After a lovely three-day trip to Amsterdam, we took the train to Berlin to meet our friends for the marathon. Since I booked with Sports Tours International, we were at the Westin Grand which was the host hotel for Abbott World Marathon Majors – (more on that later). [Check out my Instagram post and reel! for the condensed versions.]
Before the Race
We met Sue and Brett and went to a welcome reception. We met a bunch of other runners (and spouses) which is always fun. Then, we met Fernanda and went for dinner at Dieselhaus, a fun brewery that was recommended by friends who live in Berlin.
The next morning, we ran over to the Expo which was at the old airport. It was a super cool location. We queued in the line before it opened and waited about 30 minutes to get our numbers. We then went to the Expo where we chatted with a bunch of brands – some familiar and some new to us. We got some Berlin Marathon gear, GU, Cheribundi and an awesome commemorative bottle. We took photos and enjoyed the vibes.
We went for lunch at Maximilian (very good traditional German) and showed Sue and Brett around some areas we enjoyed. After walking way too many steps, we rested a bit and went to Tomasa for dinner. Another great choice!
Saturday we went to the Tracksmith shake out run and met another runner from Chicago and people from all over the world. We had another German lunch and then I did a little touring with The Husband and Brett, went to a small art fair and then rested until dinner.
Sue and I got our “flat” lays ready and got organized for the run before dinner. The logistics are such for Berlin that you walk over to the start and it’s not super early. So we were able to get a decent amount of sleep!
Race Day
We woke up and went to get breakfast in the hotel. There was a lot of excitement in the air and it was super busy. We were starting at 10:10 (wave 3) so that we could run together. We left the hotel at 8:30 and were near our corral by 9:15. The weather was perfect – crisp air and sunny.
The start area was really great. They had bathrooms next to the corrals and screens so you could see and hear the waves before you. They had great music and an Icelandic pump-up ritual. It was really fun to watch the other waves.
Before we knew it, we were on our way. The plan was to help Fernanda to get her PR and her goal was 4 hours. The first section was surprisingly less crowded than we expected but after 2 kilometers it was very crowded.
We met Tara from Atlanta (who used to live in NYC) and she joined us for the first 12K. Stephanie cheered for us at 7K and that was a big boost. The music and crowds were fun and we were ticking off kilometers happily. The only downside was the waterstops (every 5K) were very chaotic. I would describe it like The Hunger Games. People were very aggressive. They were short and most only had water on one side.
We saw Stephanie again before the half way mark and the the guys right after half way. They all got great videos and photos. There were a lot of fun drum bands and other music on the course but the crowds were smaller than the other World Marathon Majors that I’ve run.
A few kilometers later, we saw Kristen from Chicago (she ran a PR after a disappointing London). I wished her luck and realized too late that a man was stopped in front of me in the middle of the road. I veered around to not knock him over and twisted my foot pretty hard. Luckily after I “shook it off,” it didn’t hurt or hinder my running. Phew! I had a few other near missed with slower runners or people stopping in front of me.
We saw the guys again at 27k – it’s always a big boost!
At around 30K, Sue and Fernanda got ahead of me and I told them to go and get that PR. I caught up when Fernanda stopped to tie her shoe and then let them go again as they sped up to get a negative split.
Once I was alone (in the crowd), I focused on ticking off each kilometer and water station and enjoyed the good vibes. Even though my pace slowed a bit, I felt pretty good and kept passing people. There were so many people ahead of us that should not have been.
At 35K, I saw Stephanie AGAIN. She wins best spectator on this one!
Before I knew it, I had 2K to go and was in the area near our hotel. Soon, I could see the Brandenburg Gate and could not wait to get there! I had heard that there is still a ways to go after the gate (like 400 meters, I think).
I finished in 4:07.32 and Fernanda and Sue were 4:00.14 (a big PR for Fernanda). The finisher area was hectic but I was finally able to find the guys and gals for photos.
We went back to the hotel to shower and change and realized that Westin was hosting a happy hour. We showered and the guys got beers and then we joined them.
We loved the sweatshirts that had all of the World Marathon Majors races on the back. We asked jokingly where we could get one. They told us they’d been giving them out all weekend! There was a card in our check in information. We totally missed it but they were nice enough to get us each a sweatshirt so we could enjoy the fun.
I enjoyed the weekend and experience with friends a ton. The race itself has a super cool course, but I think for me it was WAY too crowded. They had 58,000 runners for the 50th anniversary. I’d heard that it was crowded when it was 40,000 so this was just too many people. Plus, after 3:15 pace, it was self- seeded (you didn’t have to have a qualifying time) and SO many people were ahead of us that shouldn’t have been. Also, people were pretty aggressive at the water stations and on turns. All and all, I’m glad I ran this race, but I’m not sure I’d do it again.
- Marathon: 64
- World Marathon Majors: 5 of 6
- Run Streak Day: 1,690
- Next up, Chicago on 10/13
Thank you, as always to all of my friends and family who reached out to wish me luck and who support me on this crazy journey.