ARF NEWSLETTER 007
the semi de paris dispatch: a weekend of racing, community, and leisure in the french capital
THE DISPATCH:
If there is one place in the world I could snap my fingers and be in at any given time, it’s Paris. It’s a city that I owe a great deal to and the place that properly sparked my love of running. When the opportunity presented itself to return to Paris not only for the marathon this coming April, but also the half, I jumped at the chance. Now, I want to preface this issue by stating what should be the obvious - I’m not Parisian, I don’t know the ins and outs of Paris, and this most certainly is not a “best of” or “must do” digest of Paris. Living in a city that is “intinerary’d” to death, I’m acutely aware of and turned off of such pieces. This is simply my experience and the places I love in the capital, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy them too.
THE BUILDUP:
One of my favorite things about races is the buildup in the city around it. There’s a buzzing energy around so many people converging on a city for one common goal. People packing in to an expo center for bib pickup, looking at the latest shoe models and gear from sponsors, and a general sense of “yep, we’re all here for the same thing”. The Paris half decidedly did not feel like that - and I loved it. With Paris Fashion Week coinciding with the half marathon, the energy in the city was more focused (rightly so) on the latest showings, pop ups, and parties from Dior, YSL, and the like. This backseat feel of the race made the community around it feel far more intimate and reserved. What is generally a question of “what shakeout are you going to?” felt like more of a question of “do you know of any shakeouts to go to?” Of course, any half marathon is going to feel decidedly smaller in scale than a full marathon, but there were still about 48,000 runners participating and if you told me that there were only 10,000 runners, I would’ve believed you.
A trip to Distance after picking up bibs the Friday before the race revealed that they’d be hosting a shakeout with local run club Powerup the following morning. So after an overnight flight, a trip to the expo with friends, some light shopping, and steak frites at a small café in the Marais, I turned in early before the shakeout run the next morning.
THE SHAKEOUT RUN:
With a bit of a jet lag induced early wake up, Saturday morning started with an early morning walk to the Seine before heading back up to Distance for their shakeout run. What started as a clear morning quickly gave way to pouring rain, forcing everyone inside the rather small boutique to gather before heading off on a 6km jog around the city. Congregating for the run were professional runners from Kenya, architects from London, photographers in town for fashion week, models, and local members of Powerup. The eclectic mix of runners made for a unique environment that was a welcome departure from the tired run club conversations of “what time are you going for?” and “what other races are you doing?”. Instead the conversations were about shooting the Louis Vuitton show, designing a new restaurant in Paris, and the differences in the fitness industry city to city. I understand that the above sounds a tad pretentious at best, but more than anything it spoke to the culture, community, and environment created at a place like Distance. Instead of the proverbial dick measuring contest that so much of running culture can be, the community at the shakeout were far more interested in getting to know each other than comparing PB’s.
As for the run itself, if there’s ever a city you can over romanticize being stuck in the rain in, it’s Paris. That being said, there was nothing romantic about the absolute soaking my Alphaflys took during the shakeout run. In my infinite wisdom, I only packed the shoes I was going to race in. So while the vibes were high on the run, I was a bit preoccupied staring at my feet trying to avoid the puddle-filled streets. After the 6km, we arrived, soaked, back at Distance where we wished each other well for the race and headed off in our own directions.
THE RACE:
It was finally Sunday morning, and with it, race day. With a start time of 8am, I woke up at 5:30 to give myself ample time to have a quick breakfast (Maurten Solid 225) and get in my kit before meeting my friend Carl at the Strasbourg Saint Denis station. A fun memory of last year’s Paris marathon was the early morning trip on the Metro down to the start line with a collection of other barely-awake runners - everyone looking at each other’s shoes as if to confirm “okay yeah, we’re all going to the same spot, good. I’m not lost”. This year’s half was no different. Slowly waking, we all got off at Bastille to drop our bags and head to the start line.
The growing crowd at the bag drop is when it finally started to feel like a real race weekend. Thousands of runners were converging in the cold dark morning to check their bags and jog off to the start line. Upon making our way back across the Seine to the starting areas, Carl and I parted ways and I hopped in my corral with some friends to start the race.
When the gun went off, I took off fairly quickly to avoid getting stuck in traffic for the first 500m. After the rushed start it was fairly smooth sailing, I felt strong and was loping along at pace with no problems. At about the 5km mark, I linked up with a friend who’s a serious runner to cruise with the rest of the race. At the 10km mark, I turned to her and said “if you wanna really send it, go ahead, I’m just gonna cruise here”. She replied “nah we’ll make time at this pace, let’s just hold it”. To which I uttered the words “great, cause I’m just trying to have fun”. Famous last words. We were moving without incident until roughly the 12km mark where I started to feel the beginnings of a cramp in my calves. Those quickly turned into full blown cramps about 1km later. Admittedly, I did a poor job of hydrating after my flight and in the subsequent days and was starting to really pay for it. I had never cramped so early or so badly in a run in my life. The next 13km were a blur of what felt like the hardest running I’d ever done in my life. To her credit, my friend would not let me slip or dip in pace. We pushed all the way to the end with a sprint to the finish and ended up negative splitting the race with a final time of 1:30.
The finish area of the race was the familiar mass of fatigued bodies stumbling from medals, to bananas, to friends and families waiting nearby. I found Parisian photographer Bilal Aouffen (who shot the above photo along with other great BTS photos from the day) and searched for other friends crossing the line.
