Adidas 10K Paris: 2024 review and trip report
Adidas 10K Paris: 2024 review and trip report
Plus: Walking in Paris. The art of late hotel check-out. And the sometimes overlooked European single room.
The Adidas 10K Paris is the largest race of its distance in France and among the biggest in all of Europe. In case you’re not clear, a “10K” race is 10 kilometers, or about 6.2 miles. Unlike some races of that distance, the 10K Paris is a standalone event, not an adjunct to a half or full marathon. It is held every year in May or June. In 2024, over 29,500 runners took part. I was one.
Parisian adventure
I’ve been to around 100 countries, but going to Paris was a bit more of a travel adventure than you might assume. I’d spent very little time there. In fact, before this trip, I’d certainly spent more nights in North Korea than in Paris. Even after the trip, it’s a close call. And my last time in Paris was about 30 years ago with my wife, not long after we married.
Maybe all that is because — growing up in London and living there during my younger adult years — Paris never seemed far enough away to satisfy my wanderlust. And then, living in California, it seemed too obvious a place, as it’s where cautious Americans gravitate as an overseas comfort zone. But I short-changed myself. And, on this trip, I was glad to get back to Paris at last.
More on the travel side of the trip in a bit, but first I’ll talk about the race itself.
An epic course
If you like city-center races that close off major thoroughfares to take you past globally iconic sights, then the Adidas 10K Paris is hard to beat. The more-or-less loop course — while always focused on the center of Paris — can vary from year to year. That’s not because it’s one of those races where they never manage to get it right. Rather, I understand the aim is to bring variety.
Last year, the course started and ended close to the Eiffel Tower. In 2024, it was at the Arc de Triomphe. The course still took you close to the Eiffel Tower, but on the other side of the River Seine, as well as past other sights such as the Louvre. Every mile of the race was a feast for traveling eyes. I would rate this 10K event among the very best in the world for those who relish the combination of running and travel.
Registration
The race website can be viewed in English, so learning about the event and signing up is easy even if you don’t speak French. I registered about 10 weeks ahead, paying 49 Euros, about $54 U.S. That’s a great deal for an event like this, especially since it includes a high-quality Adidas race shirt. (My second in a month — three weeks earlier, I’d taken part in the Adidas-sponsored Wings for Life World Run in New York.)
When I registered, the 2024 course had not been announced. And it was not obvious it would be different from the 2023 one. The new course was only unveiled about a month or so ahead of race day. And actual start times were not announced until about a week before. Keep all of that in mind when making travel arrangements, especially if you want to stay within an easy walk of the race start and finish. Based on my experience, booking a hotel early may not anyway be optimum, especially if it is not cancellable. I found last-minute rates to be lower than those some weeks ahead.
Not surprisingly, the race itself does sell out as the event draws near. If you’re thinking of taking part, I’d suggest signing up sooner rather than later. I’ve noticed that some large races in Europe have started selling out much earlier than a year or two ago — sometimes six months or more in advance. I was slightly surprised to be able to secure my spot when I did.
Medical clearance: useful safeguard or bureaucratic busywork?
One thing that’s unique about major French races — at least, I’ve never come across it elsewhere — is that you need a medical clearance to take part. Until recently, this required getting a doctor to sign off on a certificate of fitness. That would have been a tedious step, all the more so as they expect the doctor to have a stamp. I don’t know whether doctors in the U.S.A. typically do have stamps these days. Or whether my doctor would have sent me a bill for doing it. I wonder how many people — in the U.S.A. or elsewhere — would be tempted to try faking a certificate to avoid the trouble and potential expense of getting one.
But the good news is that for this year’s 10K Paris, there was an alternative method allowing you to legitimately self-certify by watching some videos and answering questions in order to download a certificate with a QR code indicating you are good to go. Having downloaded the certificate, you can then upload it to the race website, or you can bring it to packet pick-up. But you can’t just blow this off. Without the certificate — or the doctor-signed/stamped clearance, which is still an option — you won’t be able to obtain your bib.
I don’t want to make light of the need to be aware of medical factors that might make running a bad idea. Every year, there are harrowing stories from one place or another of runners collapsing and dying at a race. It’s rare, but it happens. And there are additional untold numbers who require medical assistance on the course or at the finish. However, I can’t help thinking the French certification system is a bureaucratic waste of time. While there are no available statistics, I doubt the percentage of runners who collapse in French races is less than elsewhere on account of this safeguard.
The main cause of serious illness or death in distance races is cardiac arrest. But this tends to happen to people — often, in fact, younger athletes — who did not even know they had a heart condition. And given that the French certification system does not require getting a full heart work-up that might detect hitherto unknown risks, I am not sure what it achieves. It seems like medical busy work. Furthermore, the self-certification alternative — while a welcome option to lighten the compliance burden — makes it even less likely that lives will be saved.
Anyway, go with the flow. Leave the complaining to me. Do the self-certification thing.
