10 km de La Rochelle

10 km de La Rochelle

The 10 km goes fifteen minutes before the marathon and, in the organiser’s words, “finishes in style at the foot of the towers of La Rochelle”. Its finish area is the marathon’s, on the Saint-Jean-d’Acre car park via the Tour de la Chaîne. It is sold out at 3,500 runners and open to anyone born in 2011 or earlier.

There are two drinks stations, at km 4.5 and km 9, and a full aid station at the finish. Pacers run 50, 55, 60 and 65 minutes. The organiser publishes the course as a map and profile but not in text, and no time limit is given on the page. The distance suits runners who want to be part of La Rochelle’s marathon morning without running all of it, or who want a fast 10 km at the end of November.

Because the 10 km starts before the marathon, one family can often follow two runners: one on 10 km and one on 42. With each runner’s Livebib link they see the position on the course line, the distance and an estimated finish that keeps updating. It is marked as estimated, never as measured. The grandstand at the finish has 500 free seats.