I've arrived in Paris

It took the excuse of a marathon to come back but it is as beautiful and exciting as I remember from years ago when I was a regular here. I love Paris.

It's not just me, Ash is here as well, and my sister Bren, and my Mum along with her 4 friends. Great support crew! We are yet to have the planning meeting about the best vantage points for them to catch me in the race. One of 40,000 - could be challenging...

We are staying in a gorgeous Le Marais appartment and feel just like locals with a fresh food market beside our block. I went for a walk this afternoon and caught my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and the race course. I have read somewhere that there will be a traditional blue race line to follow on the day, but couldn't see that it has been painted yet.

I am feeling ready for a good attempt at the race. A wise man I know says that getting to the start line of the marathon fit and healthy is as tough as the race itself. Well, I am here, and final preparation is all about being conscious of my diet and hydration for the next few days.

An earlier entry to this blog suggested I needed to find a solution to finding a toilet en route and I thought I would provide an update. I have read that loos will be available at every refreshment station along the way so have decided that as I'm not an elite runner, really 3 mins is not crucial, and for my own comfort, I'll happily use a loo where needed!

I've also decided to wear my bladder pack with an electrolyte concoction for the race as I was using it for training runs and I'm not 100% confident how the refreshment stations will be set up on the day.

Tomorrow I'm off to the marathon expo to collect my bib and timing chip. I also plan to buy the souvenir t-shirt :)