Paris Marathon

Paris Marathon
The official race logo
Date	April
Location	Paris, France
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon
Established	1976
Official site	schneiderelectricparismarathon.com

The Paris International Marathon (French: Marathon International de Paris) is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue.

Along with the Berlin Marathon and the London Marathon, it is one of the most popular long-distance annual running events in Europe.

The first Paris Marathon, the Tour de Paris Marathon, took place in 1896. A big crowd gathered to watch 191 participants. It was run over a course of 40 km from Paris to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine via Versailles, and the organisers decided to award a commemorative medal to all runners who finished the race in less than 4 hours.

The distance of 40 km was chosen as it was the distance separating Marathon from Athens. The current distance of the race is 42.195 km - the standard Olympic Marathon length.

This first race was won by Len Hurst from England who crossed the finishing line in 2 hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds. His prize money was 200 francs.

Although the International Association of Athletics Federations credits Violet Piercy as the first female to race the now-defined marathon distance of 42.195 km, other sources report that the 1918 performance of Frenchwoman Marie-Louise Ledru in the Tour de Paris set the initial mark for women.

The present Paris Marathon dates from 1976. It is normally held on a Sunday in April and is limited to 50,000 runners. It is organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. It is notable for the attractive route through the heart of the city of Paris.