Packet pickup
Packet pickup took place during the two days before the race in Avenue Foch, one of the radial streets leading off the Arc de Triomphe, close to where the race started and more or less where it finished. It was outdoors and fairly low key. There were tables for the various race functions — including checking the medical certificates of those who had not uploaded them — but no expo where the race organizers, sponsors, or other vendors offered or displayed merchandise. There was literally no opportunity to purchase anything, which I did not mind a bit.
The race start
A race with almost 30,000 runners is always going to take a long time to finish starting. But the organizers of the 10K Paris meter the start especially slowly. The advantage is that the course is never too crowded. The drawback is that slower runners have to wait a long time before they get going — and are more likely to encounter rising temperatures before they finish. So whereas the first wave of runners went out at 8 AM, the last didn’t start until 10:22. In fact the very last — those pushing baby strollers — took off at 10:45.
The organizers advise runners when they need to show up for their wave, so there is actually no need to hang around waiting if you don’t mind arriving once the event is already underway. You could get there just in time. In the U.S., by contrast, people generally show up for large races at the base start time, as the organizers push people out quicker.
My start time was at 9:52 and I was advised to enter my corral by 9:37 (they go in for quite precise times). I actually arrived in the start vicinity about an hour earlier. By that time, the fastest runners who took off at 8 AM would already be finishing. As I drew close, I could see runners with estimated finish times of 47 minutes passing the Arc de Triomphe as they began their race. Some didn’t look as fast as one would expect for a 47-minute finish. But estimated finish times can be aspirational. I’ve been there and done that.
There wasn’t really any type of race-start infrastructure outside the corrals. But, before entering mine, I found a very Parisian café where I enjoyed an espresso while watching inbound runners passing the 9KM mark as they neared the end of their loop.
The porta-potties were all in the corrals themselves, in contrast to races in the U.S. where they tend to be outside. They had the same stand-up, outdoor quad-urinals I first saw in Copenhagen the previous year, something that would be a bit shocking in the U.S. with its more conservative attitude to public urination. There was no wait for those. But people had to wait in moderately long lines if biology or bodily needs called for an enclosed porta-potty.
Access to the starting corrals was monitored and people who tried to get into an earlier one were politely turned away. I had no wish to try to do so, as I knew I wasn’t going to run a fast race and didn’t want to be caught up in a pace I wouldn’t be able to sustain.
Although the race is divided into 10 starting waves, each is actually then split into cordoned-off sub-waves to further meter the flow. So where you actually start in your overall wave depends on where you position yourself in the corral. I didn’t start running until 10:07, some 15 minutes after my wave start.
As runners waited to start, they were serenaded with motivational announcements and energy-enhancing music. The announcements were all in French, incomprehensible to me, but I felt I could infer enough of the gist from the tone and rhythm. The tireless announcer managed to display the same level of enthusiasm with my wave as I imagine he had shown two hours earlier.
The course experience
After an extended gentle downhill stretch at the outset, the course became mostly flat with a couple of down-and-up underpasses. But that changed around the 8 KM mark, as it turned away from the river to take runners up a quite steep climb for a half kilometer or so. The finish involved another gentle descent. Along the way was evidence of preparation for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Paris being what it is, a good amount of the course was on cobbled streets. But fortunately, most of those were sufficiently trodden and flattened over the years so that stability wasn’t much of a problem. More pronounced cobbles are not ideal for running.
Crowd support was really magnificent. About as good as it gets. And especially in the final kilometer. It was the type where observers were cheering the entire field, not just their loved ones.
The temperature while I was running was in the low-to-mid-sixties. Fortunately, the sun didn’t begin to break through the overcast until I was almost finished. I did appreciate the spots along the course where they sprayed water on runners. Those who did not want to get wet could veer to the left, but I gladly removed my hat and ran through the spray. I find fleeting cold showers an excellent energy booster while running.
There were a couple of hydration stations along the way. I think there was a nutrition station of some sort, but I somehow missed it.
I would estimate most runners wore this year’s official race shirt, which — as noted earlier — was included with registration. That’s unusual. I find people typically save their new race shirt for another day. But the sea of similar shirts does contribute to collective energy.
The finish
Overall, this is a fast race compared with many, in terms of the median speeds. My aim was only to run at a moderate pace with fairly even splits. I managed that, except for a slow-down on the hill. I finished in one hour and seven minutes. I liked the wooden medal runners received at the end.
The finish area was crowded as many runners lingered. It made for a festive atmosphere, but without formal festivities. There was a free beer tent, but it drew a very long line. I choose to head back to my hotel and wait for later to have a beer.
33 miles on foot and three different hotels
I was in Paris for three nights. Other than taking a bus from and back to the airport, I moved around the city entirely on foot. I was traveling light and so could do so even with my luggage. Walking is an easy way to get around Paris if you are reasonably fit, as you don’t have to master public transport. But the key benefit is that you see the city. During my short visit, I covered about 33 miles on foot — including the 6.2-mile race — with about 70,000 steps, passing and sometimes lingering in all sorts of landmark spots.
