Paris Marathon: artisanal route but compass for runners… the secrets of the green line
Thursday April 4. 9:30 p.m. Champs-Elysees avenue. The convoy surprises passers-by. Flashing lights on, police cars and motorcycles lead the way. Behind, two green vehicles from the city of Paris cleanliness service are moving at low speed and in the opposite direction towards Place de la Concorde. The first, a dump truck, tows a trailer in which an agent is installed. Mask on his face to protect himself from the heady odor, he activates a pedal which primes a spray of paint. The green stripe then appears on the ground which marks the 42.195 kilometers of the Paris marathon, which will be held on Sunday April 7, starting at 7:45 a.m.
Six Paris functional agents – the elite unit of the cleanliness service – accompanied by two official measurers, began tracing operations on Wednesday April 3, around 10:30 p.m…. once the peak of traffic had passed and the forces of font available. Until 5 a.m., they patiently completed 27 kilometers of the route starting from the finish. Back to work at 9:30 p.m. until 2 a.m., this time starting from the start. Due to a slight modification of the route due to flooding – the runners will use the high and not the low platforms, between the 25th and 28th kilometer – the layout will have been finalized on the evening of Friday April 5.
The ballet is precise. With stopwatch in hand, Rafael Verdeguer, agent of the city of Paris, officiates Thursday evening as driver. To his right, Jean-Marie Grall, expert measurer certified by World Athletics, advises him. Without a map, he shows her the leading path. “Keep left, kindly. We’ll turn soon.” His measuring colleague, Philippe Bellessort, on foot at the head of the convoy, makes another recommendation: “Roll less quickly on the cobblestones because we know that the paint marks less.”
Regularly checking his stopwatch, the driver stops the vehicle after 4 and a half minutes. “This is the average time after which the paint cans are empty,” he indicates. There is no question of the line being displayed discontinuously. Abilo Ferreira, cleanliness supervisor, who walks hurriedly next to the trailer, hastens to remove the three now empty canisters to refill with others previously mixed by his colleagues in the truck at the back . “It’s really very artisanal. The trailer is also homemade,” he slips, laughing. In total, around 300 cans will be needed, or 150 liters of paint.
The Melbourne Olympic marathon in 1956 was the first to mark the route with a colored band. Gradually, the organizers of major marathons have all adopted it. In Paris, it has existed for more than two decades. Today, the line sports the color of the main sponsor of the race (Schneider Electric), after having been blue and orange.
- For more: Elrisala website and for social networking, you can follow us on Facebook
- Source of information and images “svoboda“
