Paris Marathon - Slow Runner

I signed up for the Paris Marathon earlier this year and was originally very excited for the green carpet finish, well stocked aid stations, and the scenery. I started running in March 2025 and will run my first half marathon in less than two weeks. My training block for Paris will be around 24 weeks.

I’m a slow runner (anticipated 6 hours marathon including the Paris hills). I’ve recently heard that Paris is not a good race for slow runners and that they begin packing up the aid stations and finish line way before the 6 hours mark. I’ve also heard that it’s hard to get a shirt and a metal if you finish past 5 hours. I paid extra to have my metal engraved because I wanted my first marathon to be extra special. I also paid for the photo package but if the finish line is in the process of being broken down will I get my photos?

I put myself in the last pace group when registering because I am slow and I didn’t want to get in the way of faster runners.

I’m from the US and I’m getting worried that I’m going to spend a lot of money traveling to Paris to have a poor first marathon experience.