Paris Marathon: Mile 3

'Then let them eat cake' as famously no-one actually said...

For anyone not running marathons – or for anyone using the metric system – 3.1 miles is 5km. So, if you’ve run one of the many Cancer Research 5km fun runs around the UK, this is pretty much the equivalent of that. Only there’s another 23.1 miles.

The Bastille is the next sight on the agenda.

A return to bricked roads, more traffic islands and a narrowing road greets runners as they storm (maybe not quite, but given the context please consider this a pun) through the third mile. Congestion should be lessening, unless you’re in the main throng of runners.

There should be the first refreshment station somewhere around here – they appear every 5km – serving water, oranges, raisins and bananas. Remember, drink and eat little and often. You won’t need it to start with, but once you think you need energy, it’s already too late…