Last weekend, Newport & District Running Club’s David Clarke travelled to Germany to take on the Berlin Marathon, one of the world’s annual “major” marathons. Below, he tells us how he got on!
On Friday 25th September, I travelled to Germany for the Berlin Marathon, one of the quickest in the racing calendar.
My race started at 8.45am on a sunny Sunday morning. Early on, we navigated past the Victory Column and the Reichstag Building. The course feels extremely flat and is well supported. The day before, they hosted the in-line skating marathon!
My goal was to try and maintain an even pace, and negative splits. With 6 miles to go, I felt pretty strong but with a mile left I hit the wall. We passed through the iconic Brandenburg Gate, just 300 metres before the finish line. We collected our medals and picked up a decent goody bag and a drink: alcohol free Erdinger (which doesn’t taste too shabby).
Later, I hit one of the many post marathon parties, hosted by Hoka, for something a bit stronger. Berlin is a cool city steeped in history, and I made the most of my three days there. Highly recommended to anyone looking for their next major.
