the race is in Paris. That said, Lyon had left my legs with some lingering soreness that I struggled to shake. A few people asked about my physical preparation: to answer here, I did only one cycling session that week to get some rest without stressing the joints. I’d also done a marathon training block in October 2021 for the 2022 Paris Marathon, so I have a solid base and a good number of half marathons behind me. I wasn’t lining up for this 20km for the first time or just for fun. If you’re thinking about taking on this kind of challenge, starting with a 5km then a 10km is a good way to see how your body handles the effort.

Saturday: Bib Collection

You know the routine — bib collection at the race village on the Champ de Mars in Paris. I was expecting a small village based on the map sent by email, but it was anything but. The runner’s bag was very different from Lyon: alongside the race number and t-shirt, we got a small water bottle, two gels for during and after the race, and a few sweets. The village also featured stands promoting upcoming national and international running events — a good opportunity to research potential future challenges.

The Course

20km de Paris 2022 Course Map

Sunday: Race Day

Beautiful weather today — lows of 5°C with a high expected around 19°C. My corral’s start time was 9:36am — those targeting 1h55. Even with the race in Paris itself, I still had an hour of travel to get there, which is not nothing. I arrived with less advance time than in Lyon and had to cut my warm-up short, but I was eager to get going.

The start was at Pont d’Iéna with about 25 minutes of delay due to the sheer number of runners. We waited beneath the Eiffel Tower watching on a huge screen as the leaders finished in under an hour — absolutely staggering.

After the warm-up, my right knee felt slightly sore and I genuinely hoped the pain would quickly disappear. On that bridge, with such a mass of runners, overtaking anyone in the first 500 metres was utterly impossible anyway. Around kilometre 1 I could finally open my stride, arriving at the Arc de Triomphe a few minutes later. Sensations were good so far, but I stayed alert, especially when my tracking app showed I was well under 6min/km — good news, but too fast a pace early on can be fatal later.

At the first aid station (kilometre 6) I grabbed a water bottle and a piece of banana — yes, on this race there’s more than just water at the first stop — and it gave me a solid boost. At that point we were deep in the Bois de Boulogne. Leaving the woods marked a real shift in the race: for some reason my legs pushed me to accelerate. I felt genuinely strong and kilometres 8 to 12 flew by with the real sensation of enjoying the race while the Eiffel Tower was visible ahead. I’ve rarely felt sensations like that. My sub-10km split motivated me further — my fastest pace of the entire race.

The finish along the Seine quays had a slightly different feel — more undulation, with climb-and-descent sequences. I felt some side stitches around kilometre 15 and tried to hold my pace while working through the discomfort. I should mention that I had no particular pain throughout the race, which meant I could fully enjoy this tour of Paris. The final kilometres were really different from Lyon: the fruit and water aid stations gave me a boost every time, and the fatigue didn’t hit as hard. I knew I was ahead of the 1h55 target — I couldn’t slow down, and the finish was close. I listened carefully to my breathing to estimate my heart rate zone and judge whether to push again or hold. The final surges were the hardest but the Eiffel Tower signalled an imminent finish. I ended with a full sprint that I immediately regretted given the pain it caused in my upper-body muscles.

To finish, we collected a bag with a banana, water, compote, cereal bar and a madeleine — not forgetting the finisher’s medal of course! Once again we were better looked after than at the previous race — huge credit to the entire organisational team and the volunteers. The brass bands and crowd support definitely played a role.

Final Result

A new personal record over 20km with a time of 1h55m29 — approximately 2h01 on the half marathon, which would mean I’d potentially beaten my time from the previous week by more than 6 minutes. Real progression!

Official results — 20km de Paris 2022