Events

BMW Berlin Marathon

2018 BERLIN MARATHON - RACE REPORT The bucket list. Many of us have one. The contents vary. There's an entry in ours called 'Complete the World Marathon Majors'. After our trip to Berlin that ...

2018 BERLIN MARATHON – RACE REPORT
The bucket list. Many of us have one. The contents vary. There’s an entry in ours called ‘Complete the World Marathon Majors’. After our trip to Berlin that entry is now 50% complete. Read on for our story

Team Berlin
Drew + Paul + Alison are onto WMM #3 following Tokyo (2014) and New York (2015). We’re joined by Lisa who’s succumbed to the mystery and intrigue of the international marathon, following her debut at Queenstown. We’re joined by Vanessa (Paul’s other half) and we all arrive in Berlin with a good dose of jetlag, some 32 hours after departure. Our preparation this year was pretty good, with a decent training base and a few good long runs. We are feeling optimistic, but all this talk of world record attempts has us nervous with the pressure to perform!

Guten Tag, we are in Berlin!
Thanks Qatar for your nice new plane but not sure why you parked at the arse end of the airport! We eventually get through Customs, make our way to the hotel and get checked in, then hit the marathon expo for our bib collection and some merchandise.
Operation #GETSOMEMERCH goes into overdrive and once again we all blow silly amounts of cash on anything with Berlin Marathon written on it. We love merch!!! We love merch!!! So much merch, Drew loses his shizzle. Then we hit a local restaurant for a schnitzel and beer, before returning to the hotel and collapsing in a jetlag-included coma.

Hit the Road
OK peeps, we’re here to run so let’s kick off with a gentle training session to acclimatise.
Lee and the team at Travelling Fit have done a cracking job once again, there are about 120 of us from all over Australia staying at the hotel. A good dose of Australiana is present with a blow-up Kangaroo. As you do.

The Scenery
A little bit of tourist promo is warranted before we get into the serious side of the run. We see some pretty amazing parts of this city, and all wish we had a bit more time here than the whirlwind marathon visit.

Race Preparation
There have been some remarks made about the appropriateness of our race preparation. We enjoy Berlin and make sure that we sample all the city has to offer. Witness exhibit A the “large burger” that we enjoy for lunch on Friday from KaDeWe. That evening we chase it up with a five-hour bike tour that includes a three-course meal, each one eaten at a different restaurant. Excellent race prep, we are sure!

Time to Run
Race day is here. A leisurely 9:15am race start means breakfast in the hotel and a chance to review our race strategies. Most of them seemed to be focused on the warmer weather, with a top forecast in the low 20’s, it was to be a warmer run than we’d had over recent months in the Canberra winter.  We make our way to the start village with the other Travelling Fit runners, wearing our rather alluring and fetching running tops.  Paul and Drew are in wave 1 (but separate start corrals) with Lisa and Alison in wave 2 (also separate corrals). It gets real very quickly…the atmosphere is electric and this is one large field! 43,000 runners from across the globe, lined up down the main straight of the Tiergarten, pointing toward the Siegessäule or Victory Column.

We are Go!
The gun goes…we’re off!!! The balloons are away, the music is pumping and we hear the sound of hundreds of Garmins being started in unison. Oh and 42.2km to go…eeek.

The Course
It’s flat. Very flat. Wide roads with plenty of space. Ideal PB territory!
It’s also scenic, with a course that meanders throughout East and West Berlin, passing through cityscape and into neighbourhoods. There are bands playing, crowds cheering and no shortage of spectators. At times it feels like a longer version of the City2Surf, with the festive atmosphere and happy vibe. It is pretty warm! The sun is out and the temperature rises, so by the 30km mark it’s becoming a challenge to take on enough fluids to keep the body running well. The course is littered with showers (some small, some large courtesy of the local fire trucks!) which we run through to keep cool

We’re Done!
Geez marathons never get easier, do they? As an aside there was a guy in the Travelling Fit group who’d run 400+ marathons. WTF? Paul and Drew interrogated him over dinner as to how that was possible. Turns out it is and he’s legit!!! He even did one of those ’50 marathons in 50 states’ in the USA. But even he said they don’t get easier, it’s just that you know what to expect. Reassuring, hey? So we’re all home and there is not a PB in sight…but what a cracking great run that was!

