Ok, this time I shared my most intimate thoughts from the start line. I did document it half for myself; it is hard to prove to yourself how bad the thinking was when all went well. I know this from other runs. And Budapest? No exception, it went very well indeed. Let’s revisit my thoughts from before the race: The silly vest turned out to be just right. Especially during the second half of the race, when it got warmer,…
It starts in 30 minutes – I need to take a picture from the start line – what is the creepy guy doing in the background – why is he filming (!) me – while I am taking pictures of myself (!!) – embarrassing – good that there was a red cap in my race pack – it’s supposed to be warm – 25 degrees – and sunny – that’s why I am thankful about the cap – it’s even…
I had the whole Saturday to roam through Budapest. Today was supposed to be my rest day though, but how can you rest in a city like this? Budapest is truly stunning. And the weather was great, too, so I walked around more than I wanted to and walking can sometimes feel more tiring than running. But I found a compromise. Budapest is also the home of many thermal baths. I went to one that has outside areas and with…
What you can see on the shirt Is my official time for the Warsaw marathon. Not the under 3:45 as I hoped for, but who cares if you can show off your time on a race day shirt!!! It’s one of the coolest shirts I’ve got. You get it in a blank version and you need to take a marker and blacken the bits out to represent your time. Very simple but very effective. Loving it 🙂
…and I am past the finish line. One of the amazing things about marathons is that they are over at some point. Just by doing it. Sounds stupid, but it really fascinates me. The time between the start and finish is a bit like a journey, I always feel like a different person to the one at the start line. And somehow in between you have the milestones. And each one is a witness of a different part of your…
And I can’t wait to start, because it’s cold! Hopefully it will warm up a bit, the forecast says so. I know, all my start line pictures look exactly the same, but I still love posting them. It takes a bit off the edge and calms me down. See you at the finish line!
The race starts and ends in the Stadion Narodowy, which is the National Stadium. It looks pretty cool and feels very special. It is also the place where I had to pick up my number and race pack. I did panic a bit in the end, worried that I won’t make it in time. The train from the airport to the stop that I thought was the closest to the stadium took ages. And on the journey we right passed…
And here comes marathon number 5: Warsaw. Why Warsaw? Well, I initially wanted to run Loch Ness this weekend, but somehow it seemed to be all to complicated, pricy and such a hassle. It’s strange, but traveling within UK seems to be more effort than hopping on a plane and going abroad. In case of Warsaw I could conveniently leave home at 11am and will be still I time to pick up my race number at Stadion Narodowy by 8pm.…
Here is the picture from just after the finish line. What you can’t see is the beer in my hand, a nice Swiss beer sponsor made sure we are getting the priority rights after all the pain. And painful it was, in fact so much that I cannot remember the beer’s label. (Sorry guys, your marketing efforts were wasted on me, but still much appreciated.) Kilometre 37-40 were the hardest and most beautiful at the same time. What we (the…
It starts, I am scared, see you at the finish line!
I should have read the race info earlier, not at the airport the evening before the event, with suitcase packed and the new and shiny trail running shoes in it. Well, they are not that new and shiny anymore, last Saturday I gave them a go with my last long training run before the Jungfrau. I chose a route with as much trail as possible, which is a bit of a challenge living in a big city. But Epping Forest…
Have not done an other marathon since Halstead & Essex. The challenge to run 12 this year is becoming bigger the longer I wait. My training schedule caved in during my two weeks in Taiwan in June. I just couldn’t handle the humid hot weather. Especially after having trained in 7 months of UK winter temperatures. As a result my 10% increase per month thing is over. It stopped with a respectable 92k in the first week of June. But…
After the race with eye watering bright finisher shirt, nice medal and a cheesy grin. I absolutely loved it, the organisers did a great job and the route was fantastic. Didn’t have a chance to take more pictures though. My apologies. I blame this guy, who seemed to be very familiar with this race, knowing and chatting to almost everyone on the way. He turned out to be an ultra runner and had very interesting stuff to say, so I…
The Halstead & Essex marathon starts in 15 minutes. The way to here was just beautiful and I am very excited about the scenic route. The peculiar start and finish line parking spot charm of this picture doesn’t really reflect this. Maybe I will post some nicer pics during the race 🙂
The ballot for the London Marathon 2014 opened beginning of this week and closed again in a record time of 11 and a half hours. I surely would have missed it, hadn’t it been for a fellow runner from work with better organisation skills than myself. He gave me a nudge so I didn’t miss it and if I am not mistaken my chances of getting a place are 5:1. They’ll let us know in October or so. I’d run…