‘Marathon for All’: Paris 2024 Olympics, connecting people

Under ‘Marathon for All,’ Paris 2024 organising committee has selected 48048 people, with equal number of men and women, from France and abroad to give them a unique opportunity to run on the official marathon route on August 10 night.

A fan park, named Champions Park, at Trocadero Gardens at the foot of the Eiffel Tower will engage more people. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

In the history of the Olympic Games, the show-piece event in its modern avatar of 128 years has never been so inclusive as far as connecting with the masses is concerned.

Amid the growth in various sporting leagues and the need to stay relevant to the younger generation, Paris 2024 has taken a slew of initiatives to complement the International Olympic Committee’s moves to include non-traditional disciplines such as breaking, sports climbing, skateboarding.

Accordingly, under ‘Marathon for All,’ Paris 2024 organising committee has selected 48048 people, with equal number of men and women, from France and abroad to give them a unique opportunity to run on the official marathon route on August 10 night, the day of the men’s marathon, celebrating the history and heritage of Paris. The 42.195km race will start at 9 p.m. and the 10km race from 11.30 pm, reminding one of the races conducted at night way back in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

This concept is generally seen in big, long-distance races, where the organisers allow the general public to run the same route in races over different distances.

Overall, Paris 2024 promises to ‘revolutionise’ the Games’ experience. “People will be able to enjoy the competition from the inside for the first time ever. Several events including the Olympic marathon will be open to the public – so anyone can experience the once-in-a-lifetime excitement of the Games following in the footsteps of the elite athletes,” says the Paris 2024 website.

The Connected Marathon Pour Tous, organised parallel to the marathon event, will allow common people to download two apps, the Marathon Pour Tous (MPT) app and the Kinmap app.

In fact, the Kinomap app will enable participants to take part in the connected races indoors through treadmills, bicycles, rowing machines, arm pedals and elliptical bikes and experience the simulation.

“Participants will find themselves immersed in certain sections of the Olympic marathon course. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in the MPT experience from the comfort of your own home or in a sports hall in France or abroad!”

On August 10 and 11, participants will be able to choose between four official videos (30 minutes to discover the iconic monuments, 30 minutes to discover sporting anecdotes, run the last 15 km of the MPT and the full 42 km route) of the Olympic marathon route.

Kinomap has reportedly tied up with Indian telecom company Jio to attract the common people of the second most populous country in the world.

With the pledge that “You can be part of the Games too,” ‘Club 2024’ has been nurtured as a five-year-long adventure studded with memorable experiences including Games related activities, challenges and rewards for its members.

A fan park, named Champions Park, at Trocadero Gardens at the foot of the Eiffel Tower will engage more people.

The decision to stage the opening ceremony on river Seine and some events in open spaces was taken consciously to let people get more involved with the sporting extravaganza without paying for it.

All these steps may show a new path to the future hosts of the Olympics, making them explore novel ideas to take the Games to as many homes as possible across the globe.