• Paul – went out pretty hard with a 1:26:41 first half, but then found it tough going and lamented his lack of preparation! He came home with a very credible 3:04:57. Nice work!
• Drew – went out at sub-PB pace for the first half then blew up at the 22km point. He crawled the last 10km home with a 3:40:34 which is his slowest marathon to date. But he loved it!
• Lisa – in excellent form and with some good training under her belt, she held her pace throughout the run and cruised home with a 3:38:42. Damn good effort Lisa, well done!
• Alison – a good run from Al who also held her pace well, coming home with a 3:56:33 to finish well inside the four-hour mark. Great job Al, love your work!

Hurrah, thank @#$% that’s done!!!!!!!!!

The World Record
So we were pretty lucky to be in Berlin the day that Eliud Kipchoge smashed the Marathon World Record. He finished in a time of 2:01:39 and took a massive one minute and 18 seconds off the previous time. It was amazing to come across the finish line and be greeted by a German dude excitedly waving a hastily-made placard showing the new world record!!! There was a real buzz about the place afterwards. Vanessa was lucky enough to see him come through the Brandenburg Gate just before the finish. If you haven’t seen his splits, they’re worth looking up. Any guy that can run at 2:53 per km pace for two hours deserves a world record. Wow – so impressive. As an aside we did see him out on a training run on the Friday, along with his other Kenyan buddies. We all pulled over and cheered them past

It’s a Wrap!
Another one done!

Paul, Drew and Alison are now halfway through our World Marathon Majors journey. What’s left?

• London – it’s hard to get into but we’ve all entered the ballot for 2019. We find out this month.
• Boston – the hardest to get into, with a tough qualifying system. Maybe that’ll be 2020.
• Chicago – probably after the other two, not sure just yet.

Assuming the bodies hold up and our husbands/wives/partners continue to support our WMM goal, we should have them done in the next few years.

Keep an eye out for our next race report as the journey continues….

Written By Drew Baker

BMW Berlin Marathon

This is my third world major with Travelling Fit and as with the other two- the team once again out did themselves! Berlin Marathon 2017 hosted 44,000 runners from 120 countries.  Whilst the ...

This is my third world major with Travelling Fit and as with the other two- the team once again out did themselves!

Berlin Marathon 2017 hosted 44,000 runners from 120 countries.  Whilst the Germans are known for their efficiency, the magnitude of the event combined with voting in the German Federal Election on the same day made the event a little more chaotic than usual and not the most organised of the majors that I’ve run. I won’t take away from the amazing event that it is and I certainly would recommend it to anyone who wants to try a world major. The course is the fastest in the world and the only marathon in the modern era where seven world records have been broken.

My day started early because I didn’t sleep much. At 7.30am we took off on our 20 min walk to the start line in cold and wet conditions. The atmosphere was already abuzz and the excitement of my 3rd world major was building. Today, along with runners from all over the world I would run through a historical city and soak in the German hospitality of 1 million spectators.

When you finally wind your way through the crowds at the starting village to your block the emotion becomes overwhelming. Music is playing, languages from all over the world are spoken excitedly and it is very hard not to cry. Cry from relief that you’ve made it here uninjured, cry for the sacrifice you and your family have made and cry for the incredible experience you are about to have. So with tears in my eyes we were off, running in the rain towards the Brandenburg Gate.

After leaving Brandenburg Gate, the course loops through both the former East and West of the city and passes all the major tourist attractions.  The beautiful green historic city that Berlin is makes every twist and turn on the course spectacular. Despite the rain over 70 bands lined the way and the Berlin people braved the conditions to make us feel at home in their city.

My race was going well and I was on target and focussed. A travelling fit couple from Perth on similar time goals ran with me and kept me on pace. I was lucky enough to see my friend Jenny at the half way mark and it really lifted my spirits. Taking my fuel and drinking water at the stops, everything was going to plan.

