So after months of on again, off again training, here’s the proof that I finally did finish the 2010 Berlin Marathon last weekend. Thanks to everyone who donated money to the British Heart Foundation (hint, you can still add you’re donation now, if you haven’t already)
As further proof, and thanks to multiple cameras at different points along the route, you can actually watch me run. It might be hard to spot me in the crowd, I’m wearing that same red vest as in the photo above, lumbering around in the center or off to the side.
It was a good run, I was hoping for around 4 hours, but happy with 4:30 and no injuries. A lot faster than my first marathon in New York City three years ago.
While I was in Berlin with other friends who were running, I ran this one pretty much on my own. With an ipod nano and the same playlist I’d been training to. It did help and the time passed very quickly. I was 2km from the finish when the 4:30 pace runners came up behind me, that spurred me on a bit and I managed to keep up with them until the final stretch.
The last 1km of a marathon is a funny sight, if you take the time to look around you, you’ll see plenty of worn out people just stopping right beside you. Either they’ve seen the finish line in the distance and realised its further than they thought, or they’re just plain beat. On the other hand you’ve got people sprinting towards the finish, or couples joining to run together over the line.
I should mention the rain. It never stopped the entire time; from arriving at the airport, until leaving 3 days later, it rained constantly. This probably affected the turnout of supporters along the route. It was great to see people out cheering, but the atmosphere couldn’t really compare to NYC.
Finish & split times
These stats from the official race clock were sent to my phone and email as I ran.
Nettozeit / Chip Total 4:34:57 Geschwindigkeit / Speed 9.2 km/h 6:31 min/km Halbmarathon 1 / Half Time 1 2:06:37 Halbmarathon 2 / Half Time 2 2:28:21 km 5 0:28:20 km 10 0:57:40 km 15 1:27:22 km 20 1:59:03 km 25 2:32:31 km 30 3:08:03 km 35 3:41:57 km 40 4:19:45 Finish 4:34:57
