Meet some of the Canadians running the 'Marathon for All' at the Paris Olympics

An Ottawa grandmother. Three running friends from New Brunswick. A Radio-Canada Saskatchewan presenter.

These are just some of the Canadians who will be running the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous or Marathon For All, the first-ever Olympic event open to the general public. The 42.2 kilometre mass participation marathon on Aug. 10 will follow the same route as this year's Olympic marathon — but the runners will race at night.

The Olympic organizers say this will allow "the best running conditions for all runners."

"I hope I won't be too sleepy," laughed Kitdapawn E from outside Bern, Switzerland, where she's taking a few quiet days away from the bustling Olympic atmosphere before returning to Paris.

The 65-year-old runner from Ottawa has a 10 p.m. start time for the marathon. Given that her best time is around four hours and 15 minutes, and she didn't have very long to train, she expects to be running overnight. But that's OK, she says, because the city will be lit up and she'll have more than 20,000 other runners to keep her company.

"I'm just going to soak in every minute," she told CBC News. "My grandchildren are still young, but someday they'll be able to say, 'My grandmother was a lottery Olympian.' "

There are 20,024 runners competing, a deliberate number representing the 2024 Olympics. About 100 of them are Canadian, according to Running Magazine. An additional 20,024 runners were selected for a 10K race open to people age 16 and up, on the same night, through the heart of Paris.

Aurélie Merle, the executive sports director for Paris 2024, says the marathon route linking Paris and Versailles will be an "absolutely exceptional experience."

"If running a marathon was already an experience, running on the same course