Paris 10K

June 11th, 2018

The Paris air has been soft and heavy lately, occasionally rearranging itself into large raindrops, resulting in a deluge.  It's been hot, but not searingly so.  This combination does not make for ideal running conditions, but Glenn did it anyhow.  He ran his first roadrace yesterday, the Adidas Paris 10K.  

On Friday on our way home from work, we stopped by Forum Les Halles, the large underground mall near the Louvre.  The place was buzzing with thousands of runners there to pick up their packets for the race on Sunday.  The t-shirt in the packet was nice, some kind of high-tech Adidas fabric instead of just cotton, with "10K Paris" on the front and the name of our neighborhood on the back.  (During registration, one had a choice of particular Paris neighborhood or just choosing "Grand Paris."  He, of course, choose our neighborhood, Odéon.)  Everyone had to produce a doctor's note giving them permission to run.  Luckily, the organizers accepted his US doctor's word for it, but still I was practicing my arguments in French in my mind, in case they balked.  

Then, yesterday morning, Glenn got dressed and prepared for his run.  Before leaving, he discussed viewing strategy with us.  If we went to the Louvre (marked with a pyramid in the map below), we should be able to pretty easily see him three times during the race, at three different points just a couple of blocks apart. 

You can see, by the way, that the route is a fantastic one, hitting many Paris landmarks, before paralleling the Seine and finishing up across the river from the Eiffel Tower.  

A while after Glenn left, I set off with Kate, Annette, and Sandy to settle into our viewing spot.  We took an extra bottle of water with us for him.  I saw him near the Louvre at the first suggested viewing spot (before he ran to the Palais Garnier), but was too flustered and too busy yelling his name to get my phone out in time for the photo.  I did get photos at the second two viewing spots.  Here he is with the Louvre in the background.  Also, below, is another photo in the same area of people I don't know, just to give you an idea what a beautiful backdrop Paris must have been for the runners.

We were waiting for our third viewing opportunity, and I saw Glenn's bright blue cap in the distance.  Kate had his bottle of water ready to hand over.  I had my phone camera poised.  Just as he was approaching, Annette said, "How did Sandy get off his leash?"  I looked down.  I was still holding my half of the leash, but Sandy was standing several feet away attached to his half of the leash.  He has a nervous habit of chewing on his leash, and, apparently, he had chewed right through it without me noticing!  (Luckily, he is not the kind of dog who bolts given the chance.)  Kate swooped down to pick him up, just as Glenn ran by us.  Thanks to Annette's vigilance and Kate's quick reflexes, we did not spend the rest of the day trying to track down a missing dog in a roadrace with tens of thousands of people in the middle of a city of 10 million.  Glenn, of course, was oblivious to the drama as he ran by, probably only wondering why Kate decided to pick up Sandy right before handing him his water bottle.

He finished, hot and sweaty and thirsty but triumphant, in a little over an hour.

Here's Glenn's medal for finishing.