TheMarathon Clinic
Course pacing

How to pace the Paris Marathon

The Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris is a largely flat but gently rolling marathon, with about 144 m of climbing and 135 m of descent (a near-level net change). Pace it by even effort: ease back on the few rises and let the descents run, rather than forcing an identical pace on every kilometre.

← All marathons
Community route data
Next Paris Marathon

Sunday 11 April 2027

About 41 weeks away · 287 days · projected from the usual race weekend

Build a plan for this race

Elevation gain

144m

Elevation loss

135m

Net change

+9m

Terrain

Rolling

Typical race-day conditions

April

At the gun

6°C

~8:00am start

By the finish

12°C

warms through the morning

Humidity

76%

morning average

Conditions

Ideal

cool, fast racing weather

Goal finish time
::
StrategyEven effort keeps your effort steady and lets pace drift with the terrain, slower up the climbs and faster down. Even pace holds one pace the whole way and ignores the hills.
Splits every
Units
Race conditionsPace for an ideal cool day, a typical race-day, or a warm-outlier year. Warmer conditions slow your realistic finish, and the splits below adjust to match.
AcclimatisedAcclimatised: you already train and race in conditions like these, so your body has adapted. You sweat sooner and more, hold a lower heart rate and core temperature, and barely lose time to the heat.Not yet: you mostly train in cooler weather, so a warm race hits harder, a higher heart rate, an earlier fade, and roughly twice the slowdown an adapted runner sees. It comes good after about two weeks of training in the heat.
Typical condition impactTypical April · +0.1%

A typical April morning sits around 6°C at the gun and 12°C by the finish. Adapted to conditions like these, the heat may still slow you about +0.1% against an ideal cool day. That moves your 3:30:00 goal to about 3:30:13, and the pace below already allows for it.

Your target pace

4:59/km

Your average across the whole course. The splits below shift it for every climb and descent, so your effort stays even the whole way.

Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris

Paris, France

Hover the map or the profile, the other follows.

This one is won on the back half.

0 km51015202530354040 m50 m60 m70 m
km 38–40 climbs 19 m, right where most runners fade.
climb descenttarget pace

The coach's read

Largely flat, but with its own character: cobbled stretches and short, dark riverside tunnels that dip and rise and scramble GPS. Hold even effort through the crowded Champs-Élysées start, run the cobbles light and relaxed, and save something for the Bois de Boulogne run-in.

WHY  Allowing for a typical April day, that's about 4:58/km of effort the whole way, the splits below shift with the gradient, not your pace.

Ease the climbs, let the descents run, and stay relaxed through the second half.
JHJason HuntFounder & Head Coach

Hardest stretch

The km to 17 km: 5:26/km at +1.6%.

Free speed

The km to Finish: 4:26/km at -2.1%.

Key climbs & descents
Your race-day splits
MarkerTarget paceClock
1 km4:53/km4:53
2 km5:14/km10:08
3 km5:00/km15:07
4 km4:46/km19:53
5 km5:06/km24:59
6 km4:57/km29:56
7 km4:57/km34:53
8 km4:54/km39:47
9 km5:11/km44:58
10 km5:08/km50:06
11 km4:50/km54:57
12 km5:04/km1:00:01
13 km4:52/km1:04:53
14 km5:00/km1:09:53
15 km4:59/km1:14:52
16 km4:59/km1:19:51
17 km5:26/km1:25:16
18 km4:49/km1:30:06
19 km4:52/km1:34:58
20 km4:48/km1:39:46
21 km4:56/km1:44:42
22 km4:50/km1:49:32
23 km4:56/km1:54:28
24 km4:52/km1:59:20
25 km5:01/km2:04:21
26 km4:47/km2:09:08
27 km5:19/km2:14:27
28 km4:47/km2:19:14
29 km4:52/km2:24:06
30 km5:04/km2:29:10
31 km4:56/km2:34:06
32 km4:59/km2:39:05
33 km5:06/km2:44:11
34 km5:01/km2:49:12
35 km4:58/km2:54:10
36 km4:49/km2:58:59
37 km5:16/km3:04:15
38 km5:01/km3:09:16
39 km5:08/km3:14:25
40 km5:20/km3:19:44
41 km4:54/km3:24:38
42 km4:43/km3:29:21
Finish4:26/km3:30:13

Even-effort splits distribute your goal time by the energy cost of each gradient (the Minetti grade-cost model), not an even pace. Wind, heat, turns, and your own downhill tolerance still apply, so run the climbs by feel and stay relaxed on the descents.

Train for this course, not just the distance.

A coach builds the climbs and descents into your plan.

Get a coachAll courses
Take it furtherAdjust for the heatPlan your splits
·Race-day guide

Pacing the Paris Marathon

A coach's read on how the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris runs, and how to spend your effort across it.

