• The Paris Marathon will take place on April 2nd. On this occasion, 20 Minutes offers you weekly portraits of participants.
  • This week, 20 Minutes met Audrey, 41, alias@ciseaux_et_baskets on Instagram, who reveals ten days before the event her participation after a first attempt where she lived "hell".
  • The Val-de-Marnaise organized her three months of preparation in the greatest secrecy, "to know if this distance was made for me", except for her husband and a member of the ASICS team, of which she is an ambassador.

"On the post-race Insta post? I hope it with a big smile, the special finisher medal, a nice time, and to be able to say that finally, I kiffed! In real life, Audrey is a hairdresser in Boissy-Saint-Léger in the Val-de-Marne (94 years old) where she has her own salon. Running has been her passion for ten years, she met her husband there and developed her community on Instagram around his "outings and prepas". But since she started running "on a bet", the marathon distance seems to escape her somewhat.

"For my 40th birthday, I decided to start the official 42.195 km, I usually go on 10 kilometers or half marathon," says Audrey, who then chose two emblematic events: the Paris marathon and the New York marathon. "Lack of bowl, it was in 2021, and it didn't really go as I imagined." For the 2023 edition in the capital, the 41-year-old hairdresser then decided to prepare her race in her corner, revealing nothing to her followers, or even to most of her relatives. "I have a 19-year-old daughter who doesn't know about it, and neither does my mother," says the runner. I felt freer in my preparation even if hiding it for three months was not easy at all, especially to my community on Insta. For 20 Minutes, she talks about her misadventures that led her to run in secret.

"Giving up was not an option"

"In 2021, I turned 40 and decided to run the Paris marathon in April and the New York marathon in October." But the Covid-19 health crisis goes through this: in April, the France is reconfined and the Paris marathon postponed. "My husband then had a brilliant idea: he organized a marathon off in the forests around my home, Notre-Dame and Grosbois." The runner is over the moon, she enjoys her friends and family scattered throughout the course. "When I arrived, I launched directly 'O.K. when do we start again?'"

In October, while preparing for the New York marathon to take place in early November, Audrey finally participates in the 2021 edition of Paris postponed. "I had only done nine weeks of preparation instead of twelve, so no really long outing to test myself. In addition, I was in shorts and T-shirt, it was 4 ° C, I think I caught a cold snap at the start. The result? While she was looking forward to this marathon, Audrey found herself in the rough from the 24th kilometer with intestinal problems. "Giving up was not an option but I finished in 5h34 including at least 25 minutes of stop on the toilet points and alternating walking and running. " On the finish line, she is a shadow of her former self and has lost 4 kg.

"There, I tell myself that it's hell and that the marathon, I have to forget. " In the end, she could not go to New York to run the other mythical marathon she had ticked: the borders did not reopen until the day after the race. It is therefore preparing for the 2022 edition. "We arrive on Thursday with my husband to run on Sunday, I'm completely jet-lagushed on the starting line. It's 25 degrees, 90% humidity, I'm not ready. From the 12th kilometer, Audrey undergoes the race and finishes, mentally, saying "the marathon, never again".

His decision and preparation in the greatest secrecy

However, a few months later, the runner dives back and buys a bib: that of the Paris Marathon 2023. But she decides to keep the information to herself, confiding only her husband. "It's a challenge within a challenge: on the one hand, not talking about it takes away a pressure that I put on myself when I share because I have a caring community and entourage. On the other hand, Instagram allows me to exchange on the sessions, for example after a difficult split session, and it is reassuring and comforting. So she has been following her training plan since January in the greatest secrecy. "I think some people have grilled me, especially those who follow me on Insta and Strava, but now I have to take up this challenge for myself."



And what a challenge for the one who defines herself as "the one who likes to entertain the gallery", "always surrounded at home and at work" and who loves to share her love of running! "I really hope to live my marathon experience better, I'm going into the unknown, I don't know how I'm going to manage it but I need to do it for myself," says a more serious Audrey. "And then, I'll be alone on the start line but who knows, maybe I'll share a few kilometers with strangers, support us and push us towards the finish. That's also what I love about running, the power of sharing. She also relies on her mind to (finally) enjoy an official marathon. "When we are in a group, we will tend to complain or listen to each other more, there I have to rely only on myself. "

Approaching the 5-hour mark, a sweet dream?

With a PB (personal best or for the uninitiated, her personal best over the distance) of 5:34 in competition, Audrey intends to approach the 5-hour barrier. "We're not going to lie, people who run always have a goal in mind. So I plan to explode my New York time of 5:47 and get closer to the 4:55 of my marathon off, but which was very flat compared to the Paris course. She is completing a satisfactory preparation where she beat her best time a fortnight ago on the semi of Paris, 2:06 this year, a race in which she has already participated several times. "In 2022, I did 2h07 and in 2019, 2h25. Going under 2 hours could be a post-marathon goal. Or start the Médoc marathon, she who admits that dressing up is her second passion in life. "There's no pressure on the lap time and it's really fun. I'd like to experience this one day but a marathon for performance, I'm not sure I'll do one again. If it's the last, it's nice because it would come full circle: 42 kilometers the year I turned 42. »

To achieve this, Audrey already has some tips in mind: "I always run without music. During my long ride, I started to feel a drop in motivation at the 24th kilometer and I put on my music. It boosted me a lot so I keep it in mind. And then, she also thinks about how she will announce it to her followers, whom she has deprived of ads since the beginning of the year. Ready for HIS marathon? "My last big outing was 15 terminals on Sunday so yes I think I'm ready, ready to reveal to the world that I'm going to run the Paris Marathon 2023," she jokes. Finally those who will read this article. »

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