Berlin Marathon Race Report

Berlin Marathon Race Report: From being unable to run at the start of the year, overcoming challenges during training, to running a 3 minute PB

The plan to run the Berlin Marathon came amid an enforced break from running due to injury. A nasty case of osteitis pubis lingering after I ran Boston in April 2023 meant six months of no running. Finally allowed to return very conservatively, beginning with a walk/run program in February of this year, I had already registered and booked the trip to Berlin, ambitiously confident I would be good to go come September.

Rebuilding my fitness slowly but surely, the marathon build began in July, a 12-week plan with no expectations except just to get to the start line, and then to the finish line.

Overcoming challenges early on in the build

Within two weeks of the build, I faced the first hurdle. Finishing an interval session on a Wednesday morning, feeling a little sniffly and unwell, my heart rate registered at 197. I was not well, and a positive COVID test confirmed it a day later. Fortunately short-lived, I was back to regular training the following week, only to face my second hurdle when I injured my lower back muscles. Another few days rest before I could run pain-free and then I was determined to get through the rest of the build as unscathed as I could.

Training sessions went well. I met Charlotte & Gillian for Wednesday interval sessions and Sunday long runs, sometimes also joined by Laura, Georgia, and a few others from our Runners Connected crew.

I felt fitter and stronger through this build than I can ever remember feeling. Thanks in large part to a smart program from Coach Kat, and sage advice and guidance from sports dietitian, Simone. Minimising early morning wakeups to prioritise sleep and eating well, I didn’t experience the usual exhaustion neck-deep into the build as I previously had.

I mentioned to a couple of close friends and Vini that, should everything go to plan and without any unforeseen dramas come race day, I thought I would be on track for a PB, even if only by a few seconds.

Berlin bound

Vini and I left Perth bound for Berlin the Tuesday evening before the race, arriving the following Wednesday afternoon. Successfully scoping out a decent pasta restaurant to load up on carbs for the next few days after a mishap on the first night when, jet-lagged, and starving, we walked into the first place we found but left disappointed with a very ordinary dinner.

I had a couple of easy shake-out runs in the days before, including the official 5km run put on by event organisers on Saturday morning which I ran with Laura and her brother Jonty.

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Race day morning

The morning of the race I was nervous but excited. The good kind of nerves that tell you you care, and that you know will give you just the adrenaline boost you need so that you’ll be itching to get running once lined up at the starting corral.

Laura met me early and we walked up to drop off our personal drinks, important because aside from water, tea, and Maurten drink there were no proper electrolytes provided on the course. I dropped my 8 bottles off, well expecting to never see them ever again. It was chilly but still, we literally could not have asked for more perfect weather conditions to run this marathon.

Heading up to the race precinct about an hour before our starting time, we made our way through the crowds towards the front of our corral. Shelley miraculously met us there and we shared jokes and encouragement, jammed in like sardines, the energy was frenetic. Music pumping us up, and large screens showing the wheelchair and hand chair participants setting off before the elites. Last minute gels were consumed, warm clothing (in Laura’s and my case, the free Qatar airline pyjamas we’d saved from our flights) ditched in the donation bins and then the gun blasted and we shuffled our way forwards, luckily able to break into a run as we crossed over the starting mat and pressed “go†on our watches.

Berlin Marathon race

As always post-marathon, much of the race is a little bit of a blur. I was able to lock in quickly to my pace, feeling good in the first few kilometres though having to dodge around so many people at the start it was quite clear some runners had not seeded themselves into their starting corrals very honestly. This was confounded by the fact there were over 58,000 runners registered to run, a world record for a world major marathon I believe. It was fairly crowded on course and this didn’t change the entire way.

As expected, I missed the first aid station of personal drinks, grabbing water instead. Somehow though as I approached the second aid station my plainly labelled water bottle caught my eye amongst the flamboyantly decorated ones with flags, feathers, ribbons, bells, and whistles. I grabbed it and felt a boost at having successfully found it. My pace felt strong and while I had settled on a plan to stick somewhere between 4:20 to 4:30 per kilometre, I decided not to worry so much about the faster end and just focus on going no slower than 4:30’s. I had Vini’s voice in my head telling me: if you feel like you can push faster then just send it, forget about pace and numbers.

I passed the halfway mark feeling great, even though I’d missed another drink station, grabbing a Maurten drink instead, grateful at least for the carbs it provided.

My pace was sitting fairly consistently around the 4:23 – 4:28 mark and the cool weather was blissful as we sidestepped tram tracks and potholes, slower runners and spectators unbelievably crossing the course centimetres in front of us!

A very slight breeze picked up at some point and I tried my best to try and tuck in behind a bigger runner, only to become frustrated when they slowed and I then had to dodge my way around them.

I slowed a little through a couple of aid stations too, trying my best to spot my bottle without actually having to walk. In the end, of the eight bottles I dropped off in the morning, I managed to pick up three, which, given the number of bottles and the disarray in which they were placed on the tables, was quite a win.

