The City of Light
Back to work after one of the most brilliant weekends the Rhythm team has ever had – taking on the iconic Marathon de Paris alongside Claire and Shannon.
Paris really does live up to the hype. The City of Light delivered everything: incredible atmosphere, unforgettable views, and 42.2km of pure emotion, pain, laughter, and determination in equal measure.
The Marathon de Paris is one of the most scenic marathons in the world for a reason. You run past landmarks most people only ever see on postcards: the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and constant glimpses of the Eiffel Tower reminding you exactly where you are (and occasionally why your legs hurt so much!!).
Three PBs
It’s also one of the biggest marathons on the planet, with over 50,000 runners and a history stretching all the way back to 1896. The route itself feels like a tour of Paris stitched together with energy and noise, from the Champs-Élysées at the start, through the Bois de Vincennes, along the Seine past Notre-Dame, into tunnels filled with music, strobe lights, DJs and crowds that somehow convince you to keep running, and finally to that unforgettable finish on Avenue Foch with the Arc de Triomphe waiting in the distance.
And somehow, in the middle of all of that… we ran our own race.
Between us, we came away with three personal bests, which still feels slightly surreal. After 16 weeks of training (and a fair amount of complaining about early mornings and tired legs), everything came together on the day.
Personally, I was over the moon to finish in 3:55 with Shannon, breaking the four-hour barrier for the first time, and Claire coming in at 4hrs 6mins (shaving 40mins off her last marathon!) These memories will stick with us all for a long time.
Support throughout
Even more special was doing it alongside Claire and Shannon. Watching each other push through tough miles, lift each other when things got hard, and cross that finish line with PBs all round made the whole experience something I’ll never forget. I’m biased of course, but there’s something pretty special about this team.
A huge part of that comes down to the people around us; our families, friends, and the wider Rhythm Careers team who supported us every step of the way (and tolerated the endless running chat for months).
The Running Bug
We were also proud to run in support of Blueprint for All, a long-standing charity partner whose mission means a great deal to all of us.
So now we’re back at our desks, slightly stiff, still talking about splits and gels… and talking about the next challenge…
I have already set my sights on the Lisbon Marathon in October and a target of 3hrs 30mins…
The question is, who is joining me??
Mark Nagle
Founder/Director
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