01The course

Kilometre by kilometre

  • The climbing that matters: 38.5–40.2 km (+19 m at 1.1%), 16.1–17.1 km (+16 m at 1.6%), 8.3–9.5 km (+14 m at 1.1%). Run these by effort; your pace will and should slow.
  • Where you get it back: 41.4–42.2 km (-17 m down), 18.5–19.8 km (-12 m down), 24.8–26.0 km (-9 m down). Let these run without braking or hammering: relaxed, quick feet.
  • Place de la Bastille (~24.7 km): Through the historic square on the long eastward stretch.
02The plan

How to pace the Paris Marathon

  1. Read the course before race day. Largely flat, cobbles and tunnels. Largely flat, but with its own character: cobbled stretches and short, dark riverside tunnels that dip and rise and scramble GPS.
  2. Pace by effort, not just the watch. Set the effort you can hold for the whole marathon, then let the pace flex with the ground: a little slower up, a little faster down, the same effort throughout.
  3. Give the climbs effort, not pace. Let your pace slow on the climbs while holding effort steady; chasing your flat pace uphill is the classic way to blow up. The biggest is around 38–40 km (+19 m).
  4. Protect your quads on the descents. Stay relaxed and let the descents come to you. Hammering downhill banks a few seconds now and wrecks your legs for the closing kilometres; the model deliberately caps the downhill benefit for this reason.
  5. Plan your finish. Hold even effort through the crowded Champs-Élysées start, run the cobbles light and relaxed, and save something for the Bois de Boulogne run-in.
03Questions

Paris Marathon, answered

Is the Paris Marathon hilly?
It's largely flat but gently rolling, with around 144 m of total climbing over the 42.2 km and a biggest single climb of about 19 m. None of it is severe, but the rises add up.
How should I pace the Paris Marathon?
The Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris is a largely flat but gently rolling marathon, with about 144 m of climbing and 135 m of descent (a near-level net change). Pace it by even effort: ease back on the few rises and let the descents run, rather than forcing an identical pace on every kilometre.
What is the hardest part of the Paris Marathon?
The toughest climb runs roughly 38–40 km, gaining about 19 m at an average 1.1%. Largely flat, but with its own character: cobbled stretches and short, dark riverside tunnels that dip and rise and scramble GPS.
Is the Paris Marathon a good course for a PB?
It can be. It's fast enough for a personal best if you pace by effort and don't fight the rolling sections; just don't expect a dead-flat racetrack.
How much elevation gain does the Paris Marathon have?
About 144 m of total gain and 135 m of loss over the 42.2 km, in line with the organiser's published figures.

From the journal

2026-06-10 · 4 min

Why your marathon paces should come from a real run

More marathons

Gold Coast

Gold Coast, QLD

0 km10203040-1–15 m
+62 m climb
Pace it

Melbourne

Melbourne, VIC

0 km102030401–31 m
+135 m climb
Pace it

Sydney

Sydney, NSW

World Major
0 km102030406–90 m
+313 m climb
Pace it

Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan

World Major
0 km102030401–40 m
+25 m climb
Pace it

Boston

Boston, Massachusetts

World Major
0 km102030406–136 m
+248 m climb
Pace it

London

London, United Kingdom

World Major
0 km102030402–52 m
+127 m climb
Pace it

Berlin

Berlin, Germany

World Major
0 km1020304034–51 m
+73 m climb
Pace it

Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

World Major
0 km10203040178–188 m
+74 m climb
Pace it

New York

New York City, New York

World Major
0 km102030404–65 m
+247 m climb
Pace it

Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand

0 km102030400–40 m
+217 m climb
Pace it

Queenstown

Queenstown, New Zealand

0 km10203040316–434 m
+159 m climb
Pace it

Brisbane

Brisbane, QLD

0 km102030401–35 m
+293 m climb
Pace it

Rotorua

Rotorua, New Zealand

0 km10203040286–345 m
+240 m climb
Pace it

Perth

Perth, WA

0 km102030401–13 m
+187 m climb
Pace it

Valencia

Valencia, Spain

0 km102030403–28 m
+46 m climb
Pace it

Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

0 km10203040-3–3 m
+84 m climb
Pace it

Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa

0 km102030403–36 m
+205 m climb
Pace it

Hobart

Hobart, TAS

0 km102030402–25 m
+146 m climb
Pace it

Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast, QLD

0 km102030401–19 m
+79 m climb
Pace it

Osaka

Osaka, Japan

0 km102030400–32 m
+107 m climb
Pace it

Train for Paris. Not just the distance.

A coach builds this course's climbs, descents and race-day pacing into a plan made for you.

Get a coach