La Courneuve International 10km Race, France 16:00, Sun 31 Mar 2002
This international 10km race which takes place outside Paris on a race course entirely held on tarred roads in a magnificent green park (350 hectares of which 120 are wooded, 95 grass and 6 floral) has become one of the top races on the French running calendar.
The ultra-fast flat course and the attractive prize money ensures a top international field of athletes promising exciting competition. This is the same course over which Paul Tergat broke the world 15km record in 1994 in a time of 42:13 .
The course was then reduced to 10km and the current women’s record holder is Asmae Leghzaoui (Morocco) with a time of 31’23, and Albert Chepkurui (Kenya) holds the best male performance on French territory for 10 km, on this course, with a time of 27’31”.
Apart from the world class field, this event draws French runners from all over France of all ages. It includes fun runs for the ages of 6 upwards and a popular 5km . It is a real family outing as the race organisation is one of the few that provides a crêche, face painting and many other side activities for children. The race can be viewed from many positions within the park so that it has also become a spectator attraction.
Cassandra Davis from Time-to-Run’s Women’s section will report on this event from France, and will interview one or two of the top competitors.
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