A little beyond the halfway mark of the Berlin Marathon the temperature had already risen at least ten degrees from what it was at the start. My heart rate had spiked well above my comfort zone and I needed to make some adjustments.
At the time I was guzzling water at one of the many stations on the route and got the idea to douse myself. The water was cold on my head and neck but felt comforting after the initial shock.
Another runner decided to get in on the fun so she tossed her cup of water at my chest. That first time was cute and a little funny until she went back to get some more water to throw on me. Giggling the whole time she must have dumped four cups on me.
The cold shock to my chest made speech impossible but I managed to gasp out enough of a message to have her disengage.
That may have been the high point of the race for me.
The International Tour Operator that I used to gain entry in the Berlin Marathon is Marathon Tours and Travel. The President, Jeff Adams, and Trip Designer, Nicole Langone, have had the mind-bending job of navigating the volatile currents of the pandemic while keeping these tours on track.
Somehow I was expecting a small intimate group of runners on this tour. In fact there were about 200 runners among us and nearly as many who came along to support them.
It’s exhilarating to be among so many people with a common interest. One of the runners I met, Suzanne, likened it to an adult summer camp.
Nearly everyone there was planning on running more than one of the majors this year. Everyone had to plan with how they were going to do another one with only a few weeks separation from Berlin. As I suspected, I am not alone in divining this opportunity.
Nonetheless, it’s amazing to me the prevalence of the Imposter Syndrome among runners, the idea of somehow not being deserved of a title despite abundant supporting evidence.
Rosie is the perfect example. In her lovely Irish lilt she says, “Oh, I don’t think of myself as a runner.” And then she tells of how at the age of 79 she’s run 114 marathons (Berlin will be 115) and among them all of the 50 states and five of the seven continents.
The marathon course winds it’s way throughout all of Berlin, a city iconic for its roles in World War II and the Cold War. But where once was the “death strip” where East German citizens were gunned down by soldiers on watchtowers if they attempted to cross into West Berlin there are now fabulous new structures steeped in symbolism. Some examples:
- The German government is housed in the Chancellery. It’s the largest government building in the world and a wing of it bridges the river that formerly separated East Berlin from West Berlin.
- The Holocaust Memorial is a mesmerizing cartesian array of 2711 concrete slabs of differing heights covering 19,000 square meters. From a distance the slabs all appear roughly the same height but one doesn’t see that the ground they rest on slopes downward so wandering into the memorial the slabs appear to grow in height eventually dwarfing the visitor. The effect is one of a gradual but ultimately overwhelming ascendancy much like Nazism, a metaphor proposed by our tour guide that feels apt.
- Nearby is the site of Hitler’s bunker where he spent his last days. It is a shabby, unpaved parking lot.
Berlin built itself up as the first large scale marathon to return in the COVID age while it obeyed the constraints placed on it by COVID. Proof of vaccination, COVID recovery, or a negative COVID test were required of all runners. Although we ran unmasked we wore masks at the start and again at the finish.
It was indeed a massive scale. Twenty five thousand runners, nearly as many volunteers managing it, large and highly efficient gear check systems, huge JumboTrons televising the start and status of the lead runners, and untold thousands of portable toilets.
The spectators were astounding. They lined the entire course and cheered non-stop. Various bands played, people sang and danced. Some in the crowd made the effort to read the name on bibs and shout personalized encouragement.
Sometimes it seemed, the exhortations went a little darkly. Another runner with the tour, James, felt that the locals were particularly harsh on any German runners who decided to walk a bit and called them out by name for it. Apparently that was expected of the non-Germans but not so of the countrymen.
They could have been more efficient in places though. In a very curious and cumbersome quirk, Berlin runners are required to carry a timing chip secured by laces to their running shoe. These are “rented” for the race and runners are to return them to race officials afterwards. If you forget to return them (as I did) you are fined the purchase price of the chip. For those of us who know only of the free RFID emitter stuck to the backside of our race bibs this feels like larceny.
At the pre-race party there was talk of cloud cover at race time so that temperatures would not get too bad. In fact it was quite comfortable on our walk to the starting line, maybe mid-50’s. But by race time it was heating up with no clouds in sight. It would eventually get into the mid-70's.
