So I headed to Berlin on Friday, taking the Eurostar and intercity express trains to the city centre. It was a long day and a lot of travelling, but an overland train journey across Europe has been on the bucket list for some time so it was well worth the long hours. Plenty of time to relax and less stressful than taking the plane and worrying about baggage allowances and security measures.
I headed to the Expo on Saturday, to pick up my race number and so a bit of shopping. It was a huge expo, well over twice the size of the VLM expo and totally packed Loads of overseas runners! I think about 50% of entrants are from outside Germany. Got my race pack (number, timing chip, info, tee-shirt, and strangely the finisher's shirt). On the way out they put a wristband on you for security. I did not look too much at the finisher's shirt in fear of jinxing it!
That night I slept ok, but not great - it was like Christmas Eve! Woke up very early and had a light breakfast of croissants and tea. My running gear was to be an Adidas Aktiv vest top, black shorts, hydration pack, iFitness race belt and sunglasses. 2 packs of Clif Shot Bloks and 4 packs of Clif Gels. Headed off to the start area, an impressive area in front of the Riechstag building. It was packed already and took me ages to work out which tent for dropping off my baggage! Long queue for loos, but there always is (ended up going in the bushes right before the start too! It has to be done!) then finally made it to the start. The start is stunning and a huge affair, 40,000 runners on a tree-lined street in Berlin's beautiful Tiergarten park. The start was in waves, so less crowded - it was a long wait before we set off, but once you were running it was pretty much clear.
I took the first mile a little slow (about 12 min/miles) to just enjoy it. It was a fantastic course and loads of support. The weather was perfect - blue skies, slight cool wind and not too warm. It was not very crowded and I felt like I had plenty of space. The course was very fast - flat with long, wide, straight roads with very few sharp corners and no annoying u-turns or hairpin bends, so the crowd of runners flowed very easily with no congestion.
Paced myself using my Garmin, taking it a bit easier than I did at London where I followed the sub-5 hour pacer who sadly was a bit too fast for me. Good to see that at 5 miles I was at about 55 minutes. At 10 miles I was feeling really good and comfortably under 2 hours so picked the pace up slightly. Knew if I got under 3.55 for the 20 miler I would have a good shot at the PB. 15 miles still all going to plan. The water stations were nicely spaced, although I took small sips from my hydration pack in between. Took a gel every hour and blocs 2-3 times an hour, plus apple or banana when offered. Pace was faster now, around 11.15 min miles although wasn't sure if I was going to keep that up after 20 miles! Still, at mile 18 had my best mile by far (10.45ish) as I heard Wilson Kipsang had broken the world record! I passed through a big media area and there was a guy holding up a board with the news! It was really exciting knowing I was part of a WR-breaking race so really wanted to break my own PB.
20 miles was a new PB for that distance at 3.49 and I knew a PB was on the cards, and maybe, maybe a sub 5 hour. Only problem would be keeping up just over an 11 min mile pace for the final 6 miles. Although was still feeling pretty good by then, it wasn't getting any easier and by 22 miles I was slowing down. Told myself it was totally normal and it was just stiffness, no injuries so just carrying on pumping the arms and keep going. A sub-5 was really touch and go, and I'd need to do the final 5k in just over 30 minutes if i was to achieve it. My Garmin was also playing tricks as well, as it appeared to be ahead of the official mile markers. So I was concerned that it had me at a faster pace/further distance than I was. I may have run further due to weaving in and our or taking the long way round corners, but i wanted my official finish time to be sub 5, not just the Garmin.
The final few kilometres are really teasing - just like London - as you do several turns, each time expecting to see the famous Brandenburg Gate in front of you which marks roughly 42km and the very final finishing stretch. After turning through the new Berlin city we finally made it to the long stretch with the Brandenburg Gate in the distance! This part of the race was incredible - the crowds were huge, TV camera everywhere, music playing, just amazing. My Garmin was indeed fast - it ticked over 26.2 miles (in just under 5 hours, grrr!!!). Still really enjoyed it though, even when the watch passed 5 hours, as I knew a PB was practically guaranteed now. Semi-sprinted to the finish, passing through the Gate with hundreds of runners, a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, running past the cameras and hearing someone in the crowd shout my name, and "wow!, Go for it!" in English, and crossing the line!!
Literally couldn't believe I'd finished - it was all over! I'd felt really good and had not hit the wall at all - until I stopped running that is! Then my legs seized up and I had to hobble through the finishing funnels. I was really happy when the volunteer put the medal round my neck and i was handed my goody bag consisting of all food/drink (good!). Walked slowly back to get my bag, feeling so happy and letting it all sink in. My final time was 5 hours 3 minutes (2 mins 44 secs of my Loch Ness Marathon time) so very happy. Not quite under 5 hours, but it's now a real possibility.
Had a lazy afternoon, watching the end of the prize giving ceremony and slowly limping back to the hotel for a nice shower and watching a few films on my tablet! Would have liked to go to the marathon after party but being there on my own I wasn't up for it, plus was totally worn out and needed an early night!
Marathon splits! (Clock/Time/Min per km/ km per hour)
5 km 09:52:31 00:36:55 36:55 07:23 8.13
10 km 10:29:14 01:13:38 36:43 07:21 8.17
15 km 11:05:34 01:49:57 36:19 07:16 8.26
20 km 11:41:47 02:26:11 36:14 07:15 8.28
Half 11:49:41 02:34:05 07:54 07:12 8.35
25 km 12:17:44 03:02:08 28:03 07:12 8.35
30 km 12:52:25 03:36:49 34:41 06:57 8.65
35 km 13:27:33 04:11:57 35:08 07:02 8.54
40 km 14:03:45 04:48:08 36:11 07:15 8.29
Finish 14:18:37 05:03:00 14:52 06:47 8.86
Goodies: 1 x technical ladies fit race tee-shirt. 1 x cotton ladies fit finisher's tee-shirt. Beautiful medal with 40th Anniversary decoration on the lanyard, with space for engraving on the back. Croissants, energy power sachet, nuts, salty twiglet things, apple, energy gels, bottle of water, pint of beer, box of pasta, magazine, several vouchers.
Photos below
Looking down at part of the route in Potsdamer Platz
The Brandenburg Gate
My race number and medal
Finisher's medal - front (says "Berlin. Run once. Run Forever")
Finisher's medal - back
Me in my finisher's shirt with medal and number
Wilson Kipsang - men's winner and new world record holder!
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