P'tit Dej 5K fun run in Paris

P'tit Dej was an additional 5 km fun run on Saturday morning for Marathon de Paris 2012 participants and their family or friends. P'tit dej means breakfast, and it's free for all!

The weather was very nice, but chilly considering this was mid-April already. Jackets and long tights with a cap or buff were a common gear choice.

A Finnish couple I met before start at Ecole Militaire.

The start was 9AM at Ecole Militaire in the bohemian 'left bank' of Paris. This pleased me as it allowed us to see a different part of Paris. The marathon on Sunday would be run entirely in the 'right bank' business districts.

The organizers had provide flags for participating countries. This was generally a great idea as it helped people to find each other. I met only a couple of Finnish runners though.

There were flags for many participating countries, including Finland.

There were quite a lot of runners, but it wasn't too crowded by any means. Only a small portion of those 40 thousand marathon runners showed up. The streets were closed for traffic so there was plenty of space for everybody to jog along as they liked. The pace was very nice and easy, just as it should be.

The tallest sight along the way was the magnificent Eiffel Tower of course.

The route passed some famous sights like the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero.

People were joking and laughing all around me, as this wasn't a serious event at all.

After about half-way I got the Finnish flag from a French guy who explained that he had a Finnish girlfriend. I carried the flag all the way to the finish near Arc de Triomph.

After about half-way I got the Finnish flag and carried it until the finish with great enthusiasm. 

I was happy to run this 5K with my friends Dreama and Nathan once again. We had met during Transgrancanaria 2012 trail running race in March, when all three of us were able to finish the longest 123 km distance. That ultramonster was certainly quite a different experience compared to this short jog.

 It was once again fun to run with fellow Transgrancanaria 2012 123 km finishers Nathan and Dreama.

After finishing we found out that the breakfast consisted largely of fruits from Guadeloupe, a Caribbean tropical island that belongs to France and Eurozone. Especially the melons were delicious. I bet I ate more of those than anybody else. We were also served water and hot tea.

These costumes were among of the funniest I saw.

A lot of runners had funny costumes on. There were also some entertainment and activities for children along Avenue Foch. Disney seems to be ubiquitous in Paris.

Everyone was happy but hungry - time to have some breakfast!

Everybody seemed to be happy with this small morning event, and headed back to their hotel for a well-deserved rest and lunch. Not me however; I had something else in mind.

These cute Japanese runners warmed up the atmosphere on a cold day.

After breakfast I headed to Orangerie, an art museum in Tuileries Garden. It was recently featured in 'Midnight in Paris', an Oscar-winning film by Woody Allen. It was well worth the visit for those Monet waterlilies alone, and not nearly as crowded as the Louvre next door.

One of those famous waterlily paintings by Monet in Orangerie Museum.

After running back to my hotel along Seine, I estimated the total distance to be about 15K. However my Suunto Ambit revealed that I had done 18.6 km altogether! Perhaps that wasn't most ideal preparation for the marathon next morning, but my pace had been easy (some say it always is :) and I felt pretty fresh.

Also I really dig my new Hoka One One shoes called 'Stinson EVO' a lot - running feels so effortless with them you don't really need to stop until you are done.

Ok, that's all my friends. Stay tuned, Marathon de Paris race report coming up next real soon now!