It really isn't that overrated...And, yes, I gave into the selfie craze [*sight*].

One of my biggest issues with traveling is discovering canonical places at the risk of being overwhelmingly disappointed after years of expectations are shattered in the presence of reality. Unfortunately, my camera died before I got to the race in Paris, so much of what I experienced there is now fragmented and soft memories. I can't say I'm sad, though. It was a highly personal adventure, and not having the camera during it was a way to keep it that way.

I did make it a point to go back, after the race, to stand once again under the Eiffel Tower, though. Starting and ending the race there was magical in the sense of how real it made the experience. Seeing its tall frame rising into the sky, and imagining how it must have been when it proudly stood the tallest structure of the world for four decades, added a depth that many other touristic locations lack.

There are memories to be cherished and standing in the middle of a crowd of 30,000 runners, Eiffel Tower 3 miles away, and a green train cutting it in half will be one of those...