2017 Berlin Marathon Review: Potential Umfällt Abound!

One of the best words in
the German language.

Many others have posted race reviews for Berlin so I will keep this one short(ish). I did not hold high hopes for my 2nd official marathon. I had just come off three weeks in the US, two of them for vacation where we visited at least 15 breweries (not that this was an issue per se, but it did involve drinking at all of them).

My training was non-existent. My farthest distance in the run up to Berlin was a 16 miler I did before leaving for the States. Sure we did some hiking and some kayaking-- but not sure I consider that training. I rolled into Berlin with a sense of apprehension that I would not do well at all.

Luckily there were quite a few people in Berlin for the same purpose (to run) - so it was great to catch up and chat to quiet the pre-marathon nerves. Also-- carb loading is better with friends :D

Hallo bär!

Did you know the day before the race they have a roller-blading/inline skating race that also follows the marathon route? I didn't. It's pretty interesting to watch so I recommend if you happen to be around.

Like Honolulu- I went sans headphones. I have really gotten used to longer distances without them and I find it much better for dialing in and not letting my pace be dictated by BPM (which can be good and bad). However, I did bring a pair in case I needed something to 'take my mind off the pain'.

I also decided to try and go for 10 minute mile pacing. It seemed like a good number to shoot for based on previous runs and would still put me in for sub 5 hr marathon time. I wanted to manage my expectations. Going into a marathon with not a lot of training can be... soul and body crushing.

The race support was awesome. The dreaded aid stations that I have heard so much about seemed to go very smoothly with no queueing. The efficiency you would come to expect from Germany.

This guy was a pro with
his Schwamm (sponge)

The music and crowd support was great as well. I am sure the weather kept some of the crowds away and of course like every other race some area are not as well supported as others, however those that were out were enormously supportive. I gave out many high fives to children. I touched many Super Mario Mushrooms and Stars for power. You can really feed off the crowd's energy to keep going. The DJ they had along the route (The Berlin Marathon Website has a map of all the music acts on the route, but I can't remember where along the course I heard him) was fantastic, and had I not had been running a marathon, I would have stopped and listened.

Does anyone else get choked up when they are running on a road that has so much history? I do. All. The. Time. I should start carrying tissues running in London. Turning onto Unter den Linden and seeing the Brandenburg Gate did it for me. It was built between 1788 and 1791 (that's pretty old). Napoleon took the Quadriga from the Tor after he rode into Berlin in 1806. The Tor survived (mostly) the WWII bombings and was one of the few structures to survive in Pariser Platz. It became a symbol of the oppression in Communist East Berlin and ultimately reunification when the Berlin Wall fell.

One happy, hungry finisher! 

History my friends. I was literally running through history. That paired with just sheer exhaustion made me start to cry.

I finished in 4hrs30minutes38seconds.

Do I wish I went faster? Sure who doesn't? But for me it was still a PB and given my terrible training I was very happy.

I passed on the poncho-- it looked not very stylish and anyways I had no room in my luggage for it. I quickly found Mr. Moose and I donned a sweatshirt which did the trick.

Do I recommend Berlin Marathon? Absolutely. I recommend Berlin in general though, it is such a cool city, constantly reinventing itself while still keeping true to its (sometimes sordid) history.

Area Where I Stayed: Moabit. Very easy to get to from TXL on the bus route and near S-Bahn. Also we walked to/from the race (~20-30 minute stroll along the Spree)
Where We Carb-Loaded: 12 Apostles. A damn good pizza/pasta place with two locations in town.
Best Thing About the Expo: Getting your bib/chip. Again, ruthlessly efficient.
Worst Thing About the Expo: Merchandise. We got there on Saturday morning and a lot of stuff was gone.
Loo Waiting Time: About 25 minutes. And there was no toilet paper left by the time I got there :(
Where We Went Post-Race: Zollpackhof. Huge beer hall with tons of outdoor seating along the Spree. The beer is Augustiner. Traditional German food. Great alternative to the Augustiner Bier Halle (which is smaller and farther from the finish)
What We Did When Not Running: Stasi Museum. Bit of debby-downer but golly I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. If Cold War History interests you highly recommend.
Shoes Worn: Hoka One One Gaviota's

The Spree on the hobble back to Moabit-ausgezeichnet ^_^

Quit Your Wine-ing: Surrey Bacchus is Here!

