In early 2019, I signed up to run the Berlin Marathon through Run The Globe. Run the Globe is a Canadian marathon tour company. I felt that their rates were fair, considering that they take care of the hotel bookings and the entry fee. The roundtrip airline ticket to Berlin from Victoria cost about $1700.
I arrived in Berlin a couple of days before the race so I got a chance to walk around the city with my roommate. We went to the expo where we picked up the race packages and shopped. I didn’t feel the impacts of the 9-hour time difference which I was happy with.
I promised to myself before I started the race that I wasn’t going to complain about my time regardless of what it is because I felt that I should be grateful for making it to the event. I knew that I wasn’t at my best because I was sick for a week leading up to the race.
My goal was, however, the run a qualifying time for the Chicago Marathon.
The morning of the race I ate a banana and drank some coffee, as well as had an Axio. I didn’t take any gels or fuel with me for the race because I don’t like carrying things or having things around my waist.
I opted to take the nutrition that was provided on the course. However, later on that turned into a bit of a mistake because one of the drinks that was available on the course did not sit well with me.
I was feeling quite good up to the 30th km. After that, my pace started to slow down a bit and my stomach did not like the on course nutrition. Therefore, I had to walk for a bit at the 38k mark. I walked for about 1km and then proceeded to the finish line with a slow jog.
Ultimately, I ended up finishing the Berlin Marathon in 3:33:49 which I was happy with. This time qualified me for the Chicago Marathon which means that I can continue my World Marathon Majors journey.
After finishing the marathon, I was a bit nauseous from the drink that I drank on the course. I also felt sleepy so I went back to my hotel room and took a nap. After my nap, I had a shower and then went for a walk with my roommate.
Overall, it was a good experience. However, I should have done more sightseeing because it’s not too often that I find myself in Europe. I also should have brought my own race fuel that my stomach was used to.