People close to me usually know that Munich (München in German) is not on my list of favourite places. They also know that this is not based on experience, I actually have never really been there. Which does raise the question about my irrational dislike, but that’s another story. It happened that I got back in touch with friends who live in Munich, loving it and innocently invited me to come. It came to a diplomatic incident which I am…
Running through the Brandenburger Tor for the finish is something you can’t get enough of. So I did Berlin the second time (after I had my first go in 2015). And worth mentioning: it was the 44th Berlin Marathon and also the 44th I was running. A sign? Coincidence? More likely the later, nevertheless, it’s a nice one. Something that couldn’t be said of the weather. You felt eerily reminded of Peking Marathon events (I can only judge by pictures…
What is “Fränkische Schweiz” in English? It is an area by Nuremberg, Germany, close to where I spent a big part of my youth. Now it was time to do the marathon there and wanting to write in English about it made me check the dictionary. So, here you go: It is “Franconian Switzerland” – and no, it has nothing to do with the Swiss. Now the technicalities are out-of-the-way, I want to add that it is the first marathon…
Yesterday I did the six hours Musik Legends Challenge. The idea: Run for six hours and try to do as many laps as you can. I was a little bit nervous, not quite knowing what I would get myself into. Pure boredom and uninspired running of 3.75 miles (6 km) loops in Northampton? Or would it be a great way to explore the terrain beyond marathon distance, not focussing on the number of miles (or km) but overall time and having…
What has Prague in common with an English medium sized town called Milton Keynes? I can tell you, not very much, but one thing is, they both had marathons in the first week of May. And I did run them both. It’s a first for me, to run two marathons in the same calendar week. But what a different experience it was: Milton Keynes is best known for their concrete cows, Prague is best known for, well, being Prague. While…
Saturday night before the race I started to panic: I visited Hamburg’s recently opened opera house Elbphilharmonie and nearly froze to death. The building is truly amazing with viewing platforms and awe inspiring architecture, inside and out. But the location is also extremely windy and despite the 8 degrees temperature it felt like zero. The weather forecast for marathon Sunday said the same 8 or 9 degrees temperature, but even more wind. So I worried that my shorts, short sleeved…
Does Rome have more rain than London? Some articles out there are seriously suggesting that and today I might start to believe it. I had been running 37 marathons (about 10 of them in UK alone) without ever experiencing severe rain. The most unlikely candidate to end this streak did end it: Rome. It was raining today and it rained hard. Not all way through, but a solid 90 minutes at the beginning, to get the runners completely soaked, and…
The Rome Marathon preparation presented a rather different challenge to me: getting the medical certificate which should prove that I am fit to run a marathon. (The fact that just ten days ago I had successfully completed one does not seem to prove anything.) I had been there before in 2013 when I did Florence and Pisa, which also required this certificate (it comes down to an Italian law from 1982 after all) and while it had been a sort…
Sorry, but I have to add this: the results are here and I did it in 4:05:22! Not that the number has any significance or is in any way special. I believe if this marathon had not been the unfolding running drama that it was, I would had finished under 4 hours. But what makes me so excited is that there actually are results. For the last two days I could not find my times and I thought that the…
Yes, the Jerusalem Marathon was a very special one… but for the wrong reasons. The 37th marathon of my running career should become the first that brought this nightmarish feeling to reality, when the foreboding of having missed something very significant thickens, to the point where it hits you like an ice shower once you realise it is too late. The runners information page had been slightly confusing, especially when you read it on your small phone screen, paragraph of paragraph…
I am in Jerusalem and tomorrow I am going to run the marathon here. Still not sure what exactly it is, that makes this place feel so special to me: Is it its unparalleled history oozing through every aspect that makes this city, the countless annotations to faiths and believes that have been and are shaping the world (including my own) or the diversity of people and  backgrounds that seems to mix and blend and stand out all at the…
… my medal picture. I also updated the All My Marathons page with the latest events, times and thoughts since Edinburgh in May.
I sensed this marathon would be a special one. And it turned out to be right. The Eden Project itself is a must see place. Set up as a charity this insane project of creating a Rainforest and a Mediterranean world under domes that look like clustered bubbles (and host so called biomes) is as wonderful as it sounds. In addition these domes are surrounded by a buzzing and botanical life celebrating landscape, with all sorts of art installations and sculptures blending…
On my way to Cornwall to run the Eden Marathon. Arrived at Newquay Airport, hired a car, went down to my B&B in St Austell and spent the afternoon in awe and wonder at the Eden Project. It is a truly awesome place. In the evening I met my running buddy Hakeem and in search of a nice place to get our carb intake, we came to Charlestown. In the sunset and at the seaside, with the little port, ships…
If you want to run a marathon in London, but don’t like crowds or you don’t get into the big one, Richmond it a good alternative. There are only about 1,000 marathon runners and a bigger bunch of Half runners, who start delayed and only share parts of the route. I like that the marathon start was inside Kew Gardens and the first miles went through it. The route then led us along the beautiful trail paths following the Thames to Kingston.…