On Top of Ranmore Common

I walked into this race with a ton of apprehension. I did not feel ready at all to run 13.1 miles on the hills of Surrey. Legs still did not feel ready. "Trial by fire" was the phrase that came to mind as I boarded the train at Waterloo. At least the trains were working, unlike last year.

I was hoping by this time I would have had an answer about my foot. In a amazing feat (feet) of almost Monty Python proportions, Bupa gave me a doctor for hand injuries, not feet. Imagine my surprise after telling the nice Doctor all about my condition, only for him to say "I wish I could help, but I am a hand specialist."

Oh well, it was a nice office. 

Anyways, onto the race!

Not a Bad Venue....

Location: First off, Denbies Winery is crazy close to the Dorking train station. Heck, if you wanted to you could get there with 20 minutes to spare and you could roll up to the start as long as you did not have a bag drop off or bib pick-up. Probably. Don't quote me on that. 

However getting there does require an epic roundabout navigation. And it can get quite busy-- so hone your Frogger instincts!

Bib Pick Up: Queue manic queues #1. It got a bit confusing as we were not aware the lines were split into alphabetical ordering. We realised this quickly though as we got towards the front, told the people behind us, and quickly truffle shuffled to the correct lanes. I wish they would move people along who were just loitering in that room, made it a bit more chaotic.  

Loos: I can only speak for the ones in the Winery, as I did not use any port-a-loos (my loss). Of course there was a line, but it moved quickly enough and there was plenty of toilet paper. There was a woman in there tidying up and checking the stalls so good kudos for that!

Bag Drop: Easy and quick. Same for pick-up which is a Godsend when all you want is to change out of your trainers and into flip flops. 

Much Super Glue was Used to Make This...

Atmosphere: Wheee! Such a fun vibe on and off the course. As you can gather, most people are in fancy dress (especially the half) so it's a very friendly race. Cheering each other on ("Go Batman! Come on Robin, don't let Batman show you up!") and typical banter is very common. It makes me doubly glad that headphones are not allowed. A running buddy (@_jen_mo) put together a video of our group and the race in general which you can watch here.

Drink Stops: Well this is really what we all come here for. The wine... err.. water stops. Whatever. There were 7 stops this year, with 1 (near Ranmore Common) being dry, I assume thats because it's on National Trust land. Who knows, maybe they didn't have any more wine choices. 

Either way, all the stops have amazing volunteers distributing wine, water, and various treats. It was a cornucopia of culinary delights: swiss rolls, brownies, bananas, oranges, jelly babies. Pretty much anything a runner could want. The wine samples were a bit small, but I think they have no issues with you going up for seconds. 

Stop 4 and 7 we definitely my favourites. The former was served by two older gentlemen in waiter uniforms. I wanted to take them home with me and adopt them as my grandfathers. They had an amazing band playing. Whatever group that runs that drinks stop should get medals. It was brilliant.

Stop 7 was at the top of the hill overlooking the Winery, so the end was in sight. This was the only stop that I saw that had red wine, but what got me was the food serving was: cheese and crackers. Oh. My. Goodness. I could have stood there and ate it all, but with finish line looming-- I managed to tear myself away. 

One negative was some of the stops were overrun (literally) with people, so the queues were getting a bit unwieldy. 

NOM NOM NOM

Hog Roast/Finish: Yes there were even more treats after we crossed the finish line. Tea (I love this country), coffee, water, and again more snacks, including pineapple and melon. However, no point in filling up when you have a hog roast to look forward to! The portions were pretty great with some good sides and the ever important applesauce. They also had a vegetarian option, but I cannot comment on that.

My Personal Notes: I did this in a run/walk fashion, this worked out well as although I was part of a larger herd of unicorns  (actually it's a blessing), the two friends I was running with were also fine to do a walk/run so there was never the "I am slowing people down" feeling. I also kept telling myself to manage my expectations, I was not going to finish in the time I did last year. It was also quite warm (about 18° C) and no clouds in sight. Is it an excuse? Maybe but I am going to take it. I had a great time, and even partook in a sprint finish. 

Conclusion: This is a pretty brilliant race, with epic views of the Surrey hills. There are also cows (real and people in costume) on the course, which is always a win for me. Great volunteers, marshals, and a venue with ample parking and close to rail. I have not run this course in the rain, but I feel everyone is having such a good time it would be taken in stride.