Marathon L'Automnale: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

The course starts at the Bassin de la Villette, follows the Seine, crosses the 5th arrondissement and the streets around Place d'Italie, then heads out to the Bois de Vincennes before climbing gently back through the 20th and 19th arrondissements to finish at La Villette. It is urban asphalt throughout, with aid stations every three kilometres.

The organiser's track measures 41,686 metres against the advertised 42.195 km and stays between roughly 30 and 70 metres above sea level, for about 160 metres of total ascent. The climb from the Seine up to Place d'Italie around kilometres 9 to 13 is the largest rise, about 30 metres, and the 20th and 19th arrondissements add short drags of 10 to 20 metres after kilometre 33. Mid-November weather in Paris is usually cool and can be wet.

Pacing Strategy

Treat the course as one long controlled effort. The flat opening along the Seine feels fast, so hold back rather than banking time, and take the rise to Place d'Italie around kilometre 10 at steady effort, not steady pace.

The decisive section is the last ten kilometres back through the 20th and 19th arrondissements, where short drags arrive on tired legs. Keep reserves for them rather than spending them on the flat middle section through the Bois de Vincennes.

Training plan for Marathon L'Automnale: 12-week build

For most age-group runners this is a three- to six-hour effort that is almost entirely aerobic; muscular endurance and fuelling are the limiters, not climbing.

Build long runs that finish with controlled kilometres at marathon effort, and include a few short rises late in the run to rehearse the return to La Villette. Practise taking fuel at regular intervals at race pace.

The November date calls for cool- and wet-weather sessions in the clothing you plan to race in, and plenty of running on hard urban pavement.