At 29km I got a cramp up in my ribs. It took my breath away and I struggled to catch my breath again. I don’t know if it was being wet or cold or just unlucky. I was quite unwell with a long way to get home. I composed myself and thought through what I needed to do to get through. In one of the most beautiful cities in the world I could keep pushing through the acute pain or I could take it back a notch and enjoy the last 13 km. So I cut back and whilst still not feeling great I consciously made the choice to enjoy the experience. I started to dance at each band, sing along and high five the children. I Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi’d and yelled out with fellow Australians and I relished the incredible experience I was having.

My watch was way out because I didn’t run the line so at 42km there was no sight of the finish. Finally as I clicked over to 42.8km I turned the last corner and there it was the beautiful Brandenburg Gate. I started to cry. With cheers and music getting louder I knew this was it. 43.12 km and I was home.

A marathon is hard. It’s unpredictable. It’s scary. They don’t get easier. Every marathon I have run takes all of my being to keep going to the finish.

As they hung the medal around my neck I thought about how I got here. 4 years ago when I started running I would never have dreamt of this moment.

I guess I can’t really end my story here. It would be remiss of me not to mention the beer at the finish line. I am in Germany after all. Also I have forgotten to thank my hero on the day. As I meandered the streets lost (as always), wet, cold and tired  I was starting to despair. Suddenly a tuk tuk comes around the bend – a dude riding a bike where I can be the passenger. I jumped in front of his bike and begged him to take me to the hotel. I didn’t have his asking price but I must have looked so deranged he accepted my 20 euro. So up and over footpaths and across roads we went and eventually I got back to the hotel alive. Thanks mate you really were my hero.

So there it is Berlin Marathon 2017. Couldn’t recommend it more. What an experience!

I can’t wait to do London with Team Travelling Fit in April. I wouldn’t do international marathons any other way!

Written By Ana Croger

Berlin Marathon Testimonials

Hello Tina, Mari-Mar and all the crew at Travelling Fit. Having just returned from the Berlin Marathon experience I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS on a job really well done! The entire time in ...

Hello Tina, Mari-Mar and all the crew at Travelling Fit. Having just returned from the Berlin Marathon experience I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS on a job really well done! The entire time in Germany was made so easy and uncomplicated by your excellent planning and management. It is so good to see company members who clearly love what they do, it sends out good vibes that are infectious. I have no doubt at all that I am going to be a ‘Travelling Fit’ client for many years to come and along the way will be referring as many potential clients to your business as I can. As you well know, referrals are gold but they only come because you are doing a great job, so give yourselves a big pat on the back because you are all running a great business and deserve the success I am sure you will receive.

Thanks for making our holiday a most memorable one.
Dan Cudmore – October 2013 – Berlin Marathon

This is just a short note of thanks and appreciation for the efforts by you and your team. I’ve recovered well from Berlin and started back with some easy running!!! Racing in an unknown part of the world always brings about some mixed feelings and anxiety. However,meeting Achim and the team soon settled all that. They have to be the most professional and enthusiastic team I’ve come across by far! Talk about people who love their job! Nothing was too hard for them and they couldn’t have done enough to make us feel so welcome in Berlin. I’m certain the entire Australian team would feel the same – we all felt right at home. It’s easy to get lost in Berlin and a simple call to Achim and your back on track! The race itself was “fast” and exciting!

Thanks again for all your efforts and looking forward to the next one!!!
Wayne Spies – October 2012 – Berlin Marathon

WOW! One of the best weekends ever (2012 BMW Berlin Marathon). Achim was amazing, his level of organization, enthusiasm and support for all of us was really impressive. Julia and Marcia were also so great, they are all such positive people – most of the time I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. Apart from the marathon itself, Achim took us to a penthouse restaurant (you may have been there) afterwards where we saw the sun set and moon rise simultaneously whilst looking out over Berlin from 10 stories up. The after party – what a hoot! Again Achim positioned us so that we saw the winner walk to the stage right past us, very uplifting. I felt like I knew them all so well after only 3 days, the rest of the Aussies were also great people, only mistake – didn’t take you up on the Oktoberfest option! Lock me in for next year.

Thanks so much for all your help in making this happen – very grateful,
Geoff Couper – October 2012 – Berlin Marathon

Written By Travelling Fit Runners