I stayed in a different neighborhood each night. I wanted to be fairly close to the start and finish on race morning, but didn’t want to stay in that area for all three nights as it was expensive.
I can’t recall another time I’d visited a city for a few nights and spent each night in a different place. It’s the sort of thing a fugitive would do. But I might do it again. If you can be bothered with checking in and out, you get absorbed in more neighborhoods than if anchored in just one place.
The art of late check-out
For the night before the race — the middle one in my visit — I stayed at the Holiday Inn Elysée. This is not a typical Holiday Inn by any means, as it forms part of a typical Parisian side street. The hotel was fine, but nothing special for the almost 300 Euros it cost. The reason I chose a Holiday Inn is that — with the relatively late race start — I wanted a late check-out on race day. That’s something I get with my IHG Platinum status, the best perk — lounges aside — on my Chase United Club card.
These days, it is increasingly hard to get late check-outs unless you have some leverage making it an entitlement. Even then, there can be an issue as to how late “late” can be. I’ve sometimes scored very late check-out with IHG. My record is 10 PM at the Intercontinental in Amman about two years ago. It’s hard to do much better than that before a late check-out turns into an additional night. And I’ve quite often managed 4 PM, a solid performance in the game. This time, they seemed to resist going beyond 2 PM. I suspect I could have got another hour or so, but didn’t need it.
The most basic rule of the late check-out game is not to pay. Otherwise, it would be cheating. My late check-out strategy is generally to ask for it in increments unless my goal is modest. For example, if 4 PM is your target, start with something lesser. It’s easier to get smaller additions than it is to reach for everything in one go. That goes for various things in life.
And it’s helpful to request the increments from different front desk persons who may not be aware of any pre-existing expectation. That’s one reason why larger hotels can provide more fertile ground for incremental late check-out. There’s less risk of having to repeatedly ask the same person. Occasionally, though, a bold move is called for in terms of the initial ask or the first incremental extension. One has to read the room.
Another factor in favor of larger hotels for this purpose is that they usually keep their housekeeping staff until later in the day. That can make them more accommodating than smaller ones with no one to clean rooms much beyond the early afternoon.
But, on the other hand, larger hotels also try to monetize late check-out. “Status” certainly gives you a head-start in the game. But an increasing problem with late checkout — and early check-in — is that corporate computer systems may restrict what staff in the hotel can do without charging you.
It’s the same with airlines. I remember the days when you could politely ask for an upgrade at airport check-in — with no real basis — and sometimes get it. I recall once doing so when traveling from London Gatwick to Toronto on a new Canadian airline I’d never flown before and being told: “Okay, but you will have to wear a tie.” I scrambled to find one and in those days was able to buy one before returning to the counter, suitably attired, to claim my upgraded boarding pass. That would never happen today — neither the easily obtained conditional offer of an upgrade at check-in nor the ready land-side availability of a tie for purchase.
The sometimes overlooked single room
For my other two nights in Paris, I chose small independent hotels — one on the right bank of the Seine and the other on the left — paying around $130 for what were perfectly pleasant, if compact, accommodations. One was Hotel Le Général on the right bank at the intersection of the Marais district and the 11th arrondissement. The other was Hotel Des Mines near to the Luxembourg Gardens on the left bank and an easy walk to the Saint-Germain neighborhood. Neither was remarkable, but I would readily stay in either again if looking for a decent, inexpensive place to stay in Paris.
When traveling on my own in Europe, I make a point of selecting “1 guest” when searching for hotel rooms, overriding the booking platforms’ default “2 guests.” This opens up single rooms, quite common there — but rare in the U.S., where the override is generally unproductive.
Single rooms are, of course, small by definition, although the ones on this trip could just about have accommodated an intimate couple who don’t get on each other’s nerves too much. But I don’t mind the size. We have an enormous master bedroom at home, so I don’t need big-room fixes as a travel perk. And in my cosy single quarters, I can imagine how luxurious the room would be if I were on one of those Gulf airlines that offer private cabins to their First Class passengers.
Another reason to consider single rooms in Europe is that they can get you into quite fancy places for much less than a regular room (not that this was the case on my Paris trip). Although big chains tend to disfavor single rooms, there are exceptions in older properties, such as the Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski in Munich. If you have ever read or viewed A Gentleman in Moscow, you can appreciate what one can do with a compromised space in a grand hotel.
The flights: a study in contrasts
My transatlantic flights to and from Paris were interesting. Both French. Both using Orly, the city’s secondary airport. But, nonetheless, a study in contrasts. For the outbound, I flew from Los Angeles to Newark to pick up La Compagnie, an all-Business-Class boutique narrow-body airline with lie-flat seats. For the return, I was on French Bee, a low-cost, wide-body carrier, direct into LAX. Each was excellent in its own very different way. I’ll soon have a post discussing both of them.
Sum-up
The Adidas 10K Paris is a fantastic race where you can expect an iconic course and masses of collective energy and crowd support. I also found it to be well organized. But register early to get a spot. ✈️ 🏃
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Next race: Victoria Falls Half Marathon, Zimbabwe.