Paris Competitions News: Les foulées du Tertre - Climbing to Montmartre

Saturday, 26th of March. We ran the Foulées du Tertre.

This 10 km is a very original race in Paris, quite unusual, starting in the afternoon, a Saturday, but above all, taking place in Montmartre, in the middle of the numerous tourists.

Montmartre is a 130 meters high hill, in the north of Paris, a very well-known charming "village", in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.

Hilly place? Yes, this day, the runners experienced it running three sloping loops, running on the pavement de "la butte Montmartre" (butte=mound)... Hard but very pleasant race, notably by this very typical atmosphere.
Michael from the US, who, with his wife, took a Paris running tour with us during the week, enjoyed to compete with us on this very local race*.

Besides, the organizers of the race welcomed and exposed the work of a friend, a painter who has an original vision of running. You like art, you like running, see the art of Vincent Dogna. Vincent is an artist but also a runner. If you already ran a competition, seeing his paintings, you will feel again those particular feelings we get when we compete.

* If you want to compete in Paris and if you book a tour with us, tell us and we can show you the route and help you to prepare the competition (the Paris marathon, for example). An advice on these races? Ask us!
We can also help you to register. The web sites are often in French (but we can help you if you ask).
Of course, if you do not want to compete in Paris and want to fully enjoy sight jogging, we are there for you. We love competition, running, but above all Paris!

Along canal Saint-Martin and river Seine with Kristina

Place des Vosges - Kristina

7:30 AM - Saturday and Monday - Kristina, from Freising (Germany), is a regular runner. As Anne and Niels, she decided to fully enjoy Paris while running, choosing to  run twice with Paris Running Tour, Saturday and Monday morning. 
First tour, a jogging along the canal Saint Martin, following the "Quai de Valmy", the "Quai de Jemmapes", going by "la place de La Bastille" and along the Arsenal Marina.
Second running tour, a run along the Seine, enjoying the "Ile de la Cité" with Notre Dame, La Sainte Chapelle and La Conciergerie, afterward the left bank, then after admiring the Musee d'Orsay, the right bank and back to the start, through "Les Tuileries" and "Le Louvre".
On our way, La place des Vosges:
The king Henri IV created "La place Royale" at the beginning of the 17th century. This squared place was conceived with a rigorous architectural design (same style for each house, arcades and pillars, ...) The place inspired many European residential squares.
In 1799, when was raised taxes to support the campaigns of the Revolutionary armies, "Les Vosges" was the first department to pay (department in the east of France); Paris thanked "Les Vosges" naming the square "La place des Vosges".
Many famous persons lived there, as Victor Hugo (you can visit his house).
Merci Kristina!

The routes of the tours (Saturday and Monday ):

A brightened up week end in Paris with Anne and Niels

The Eiffel tower from the Esplanade of the Trocadéro - Anne and Niels

7:30 AM - Saturday and Sunday - Anne and Niels, from Copenhagen (Denmark), as regular marathoners, chose to run with Paris Running Tour two times, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. We were lucky, despite a rather cold weather, we ran under a fantastic sunlight, which allowed us to fully enjoy our tours.

On our way, we saw the "Invalides" (see the picture below), the "Ecole Militaire" (Military school) and ran through the "Champ de Mars"; all these places are linked to war.
The Hotel des Invalides was created at the request of Louis XIV to house and take care of injured, maimed or old soldiers (one reason often evoked: Louis XIV liked the glory of his victorious wars but not the - not so glorious - aftermaths in terms of maimed soldiers wandering in the Parisian streets). Inside the Invalides, you can see the tomb of Napoleon.

The Invalides (from the south) - Niels and Anne

Not so far from the Invalides, the Ecole Militaire founded by Louis XV. Its aim was to educate young (and poor) officers. As the Invalides, it still belongs to the Ministry of Defense.
Between the Ecole Militaire and the Eiffel tower, you find a park, the "Champ de Mars", literally the Field of Mars, Mars being the Roman god of war. It was called "Champ de Mars" by the Romans when they defeated the Gauls there and took Paris (called Lutecia at this period).

Then, the Champ de Mars was used to study strategy and to train for war, notably by the Ecole Militaire.
Nowadays, the ones who train at the Champ de Mars are runners (among them, sometimes, soldiers from the Ecole Militaire!).
Merci Anne and Niels!

The routes of the tours (Saturday and Sunday):