Two weeks have passed since my first marathon in Berlin. Here is a recap of how it went.

The morning of the race was cool and crisp, perfect racing conditions. I was up at 5am, had my usual breakfast and headed to the start line at 7.30am on the bus with the other athletes. I was able to do a small warm up and stretch and got myself ready to race. With such a great atmosphere building in Berlin I was looking forward to getting going.

Start-10km
Pace started out good and I got myself into a nice group of four. We settled into a good rhythm and I felt comfortable and in control. We were running at a pace that would bring us home in 2.16 which was a realistic target.

10km-20km
I took my first get at 15km and we continued to work together at a good tempo. My watch like many other watches unfortunately wasn’t able to pick up satellites as there were a lot of high-rise buildings throughout the course but I knew my 5km splits and had them written on my hand as a back up.

20km-30km
I took another Powerbar Isoactive drink at 20km and on reaching half way I was feeling good, well in control and mentally strong. We hit the half way point in 68.11.

30km-40km
At 30km the group had been split up and just 2 of us were left. We were catching the group ahead and it felt like it was going to be a really positive day. I took my second and final gel at 35km but the first signs of fatigue were creeping in. Things began to feel a little bit harder as expected but I was still on pace for a 2.16 marathon and stayed positive working through the bad patches. At 37km I was still moving reasonably well but obviously was heading for new undiscovered territory. It was at 39km I suddenly went from feeling reasonably ok to feeling the worst pain I’ve ever felt. My legs ceased up and I had to stop. I was encouraged along by some spectators and began to walk. The worst thoughts flashed through my mind but I thought about all the sacrifice and hard work that I had put in and began to get my legs moving again, although it was at a significantly slower pace.

40km-Finish
The last 2km were very, very hard and couldn’t have been happier to get to the finish. I crossed the line in 2.21.

After being on 2.16 pace up until 37km it was hard to accept that time initially but I’ve had two weeks to reflect on my first marathon and I can say I’ve come away with an overall positive experience and learnt a lot along the way. It has taken these two weeks for my legs to get back to normal but I feel I have gained so much from my first marathon experience.

My coach and I will start planning for another one soon as I’m not finished yet, this is hopefully only the start of my marathon career.