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Les 20K de Paris

Sunday October 12th, 2025
Paris, France
Distance: 20k
Offical Race Web Site

The 20 Kilometers de Paris (Paris 20 km) is an annual road running competition over 20 kilometers which takes place on the streets of Paris, France in October. First held in 1979, the race attracts top level international competitors and holds IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status.

The competition was the idea of Michel Jazy, a French runner who was an Olympic medallist and two-time European Champion. The first edition was held through a joint effort by the Council of Paris and ASCAIR (the French Airforce's body for sport). The race has been organized under the auspices of ASCAIR since then.

The course for the competition has a double looped, figure 8 style. The start point of the race is in the Trocadéro near the Eiffel Tower and runners then cross the River Seine over the Pont d'Iéna. It heads in an anti-clockwise loop through Bois de Boulogne before completing a smaller, clockwise loop along the banks of the Seine. The finish point is the Musée du quai Branly. The original race distance was 20.3 km, but this was reduced to 20 km in 1981. As a result of poor race organisation at the starting point, athlete's times from 1981 to 1992 are not accepted for record purposes; unusually quick times were recorded as some runners began the race a whole minute before the official starter's gun had been fired.

The men's and women's course records for the 20 km race are held by Kenyan athletes: Evans Cheruiyot completed the distance in 57:19 minutes in 2005 and Sarah Chepchirchir's time of 1:05:03 hours was set in 2013.

The race organizers abide by their own charter of ethics which – aside from outlining typical races rules and safety issues – includes the aims of increasing inclusion of women in the sport of running and promotion of environmentally friendly attitudes.


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Les 20K de Paris

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Les 20K de Paris, Race Date: 2024-10-13, Distance: 20k
Division Time Name Age Home
Male 58:05 Mekonen Hayimro Yele
2nd Male 58:07 Yann Schrub
3rd Male 58:09 Emmanuel Roudolff
4th Male 58:14 Elvis Chebor Tabarach
Female 1:04:46 Manon Trapp
2nd Female 1:05:54 Bikile Gudina
3rd Female 1:07:03 Rebecca Chepkwemoi
4th Female 1:08:05 Salome Brun
Division Time Name Age Home
Les 20K de Paris

On Sunday the 28th of October, 1979, at 1:00pm, 8,000 runners took off from the starting line of the first «20 Kilomètres de Paris», organized jointly by the Paris City Hall and ASCAIR, the Air Force’s Athletic and Cultural Association.

The race was the idea of French athlete Michel Jazy.

    • Since that time, ASCAIR has continued to organize what has become one of the most popular races in France. More than 22,000 runners took the start of the 30th edition of the race on the 12th of October, 2009.
    • Since 1979, the race has been sponsored by the Air Force, and organized by their Paris-based Athletic Association.
    • Since 1979, the «20 Kilomètres de Paris» has started from the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
    • Since 1979, more than 800 volunteers have given their time and energy every year to provide the best possible services to runners. 800 volunteers whose motivation never fails, and without whom the atmosphere of the course would not be what it is today.
  • Since 1979, the race has been led by incredible athletes. The course record has improved by over 4 minutes, and the race is now run in less than 58 minutes.


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