36th real Berlin Marathon 2009: 2:21:39h (20th place)

October 3, 2009

Almost two weeks after the marathon and it’s time for some analysis. Because of the fact that it was the second time I ran in Berlin, I can compare the two performance and the splits:

Analyzing the splits I can say that this year the pace was more steady from the very beginning to the very end of the race. In fact this year I never ran a kilometer over 3:30min, whereas last year I was falling down to 4min/km-pace at the end.

short decription of the race:

km 0-21
On the first part of the marathon the most important thing is to be patient. You should feel comfortable with the pace because this is the easiest part of the race. The first 4-5km were a bit slow with 3:22-23min and the consequence was, that the pace increased the following kilometers because there was a bigger group aiming for sub-2:20h. At halfway I was right on pace (69:52min) and exactly replicated last years halfmarathon time.

very early in the race (around km 4)

km 21-35

During this part of the race the training kicks in: If the training was sub-optimal you will probably slow down drastically already here. For me those kilometers were ok, but I also had to make a lot of pace myself. Last year I was feeling a bit more fresh at halfway and from km 25-33 I followed the group of Irina Mikitenko. This year the kilometer-splits were a bit slower but I was still in control. The heat was getting more and more of a factor and that’s the main reason why I couldn’t maintain 3:19min/km-pace.

km 35-42,125

That’s the part, were the outcome of the marathon is decided. Last year I ran well until 38km and suffered really bad until the finish. Even though this years split time for 40km was slower than last years I improved last years finishing time by more than half a minute. Also this year I was hurting a lot and the last kilometers seemed endless. Still I ran a steady pace, i.e. never under 3:30min/km. Compared to last year that was the main improvement, even if the conditions were warmer than last year. Also the top guys suffered from the heat: from 40km to the finish i.e. 2,195km) Haile was only one second faster than me!

This year I also noticed the last meters of the race. Last year I had some black-outs at the end and didn’t even remember how I passed the Brandenburg gate. Also the crowd on the last 200meters was amazing. The tribune was full of spectators and the noise level was amazing. When the speaker announced that I am the second German the crowds went even more mad! Puuuh, that was really incredible.

Immediately after the race I was quite disappointed that I ran over 2:20h, but I know that running sub-2:20 is only a matter of time.

post-race with my Dad and Dan- I’m not really looking happy

post-race with my support team during the marathon (Dad, Mum, Me, Ulla, Bernd)

Once again I want to thank everyone, who supported me and motivated me along my way to the Berlin Marathon 2009. I know it was not always an easy time with me!