For all my talk of energy the weekend of, morning of, and at the start of a race, nothing quite beats that finish line area. Between the congratulatory meetings of friends sharing in a race well run, the more introspective look back on the race, and the greater journey that led you there, you finally achieve that closed loop feeling of “this is why we put the hours in to do something like this”. It’s a special feeling and one that I wish I could bottle for the tough long training days where we question why we’re even doing this to begin with. Reflecting on my race in the immediate moments, and now weeks after, I can safely say it was one of my prouder accomplishments. I make no qualms about the fact that I am not a hyper-elite runner chasing a sub 1:15 time, it’s just a challenge I love taking. There’s beauty in the early mornings, long miles, and mental and physical sparring you elect to face head on come race day - whatever your finish time is - and one that I will eagerly meet again in Paris come April.
THE TRACK:
Returning to Paris, Carl and I had a vision of a love letter to running in the city that we hadn’t really seen before. He was familiar with a track almost underneath the Eiffel Tower that was the perfect setting for shooting, and we knew we had to take our opportunity while we were there. Call me bias, but I think what Carl created on that track are some of the greatest running photos I’ve ever seen. These are a couple favorites, but you can see more here.
If you’d like to see more of Carl’s work, he posts regularly to his instagram and has a published photography book of Paris, you can purchase here.
THE HIT LIST:
As much as I’ve written about running in Paris, it’s something that is quite far down the list of things I enjoy doing in Paris. After all, what good is running marathons in a city that you can’t properly unwind and find leisure in. After the high of the finish line fades away and the attention to race day nutrition is a distant memory, there’s a city to be enjoyed. After all, Hemingway did call it “a moveable feast”.
Early June: one of, if not my favorite restaurant in Paris, this restaurant rotates chefs every few weeks. Any given time you’re in the city, you can experience a new cuisine, but a familiar and inviting atmosphere with a long natural wine list. This past trip had chefs in town from Shanghai serving dishes like beef offal dan dan noodles and yellowtail crudo with sichuan pepper.
Boulangerie Alexine: If there’s one thing I couldn’t care less about, it’s a pretentious bakery or “finding the best croissant in Paris”. The way I see it, is that 99% of the baked goods in Paris are significantly better and cheaper than anything I’ll get over in New York. This place was close to my hotel and became my daily spot for a croissant and espresso.
early june, photo by carl maynard Urban Bakery: Another great spot I stumbled upon my last time in Paris and I made an effort to get to this time around as well. With everything priced by weight, it made for a far too objective approach to eating my weight in bread.
Café du Marché: I’ll use this as the catch-all for any brasserie or cafe with charming outdoor seating. By chance, I’ve ended up at this spot in the Marais each time I’ve been in Paris, and each time I’ve ordered the steak frites and left happy. If you’re in the neighborhood, grab a seat, light a cigarette and enjoy.
Recto Verso: New to me this trip, this intimate cafe in the Marais became a common meeting point and served a mean flat white and sold some incredible handmade tableware to boot.
La Fontaine De Mars: more of an institution than anything, but after coming highly recommended by a client who’s been to more Paris Fashion Week’s than they can count, I have to say it lived up to the hype. Maybe a bit touristy given the proximity to the Eiffel Tower and clear Parisian institution status, but sometimes the classics are a classic for a reason.
Café du Trocadero: After an early sunrise trip to Trocadero, a quick jump across the street will land you at Café du Trocadero. An espresso, orange juice, and omelette with a view to die for. Hard to beat.
Distance: Shakeout run aside, this is one my favorite places in Paris. Thoughtfully curated running gear from brands like Oakley, Satisfy, Arcteryx, and all the big hitters. The curation, attention to detail, and staff make this place the must-visit spot for anyone even slightly interested in running.
Shinzo: With a main store, kids store, basketball store, running store, and “history of running” store all along the same block, this is another place I have to go to every time I’m in Paris. If you’re into sneakers, clothing, or sportswear, it’s the kind of place you’ll go into and realize that there are models and colorways of things that we’ll never get stateside. If you’re looking for sneakers that you won’t see on the subway ten times a day, this is the place to shop.
Hotel Costes: Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, it’s worth the trip to pick up their signature scent (as a candle, room spray, or parfum) and have a meal at the restaurant or a drink at the bar.
Diptyque: As far as my nose is concerned, the best candles and scents are made by the French perfumers. Yes, you can get them in New York and other major cities, but going to the original shop at 34, Boulevard Saint Germain is worth it every time.
City Pharma: French “pharmacies” are less Nyquil pills and more Retinol creams. This spot on the left bank is the mecca for skincare obsessives, and while I wouldn’t necessarily classify myself as such, it is still worth going to stock up on whatever it is you use at a far friendlier price than we’re accustomed to outside of France.
OFR Paris: Booksellers, gallery, art studio, this place is everything you want a bookshop to be. Even calling it a bookshop feels a bit unfair to the space they’ve created. Curated at every level, I can’t recommend this place enough.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of the newsletter. It was a bit of a departure from the usual and I owe a great deal to those who made this trip what is was - you know who you are. If there’s ever something you want featured or a question you want answered, just reply to this email and you can be sure to look for it in a future issue.
