Paris, France
ASICS Marathon de Paris 2027 Pacing Plan
Starts on the Champs-Élysées beneath the Arc de Triomphe, runs past the Louvre and Bastille, through the Bois de Vincennes, along the Seine past Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower, and finishes through the Bois de Boulogne. Mostly flat with a handful of rolling sections in the two Bois (woodland parks) that bookend the course: the closing kilometers through the Bois de Boulogne are the quietest, crowd-wise, after the density of the central landmarks.
Distance
42.9 km
Gain / loss
+122m / -113m
Race date
Typical race-day weather
8°C, 10 km/h
Weather is a 10-year seasonal average for this course's location and month, not a forecast for a specific date. See FAQ.
Elevation profile
Sample strategy: 3:45:00 goal
A real, AI-generated excerpt of what Splitshape produces for this exact course, not a hand-written example. Upload your own goal and recent results to get the full plan.
KM 0-5: The wide roads out of the start invite you to run faster than the plan calls for. Resist it. Hold 5:14-5:18/km through here, including the short rise at km 2 and the dip to 4:58 at km 4; that downhill km is not free speed, it's just terrain, so don't chase it. You cross 5K around 26:08 and you've banked nothing: that's by design.
KM 6-16: This stretch rolls gently and your pace should roll with it: 5:12-5:14 on the flat kilometers, easing to the low 5:30s on the uphill km 9, and dropping back under 5:00 on the descents at km 11 and km 19-adjacent dips. You pass 10K near 52:32 and halfway-approach territory still feeling controlled. Treat the faster downhill kilometers as recovery, not opportunities to surge. You'll want that reserve later.
KM 17-17: The steepest sustained grade of the day hits here at +1.6%, and the pace reflects it: 5:41/km, your slowest kilometer before the final climb. Don't panic when the split looks slow on your watch: this is the terrain, not fatigue, and you're still on pace at 1:29:16 cumulative. Get back to rhythm as soon as the road levels.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Paris Marathon course flat enough for a fast, even-paced effort?
With only 122 m of gain and 113 m of loss over 42.9 km, the course is largely flat, so an even-split strategy is realistic for most of the route. The main variation comes from the rolling terrain inside the Bois de Vincennes early on and the Bois de Boulogne at the finish, which are the two sections most likely to disrupt a steady rhythm.
Where does the Paris Marathon course get hilly?
The rolling sections are concentrated in the two woodland parks that bookend the race: the Bois de Vincennes shortly after the start and the Bois de Boulogne in the closing kilometers. Outside of these two stretches, the route along the Seine and past the central landmarks stays largely flat.
How should I pace the finish through the Bois de Boulogne?
The Bois de Boulogne comes at the very end of the course and includes rolling terrain, so it's worth holding something back rather than relying purely on the flat central kilometers. The description also notes this section has noticeably thinner crowds than the landmark-dense middle of the race, which can make the final push feel tougher without crowd support.
What weather should I expect on race day in Paris?
Typical race-day conditions are around 8.4°C with light wind near 10.1 km/h, which is cool but not extreme for marathon running. These conditions are generally favorable for maintaining a consistent pace across the mostly flat course.
Does the Paris Marathon route favor negative splitting?
Because the toughest terrain, the rolling Bois de Boulogne, falls in the final kilometers, a negative split built purely on course profile is riskier here than on courses that flatten out late. A more even-effort approach that accounts for the late rolling section and thinner crowd energy near the finish fits this course's specific layout better.
Build your ASICS Marathon de Paris plan
Upload your own GPX or use ASICS Marathon de Paris's course, set your goal and recent results, and get the full km-by-km strategy.
Your plan also includes a gel schedule timed to your splits on this course, and a carb loading guide. How the fueling plan works →
Build my ASICS Marathon de Paris plan →Splitshape is an independent pacing-plan tool and is not an official partner, sponsor, or affiliate of the ASICS Marathon de Paris or its organizers. Course data source: digitized from the official course.