photo credit: Sophia Robinson
Of all the things that 2024 has brought the world so far, the Olympics has by far been the most exciting. Especially for the district which got to cement its legacy in these special games. This year the Paris Olympics organized the Marathon Pour Tous, a once in a lifetime opportunity for members of the public to run the Olympic Marathon Course. Arrowhead Elementary School principal, Lauren Heitkamp, and Berlin High School math teacher, Kate Ross were among the few thousand people selected globally to participate in the marathon.
In order to compete, both educators had to do sports in order to earn points on the official ‘Marathon Pour Tous Paris 2024’ app. Participants were given the choice of either running, swimming, walking, cycling or trivia to accumulate points. Individuals who gained at least 100,000 points qualified for a drawing in which 40,000 people were selected. In the case of Ross and Heitkamp, both accumulated the points and were selected to participate in the marathon.
“Running the marathon in Paris was an incredible experience,” Heitkamp said. “Kate and I felt so lucky to have won a bib for this historic event. We knew it was going to be such a special and unique experience.”
The marathon track ran from the Hôtel de Ville in Paris to Les Invalides, a current military museum in Versailles. Along the way athletes could see a total of 22 monuments including sites like the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Palace of Versailles, “Running on the Olympic course, in the path of such tremendous athletes, through a beautiful and historic city, and being cheered on by thousands of fans from all over the world, is something I will never forget.”
One other highlight of the trip for Heitkamp and Ross was being able to experience the city of Paris as tourists. “Paris is such a beautiful city. The people are warm and welcoming. While we were there, we had the opportunity to attend some of the Olympic games as well as visiting some cultural sites. We went to the Louvre, several historic churches, and walked the city streets.” Says Heitkamp.
“Due to hosting the Olympic Games, the city had a different feel from when I had visited in the past.” During the games and Marathon Paris experienced a massive influx of Olympics fans and athletes. “Many of the local residents and typical tourists were not in the city so, at times, it actually felt a little empty. But there were volunteers from all over the world and everything ran so smoothly. Overall, it was such a positive experience.”
This year the Olympics took place for a total of 19 days. In those days Paris hosted a whopping 10,500 athletes and 743,000 spectators. 203 countries participated in the olympics this year and of them the United States took home a total 40 gold medals, 44 silver medals and 42 bronze. Ross and Heitkamp were able to attend multiple events. “We went to two nights of athletics (track and field), watched the men’s marathon finish, and saw the US Women’s soccer team win the gold medal match.” Says Heitkamp, “ The highlights for me were watching Sydney McLaughlin- Levrone win a gold medal and set a new world record for the 400m hurdles and watching the US women win Gold in soccer.” Overall, Heitkamp and Ross consider their experience life changing. “This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Marathons are hard, but I can honestly say that I smiled for 26 miles during this race. Running on the Olympic course, in the path of such tremendous athletes, through a beautiful and historic city, and being cheered on by thousands of fans from all over the world, is something I will never forget. I am so grateful that I was able to do this.”
