Berlin Marathon, 20/09/09
Guten Tag, and greetings from Berlin. Today’s race was amazing. The Berlin Marathon really is my favourite event. There were 40,000 runners and over 1 million supporters at the race. The sun was out, and the weather was glorious. However, it was not too hot for running as there was lots of shade along the route, and the Fire Brigade were out hosing everyone down every kilometre or so. There were lots of live music acts all along the route, and there were supporters cheering the runners on along the whole route. Lots of noise, and lots of encouragement which was lovely.
The course was very interesting, taking in each of the four quarters (American, English, French and East German), and passing all of the famous landmarks, including running through the Brandenberg Gate. It was not as flat as I remember it being last year! There were a few long and gradual hills, particularly at the last 5 or 6km.
I’m gutted to have missed my time target of under 3hrs by just a few seconds AGAIN!!!!!! My time was 3:00:31. At least I was 3 seconds faster than last year. However, considering I was ill with flu the week before, and taking Tamiflu until a few days before, I am really happy to have made it round, and still be alive to tell the tale. We’ll see if I have a flu relapse soon.
Report Moray Paterson
