In August 2024, at the end of the Paris Olympics, the traditional marathon will see the best long-distance runners pound the pavement over 42.195 kilometres. But the organizing committee does not stop there. At the same time or almost, thousands of amateur practitioners will have the chance to follow the same course, during the Marathon for All. The places are very expensive and with less than a year and a half before the start of the Paris Games, all the eyes of the registrants are turned towards this unprecedented initiative.
Last Sunday, during the 46th Paris marathon, the first arrivals scrutinize their connected watch to analyze their time. Among them, Julien, in his forties, is sitting near a railing to catch his breath. This Parisian by birth multiplies long distances, so as soon as someone talks to him about the Marathon pour Tous, he reveals the basic rules: “ So it’s simple, there is a phone application where you can be drawn by accumulating the kilometers “, he explains before adding with a smile, “ I think three quarters of the peloton are registered and waiting for the draw. It’s typically the spirit of the Games, you earn your place, you don’t buy it “.
Keep the faith
Equal opportunities for all, this is what the Marathon pour Tous promises: to give it a try, you must register either on the Paris 2024 Club website or download an application, Marathon pour Tous. Participants can accumulate points by practicing a regular sporting activity: running, swimming, cycling. At 100,000 points, each candidate is eligible for a grand prize draw. Another way to win your place is to take part in exclusive events set up by the organizing committee and try to grab the precious bib.
Many are waiting and clinging to their dream of taking part in these betting games, like the trio of friends from the “broken knees” collective, who came to Paris last weekend to take part in the marathon. Martin, Valentin and Romain, who arrived on the line at the same time, have already fulfilled all the criteria: “ We do all the challenges, especially those on Instagram. It’s really very hard. We do everything, so far it hasn’t worked, but we don’t lose hope. We still keep the faith coldly analyzes Valentin, a bit annoyed. A statement shared by his Roman sidekick: “ We have been registered for the Marathon 2024 game since October 2021, we all have more than 300,000 points, we want that to take part in this race! »
Three thousand lucky men and women can already wear their Games bibs. Lorine and Corentin are part of it. This young couple, keen on running, often trains together. It was Lorine, 25, who had the idea of taking part: The event in question took place last October, as part of a day dedicated to Paralympic athletes. We were supposed to do a relay race in teams of six. We won this race and therefore the bibs. Finally, all the participants qualified so it’s very nice smiles Lorine, staring at her companion: Me, I was engrained by Lorine who told me about this event. This will be my first marathon. I let myself be convinced by this great opportunity to participate in the 2024 Olympics “.
The young couple, in full running gear for the occasion, cannot hide their enthusiasm for being able to live the adventure of the Games, like professionals: “Cis a crazy thing to be able to participate in the amateur marathon! When you go running, you necessarily want to participate, because it’s the first edition “.
” Make sports practice systematic »
Open the Games for all, this is the message that the organizing committee of the Paris Games wishes to send. With the Marathon pour Tous, there are no entry criteria, everyone can participate. Two distances are on the program: the traditional marathon, open from the age of 20, and the 10 kilometer, from the age of 16, for less seasoned candidates.
Alain Blondel is one of the designers of the marathon course for the 2024 Olympic Games. For him, this type of event aims to put sport at the center of French life: “ I believe that it is the philosophy of the members of this organizing committee and especially of the management to say, it must not be a shot in the dark. There’s always this shortcut of saying that when you enter a long-term organization, it’s like a marathon and not a sprint. “, analyzes Alain Blondel, former European champion of the decathlon, before competing: ” We took this bet, because people will be able to enter into a systematic practice of sport. Some will discover, others are already running enthusiasts with this approach of coming to have fun and not break records. “.
Running for fun, without sporting challenges, is the promise made to all participants in this Marathon for All: ” There will be no final classification, quite simply because it is an event for everyone. The objective is to cover 0 to 42 kilometers by crossing the finish line. The wish is really to open up the world of sports. A ranking would be the opposite of what we want to offer »
48,048 runners, evenly distributed over the two races, will have the opportunity to take part in an unprecedented event and experience, like the professionals, the fervor of the Olympic Games. For the candidates not yet selected, it is not too late. A big draw will take place in early 2024 to allocate the last places.