Arrived three days out from the Marathon. Friday headed to the Expo to pick up my race number and "goodie" bag. The expo was in the, now disused, Tempelhof Airport - which happens to be the largest building in Berlin and is a testament to Communist building styles!Saturday I went to check out the start line and all things "marathon".
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| The start line..... |
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| ....running towards the Siegessaule Victory Column.... |
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| .....to finish at the Brandenberg Gate |
Marathon day I got up early to enjoy a very German breakfast buffet, with the 30+ other runners I discovered were all staying in our hotel. Set off to the start line, chatting to a very pleasant guy from Stockholm.Then joined the 40,000+ people all waiting for the race to begin.
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| Chuckled when I saw this shirt! Some casual observations: |
* 40,000+ folk is a lot of people to run with on, what proved to be, very narrow roads.....course never really thinned out until mile 23 and more than one person came crashing down along the way as they tripped trying to avoid people or got caught on a rough piece of road
* Spectators were rowdy and fun
* Was on track for a 4:30 until mile 16 when I blew my hydration and nutrition...spent 3 miles correcting it then slogged out the last 6....making for a long marathon although not as painful as New Orleans was....tried not to be disappointed, but confess I was a little!
* I've never seen so many people walking at the end....seemed like every 3rd person was walking, not sure why as some didn't look that tired (but you never know I guess)
* Best to open the bag of Chomps before you start running as it's exhausting to open them on the run....especially when the bag is determined to stay firmly shut
* Gotta love that I saw a lot of runners drinking beer at the expo before the race and even more drinking beer at the end.....German's drink a lot of beer
I'm really happy to have run Berlin. Running a marathon is a great (albeit a little nerve wracking) way to start a holiday.
Next update.....Adventuring in Berlin with The Mother.
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