Jason Pointeau, Florian Caro and Yohan Durand: Inside Their Paris Marathon

France’s elite runners finished shoulder to shoulder. Jason Pointeau, Florian Caro and Yohan Durand placed 15th, 16th and 17th respectively at the 2025 Paris Marathon, producing heroic performances on the capital’s cobblestones to conquer a course as iconic as it is demanding. Just minutes after crossing the finish line, they shared their immediate thoughts with us.

✔ A close-up look at their race, from pain and race strategy to pride.

Jason Pointeau: PE teacher on Monday, fastest Frenchman at the 2025 Paris Marathon on Sunday

Despite a packed schedule split between family life and his job as a PE teacher at a high school, the 36-year-old from Gujan manages to string together 200-kilometre training weeks. Last December in Valencia, he set a personal best of 2:10:35. Simply extraordinary. On Sunday, he produced a top-class performance at the Paris Marathon, finishing as the first Frenchman in 2:13:36. But it was anything but a comfortable day out.

“ Honestly, it was really tough. I felt bad from the start all the way to 30K. I thought I was in for a very long marathon... but I always believed I could do it. I never gave up.”
Jason Pointeau

Jason held firm. His heavy training block paid off. As the kilometres went by, he could feel his legs holding up and his mind absorbing the strain. In the closing kilometres, his head took over. Driven by the crowd, he emptied the tank and finished very strongly over the final two kilometres, running at 2:57/km. “ I really let it rip in the final 10K. Being the first Frenchman behind Hassan was a bit of a personal dream for the day. I really enjoyed those last two kilometres.” He was then told that he was indeed the first Frenchman, following Hassan Chahdi’s withdrawal. “ For me, that’s something to be proud of. It feels great. It’s brilliant”. This unofficial title means a lot to the passionate amateur, who admits he is considering... a 100K in the near future. “ I think I want to go longer. Try a road 100K and see how it goes. Beating myself up in speed sessions appeals to me less and less. So I’ll run another marathon in a few weeks to put my body to the test again.””

Florian Caro, the Breton who dreamed of the marathon in front of his TV

He grew up with images of the Paris Marathon in his head, watching the strides of the great champions from his teenage bike. On Sunday, Florian Caro completed the circle on the streets that first gave him a love for the marathon distance.

“ The Paris Marathon is a magnificent race. It’s what made me put my bike down and take up running. You go through every emotion: at first, you’re almost bored, then it gets hard and you have to hang on... Luckily, the crowd is there all along the course to push you on.”
Florian Caro

The Stade Brestois athlete shared a large part of the race with Jason Pointeau and with his friend Yohan Durand, a model of longevity for him.

“He’s a real example for so many people. It was a pleasure to run 34K with him. All we heard throughout the race was ‘Come on, Maître Yodu!’”. At the finish, the Breton took a solid 16th place overall in 2:13:50, just seconds outside his personal best, on a course he considers particularly demanding: “The Paris course takes at least one or two minutes longer than a faster marathon course ”. He was left with a slight sense of unfinished business: “ I do regret not pushing a little harder at the end... but honestly, I felt good. It’s encouraging for what comes next.” ”The target is already in sight: an autumn marathon, on a faster course, where he can chase a big time.

Yohan Durand, carried to the finish by the cheers

He was one of the marathon’s most anticipated faces. The Paris crowd knew it too, and he felt their support with every stride.

“ The crowd really gave me a boost. Given how I was feeling... if it hadn’t been Paris, I might have dropped out. But here, I couldn’t.”
Yohan Durand

Yohan Durand, aka “Maître Yodu”, finished the 2025 Paris Marathon in 2:14:44, 17th overall and third Frenchman, after a race that took him deep into his reserves: “Cardiovascularly, I was feeling great. But muscularly, I was really struggling. And with the wind, especially along the river, it felt like running into a wall.”. The warning signs were clear from 25K: it was going to be a long day. A hamstring twinge, increasingly difficult turns at the front... but he clung to his two companions for the day, Jason and Florian, all the way to Boulogne. “I had to put the handbrake on to get to the finish. I was a hair’s breadth from cramping.”. He had come looking for more, but never once considered dropping out. This was Paris, and he had come to test himself: “I wanted to run a hard marathon. To challenge myself. And to make it to the end. Now it’s on to a faster course in the autumn, perhaps Berlin or Valencia, to chase a time.”

Three stories, one shared passion, and a deep respect between three athletes who gave everything on the Paris cobblestones. From Florian Caro’s childhood dream to Jason Pointeau’s resilience, via Yohan Durand’s cramps, each of them fought their own battle. All three were unanimous in praising the incredible atmosphere at the Paris Marathon, fuelled by a roaring crowd. Because that’s part of running too: effort, goosebumps and emotions to share. And on Sunday, the supporters lived every moment with them, right to the finish.