The marathon course is flat for the first 14km before the athletes ascend up to the 20km mark then face a gentle descent over 6km with a few ups and down rolls.
They face a steep 600m climb at about 30km before tumbling down for 2km then slogging it out for the last 10km on a relatively flat topography to the finish at the Esplanade des Invalides, where Napoleon is buried.
On Saturday from 9am (Kenyan time) on the roads of Paris, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to achieve what no man has ever done – win a third back-to-back Olympic Games marathon gold.
Kipchoge, the world marathon record holder and undisputed greatest marathon runner of all time, will lead his compatriots, Tokyo Marathon champion Benson Kipruto and London Marathon champion Alexander Mutiso, in fighting for a title that Kenyans have only won four times before despite their global dominance of the race.
