After the Berlin Marathon, I reflect on my running journey.

How did I get here?

In 2023, I ran my first marathon in 4:59; in 2024, I ran my second marathon in 3:46. I trained for just under four months for my first and just under five months for my second. The results are clear: a little bit of training, no matter where you start from, takes you a long way. In the first case, from couch to marathon; in the second case, a 1hr 13min improvement. I have never run competitively prior.

Now, I have been training for just over one year for my third marathon: the Berlin Marathon. This will be my first international race and the first one I will run with people that I know (shoutout to Jiahui, Jimmy, and Deb). For the non-marathon folks, the Berlin Marathon is an Abbot World Marathon Major (one of seven) and is considered one of the best courses in the world, attracting over 50,000 people in 2024 including the world’s most elite runners like Eliud Kipchoge. To say it’s a big event is an understatement.

Where am I today?

In the time between my second marathon and now, I have grown considerably as a runner in two ways:

The first way is that I’m faster. The same runs I did in the summer 2024 are now both faster pace and at a lower heart rate. In short, I’m more fit than I was one year ago.

The second way is that I have an entire village of supporters, both runners and non-runners. Roughly speaking, this group has grown from <10 people before marathon #2 to almost 50 people, many of who watch my progress daily and are anticipating the results of my attempt at running under 3:00. I also have a coach and this helps. This, unsurprisingly, elevates the sport of running above just yourself and allows you to do things you probably could never do yourself (or at least it would be a lot harder).

How did the race go?

Unfortunately, the race did not go well. I completed the race in 3:52:04, which is 6 minutes slower than my PB and ~40 minutes slower than I (and my coach) expected.

There were four major contributing factors:

  1. The temperature was a blistering 79 F (26 C), where typical average temperatures range in the low 60s.
  2. My body was battling a cold about ~4 days prior to the race that continued through the rest of my trip.
  3. Overfueling during the race which caused stomach issues and cramping.
  4. Mental pressure to perform well and eroding confidence throughout the race.

The first factor was uncontrollable. It was also the most significant.

The second factor was tricky because I had already taken many health precautions (wearing a mask, sleeping on the plane, eating foods I was used to, doing minimal site seeing, light running). So even in hindsight, there isn’t much I would have done differently.

The third factor is something I could have prevented and will improve for my next marathon with practice. For the first 10 miles, I was fueling 23g carbs every 20 minutes (2.5 miles). But after experiencing cramping, in part from my stomach not being used to taking that many carbs and from the excess water I was drinking to battle the heat, I changed my fueling strategy to 23g every 35 minutes after the 10 mile mark. This helped. In hindsight, the most I fueled during my longest 20 mile long run was ~45g carbs/hr, and I was trying to take 69g carbs/hr on race day. This was a big mistake.

The fourth factor requires some unpacking. As I mentioned earlier, I have made significant progress in my physical fitness. The data is clear that I am much fitter than when I ran my 2nd marathon. I ran a 1:32 half marathon in May on a hilly course with 900 ft of elevation (Berlin has only 400 ft over double the distance), which would have projected me to run a 3:20 marathon back in May. With four more months of training after that, I went into Berlin with a lot of confidence: I thought at worst I would run a 3:30, 3:15 on a good day, and 3:05 on a perfect day. I started out at a 3:20-3:25 pace and expected to feel strong in the first half, pick up the pace at the half way point, then finish strong in the last 10k, finishing around 3:15. My past two marathons have gone this way, and I expected Berlin to be the same.

However, as things started to go south, I wasn’t prepared for the drastic adjustments needed during the race due to the weather, my own body’s physical fatigue from the sickness, and the overfueling. Seeing the 3:30 pace group go by and then the 3:45 pace group killed my mental state. By the end, all I wanted to do was finish. Even now, writing this blog 3 weeks after the race, I still haven’t fully regained my confidence.

Race performance aside, the Berlin Marathon is a legendary race. I’m grateful to have run it with three good friends, to have friends come out from the US and UK to support me, as well as having the support of all of my family and friends back home. This was by far the hardest race I’ve run (the first 10/10 difficulty run on my Garmin), and I couldn’t have done it without their support. As I start running again and begin to prepare for the Toyko Marathon next spring, I will be focusing on improving my fueling strategy and preparing myself for anything to happen on race day.

See you at the start line in Toyko!