The stitch

Just before the 35km mark, I felt the familiar sharp stab of a stitch beginning in my right rib cage. Dammit, I thought, please don’t let this be what brings me undone here. I kept running, knowing that it would go eventually, but it clenched on tightly, forcing me to wince until finally, it relented at around the 41km mark. I don’t know that it slowed me down much. My slowest split had been between 25-30km – with the only increase in elevation of the entire course a slight hill (if it’s even reasonable to call it a hill). I think it was lack of concentration rather than the elevation that slowed me down there in any case.

I had done my best to try to stick to the blue-line markers on the course, not always possible due to the sheer number of runners. Inevitably though, the kilometre markers got further and further away from my watch’s km laps.

The crowd around the streets of Berlin were fabulous, perhaps not as loud and boisterous as I recall the Boston crowd being, but certainly, at points, they were giving it everything to cheer us all on. There was even a pipe band playing at some point, but I was a bit disappointed they were playing ‘Highland Cathedral’ as I ran past – a tune more appropriate as a funeral march rather than something upbeat and energetic more befitting marathon running.

As I got closer and closer to the finishing line, turning onto streets whose names I recognised from our walks around town in the previous few days, I knew I was in for a PB. Math not being a strong point of mine even at the best of times, let alone towards the end of a 42km run when my concentration has gone completely haywire, I told myself out loud to stop counting and working out numbers in my head and just bloody well run fast Sarah!!

Making our way along the Unter den Linden, past Wilhelmstraß, the iconic Brandenburg Gate looming ahead, I would run straight past our hotel on the left. I felt like I was flying as I willed my legs to go as fast as they could, passing runners throwing up their arms as they approached the Brandenburg Gate, knowing this was not the finish and it lay a good few hundred metres further past the tower.

The finish line and a Personal Best

I had a giant grin across my face as I came across the blue mat into the finishing chute, stopping my watch as I crossed the line at 3:06:47. A PB by almost three minutes. A grin as well as emotional tears and the shakes all at once. A volunteer draped a medal draped over my neck, and moments later I would see Shelley coming through, also finishing with a huge PB.

I wanted to wait for Laura to come through, knowing she too wouldn’t be very far away. Meanwhile, another wonderful familiar face, Tina, came towards us and we wrapped in a huge, emotional embrace. That was a run for the ages and truly a very tough journey for Tina to get there, so I was overcome with immense pride for her.

As expected, Laura came through shortly afterwards, also with a massive PB, and it was high-fives and teary smiles all around as the three of us exclaimed at what an incredible experience running that marathon had been.

Post marathon bedlam

Slowly shuffling through to collect a poncho, shivering now with the effort and the chilly air now we had stopped running, we passed an “alkoholfrei†beer stand that Laura & her brother had insisted was good for us and full of electrolytes. Still tasted like beer so both Shelley’s and mine were discreetly discarded after two sips.

The bedlam of the crowd was even worse in the finishing area, and it took me nearly two hours after I finished to finally be reunited with Vini, who I hadn’t been able to find at the family meeting area, despite him going back there twice. After a quick shower back at the hotel then we made our way to Potsdamer Platz to meet up again with Laura and Jonty. We headed to a traditional German Wirtshaus, recommended by the manager at the Italian restaurant where we’d carb-loaded the night before to enjoy some currywurst, sauerkraut and some dark lager that was much more palatable than the beer on offer at the finish line. Happy and sated, Laura suggested we all head on the U-Bahn to the Tracksmith pop-up store where we could get ourselves a personalised time-stamped poster, a fantastic memento of the event.

The inspiration of other runners

Walking back, quite gingerly, to our hotel later that night, to our astonishment there were still runners out on course. Pausing in front of our hotel, metres from the Brandenburg Gate, we joined the rest of the crowd cheering on the last of the runners, particularly Tom who, doubled over and bent sideways, shuffled past us and then we noticed his name and birthdate printed on the back of his shirt, 1939.. 85 years old and he finished to a roar of applause. I remarked to a few other runners nearby that these runners, the ones still moving long after the vast majority have finished, showered, eaten, and most of the crowds have dispersed, these are the truly inspiring ones. That is a very long day on the feet, and it is humbling to see people continue along the course so determined to finish regardless.

Post marathon reflections and acknowledgements

In the post-marathon bubble, I was absolutely on cloud 9. My legs though ended up on some other stormy sort of clouds and were fairly grumpy with me for a good couple of days.

I had the time of my life running the 50th Berlin Marathon. I knew my training had been great, I knew I was in great shape both physically and psychologically, but to be able to put it all together on the day and run a 3:06:47 was truly a massive reward. I was proud of myself and having never really been able to say that honestly out loud and mean it, I knew this represented a huge point in time for me.

I am immensely grateful to everyone who played a part in this successful marathon: Coach Kat, Gilly, Charlotte, Laura and all the RC crew, dietitian Simone, sports Dr Rachel, my entire medical and psychological treatment team and most of all, always, Vini, who without his indefatigable support I would never have made it.

What’s next?

I have recovered well from Berlin marathon and in the weeks since have been building my strength and training again for the next event. I am heading down next week to Denmark in the south of Western Australia to participate in Run Bibbulman Track, a three day event running different sections of the famed Bibb track.

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