I don’t do well in the heat and I know that I gain misplaced confidence from running in the coolness of the Pacific Northwest. But my plan for these races is to let my heart rate be the metric for pace and I try to maintain it below 150 bpm.
Somehow I had understood that hydration packs were not allowed in Berlin. That is true of the other majors but it wasn’t until the day before the race that I read that Berlin allowed them. This may have helped but, alas, I left mine at home.
Normally, I’d have some Nuun electrolyte tablets dissolved in my hydration pack water that I could leisurely suck down during the course of a long run to ward off cramping. I did bring some tablets with me and a small flask but I was really hoping for an electrolyte based drink at the water stations as well.
Not so. There was something besides water at the refreshment stations, something tea-like but unknown to me. Sticking to the marathoner’s creed of “Nothing new on race day” I chose not to risk possible GI tract distress.
The leg cramps came on about halfway in and steadily increased in severity through the rest of the run. My paced dropped off rapidly as my walk to run ratio drifted upwards. By the last two kilometers, with the finish line in sight, I was barely moving.
And then I wasn’t at all. At least not forward. With 50 meters to go my legs seized up and I fell down while the crowd’s cheering gave way to a collective gasp.
I made up that last part about the gasp but you get the idea.
Several runners came to my aid and helped me up but standing was very difficult. It appeared as if they were going to help me across the finish line but there was no way in hell that I was not going to finish that race on my own steam.
I stumbled across the line while my helpers stood nearby. The First Aid folks were waiting for me asking if I wanted to go to Medical Tent. Of course, I brushed them off and tried walking. But that was going slow and the course officials were getting anxious about me clogging up the finish line.
So I got to see the inside of a marathon Medical Tent. The people there were very nice and helpful although, true to form, they had no electrolytes to offer. They monitored me with concerned expressions as I lay on a cot while the most severe cramps I’ve ever had ravaged my legs for about 90 minutes.
Eventually the cramps dissipated enough so I could amble back to the hotel in time to join the tour group’s celebration party. We all shared stories of the race and I found out that one other runner in our group had also fallen down just short of the finish line. He also finished the race on his own power.
To be sure, you didn’t have to look far for evidence of the toll that the heat took on participants. Medics were assisting runners on both sides of the finish line, some runners had to be placed on stretchers. But I guess that’s normal for an event of this size.
So, what have I learned from this one?
Well, there’s a bit more evidence that what I am attempting is insane.
But I’m sure you’ve heard another definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I do need a better result with the upcoming marathons so I’ll be working on approaching them differently.
Another thing I’ve learned is something that I already knew. I found out after the race that some of you were following my progress and concernedly noting my difficulties. And afterwards I was overwhelmed, again, with the show unabated encouragement.
I feel that I don’t deserve such support but I am glad to have it. Thank you.
Shalane Flanagan is a 16-time United States national champion who, among her other accomplishments, won the New York City Marathon in 2017, the first American woman in 40 years to do so. She retired from professional racing in 2019 but apparently is not done with running.
On September 20, just six days before the Berlin Marathon, Shalane announced that she was going to run in all of the World Marathon Majors during the six weeks that they are being held in the fall of 2021.
In other words, she has taken on the same challenge that I have but with one exception. In place of running in Tokyo, a race that has now been postponed to March 6, 2022, she is going to run a virtual marathon on October 17, the original Tokyo date, to make it six marathons in six weeks.
And I’m like, “Dang it, Shalane! Now what did you have to go and do that for? Isn’t five marathons in six weeks enough? They were giving us a weekend off!!!”
Oh well, what the hell. She left me little choice so I signed up to run the Seattle Virtual Marathon (#RUNSEA) which I plan to do on October 17, six days after we complete our Chicago-Boston doubleheader.
All of us have the ability to inspire and to be inspired.
I am a charity runner in the London, Boston, and New York marathons this year. There’s still time to contribute to my cause (assuming that you have not already done so).
If you share the passion that the Michael J Fox Foundation and I have for finding a Parkinson’s cure please consider contributing to any of the WMM I am running in as a member of Team Fox (links below). All donations are meaningful and greatly appreciated.
fundraise.michaeljfox.org/boston-marathon-2021/joesgottarun
fundraise.michaeljfox.org/londonmarathon2021/joesgottarun
fundraise.michaeljfox.org/tcs-nyc-marathon-2021/joesgottarun
