Sun, Sep 25, 2011 - 42K - 04:31:35
Berlin Marathon 2011
Finished the 2011 Berlin Marathon with a 04:31:35, awesome race, awesome weather, I achieved my goal by running past the half marathon mark at 02:02:02, a minute and a half before Makau broke Haile's world record at 02:03:38 (Haile quit at mile 21), at 30K I was still doing 1-hour 10Ks with a 03:02:35 and didn't really break down this time between 34K-38K as in previous marathons, was actually still passing runners, legs still had something in them throughout the race, good feeling, afterward enjoyed a beer lying in the sun on the lawn in front of the Reichstag. 
 
 
Promising weather: 
 
 
Checked out the finish line at sunrise: 
 
Walking to the start: 
 
The mass of people waiting to run: 
 
This is what it feels like to start a marathon in the front row. I was in the front of Block H, the last group (about 30,000 runners) that marched up to and started from the starting line, a cool way to start a marathon, the video captures the excitement of the moment: 
 
1K: start in Block H and the road is yours: 
 
4K: looked like it was going to get hot, but it didn't: 
 
6K: I always remember the woman who told me she never runs the Berlin Marathon because "there's no room to run", often true, especially 5K-10K: 
 
7K: Everybody finding their pace for the rest of the race 
 
12K: Rounding the round-about at Strausberger Platz: 
 
13K: Awesome display of being the one to decide your own limits, a blind woman and her guide running the marathon: 
 
15K: Running on: 
 
17K: Still zero-pain, fun running: 
 
19K: People started carrying cameras in marathons about 5 years ago, and now this: 
 
24K: Innsbruckerplatz tunnel, can't imagine anyone in there could hear after the marathon: 
 
25K: And the Berlin Marathon would not be complete without the Hauptstr. Head-Banging Balcony, been there every year since 2001: 
 
26K: Legs began losing 100%: 
 
28K: But the Zehlendorf hill really didn't break me this year: 
 
29K: Powering on through Roseneck Platz: 
 
31K: Felt a low from 30K-31K, but started to regain energy at the Hohenzollerdamm bridge: 
 
32K: Got my pace back up at 32K, a great feeling: 
 
34K: Heul doch! 
 
35K: Das Ziel ist das Ziel: 
 
36K: Feeling better than the guy behind me, everything is relative now: 
 
37K: Everyone discovering what they have inside: 
 
38K: Potsdamer Platz = the end is near: 
 
39K: Make it down Leipzigstr., turn left, and you're at 40K. 
 
41K: A wonderfully refreshing splash before the last stretch: 
 
42K: There is nothing like seeing the Brandenburg Gate approaching and then running through it, and then down the last 400 meters into the finish line: 
 
The feeling of done: 
 
And the taste of victory: