Sun, Apr 29, 2018 - 21K - 02:23:19
Hamburg Half Marathon with Gisi
This was Gisi's and my seventh half marathon together since 2013, and our first half marathon outside of Berlin. On Saturday, we did an enjoyable walking tour of the city from the train station all the way through the Altstadt, up to get our running numbers, and then to our hotel. Our friend Thorsten from Berlin also ran, and we met up with him and his wife for a pre-run pasta dinner at 4K, an authentic Italian restaurant if you are in Hamburg (Il Gambero Ristorante), reached by a nice, long walk out west along the Port of Hamburg main water way.  
 
Arriving at the start, by complete coincidence, we met Gisi's cousin Eva and Andreas who were doing the half and full marathon respectively, and so ran with Eva for the first seven kilometers, spontaneous and fun.  
 
The race was relatively flat with a surprising slow climb from 1K to 4K, but after that, you got used to the gradual slopes, not something you really experience in Berlin. Gisi ran with her famous internal consistency, not ever looking at the watch or knowing her time, she finished 20 seconds faster than her time last year, thus achieving a personal best for the half marathon. 
 
This was our first half marathon outside of Berlin, and it will definitely be repeated: the weekend trip, the newness of another city, and the completely new running route is much to be enjoyed.