The Paris Olympic marathon: how hilly is it?

The Paris marathon will be one of the most iconic in Olympic history. Retracing the route of the 1789 Women’s March on Versailles, the course carries historic significance. But of more interest to athletes and fans this weekend is its hilliness–and by hilly, we mean shockingly hilly.

The course includes a whopping 436 metres of elevation gain and loss (a term more often used in ultratrail events); fans speculate that it will likely be the hilliest marathon ever seen at an Olympic Games–and predict that many runners will end up walking.

The point-to-point course is relatively flat for the first 15 km and the final 10 km. A long, steep uphill extends from 15-20 km, followed by a steep one-kilometre descent. Then it’s a gradual downhill for the next seven kilometres. Athletes will then face what has been nicknamed the “wall hill”–the steepest climb, extending for almost an entire kilometre and reaching a slope of 13.5 degrees. This portion will be, without question, the most ruthless part of the course. The top of that climb will see an immediate, very steep descent between the 30K mark and around 32.5km.

The course makes the Boston Marathon, famous for its hilly course, look easy. The atypical city marathon course features the infamous series of Newton Hills, which precede the notorious Heartbreak Hill–a steep, half-mile incline. The Boston course totals to 248m of elevation gain and 388m of elevation loss–seemingly negligible compared to the Paris Olympics.

The hills, in combination with the extreme temperatures surging across Europe, will be a test, not of who is the fastest, but who is the toughest in the field. And it will be unlike the previous three Olympic marathons (London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 all saw relatively flat courses).

The world record is far out of reach; even a new Olympic record would be surprising to see. The men’s Olympic record sits at 2:06:32, while the women’s sits at 2:23:07, but with the very high level of difficulty, scorching temperatures, high humidity and no cloud cover, the Paris marathon definitely will not be fast.

Nevertheless, the reigning champion Eliud Kipchoge is ready to defend his title.

 

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Women’s marathon finale

This year, the order of the men’s and women’s marathons are reversed. The women’s marathon will the final event of the Games, taking place on Aug. 11 at 8 am (local time), while the men’s takes place on Aug. 10. This change will be hugely symbolic, showcasing the performances of the world’s female athletes to bring the competition to a close. It also highlights the history of obstacles that women had to overcome as they fought for their right to compete in the Olympic marathon event.

Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and New Balance Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.