I felt excited and anxious as I packed up and caught an Uber with my family to JFK airport. My anxiety dealt more with the not so fun logistics of airport security. In fact, some snooty Europeans on line in passport control were almost reminded that they were still in Queens, NY—know what I mean? But, that is another story. We left in the evening. The initial flight to Munich felt swift, though the long line to proceed through Munich’s passport control could have caused us miss our rather tight connecting flight into Berlin. Fortunately, an airport worker directed us to an open booth. A stoic German officer almost cracked a smile when I mentioned that I planned to run the Berlin marathon.

As the seven of us met in Berlin, I saw my friend, Kerome. I had no idea he entered the race, but we kept in touch since we shared similar time goals. We said bye and made our way to the car rental with one slight hiccup. They did not hold our reservation for the automatic transmission we requested—cue the Seinfeld episode about taking, but failing to hold the reservation. Recognizing fault, the agent upgraded us to a nine seat passenger van to travel back and forth to the house that we rented in Brandenburg. Shifting gears on the manual felt much tighter than what my father-in-law remembered, but he handled driving like a pro. So much in fact, I thought I had my own local German driver a few days into this trip.

After enduring a long day of travel, I went to bed at my normal time over in Germany. This really helped offset any jet lag. The next morning I woke up for a quick jog around the neighborhood in Wandlitz. I found out that especially in Berlin, 60 degrees feels a little cooler than here in the USA. Later on this day, I traveled to the expo to pick up my materials at the Flughafen Tempehof. Hitting traffic along the way turned into a blessing in disguise because the two-hour lines cleared out by the time I arrived. The traffic to Berlin convinced me to take the S Bahn into the city on race day to avoid any potential hiccups.

On Saturday, I met with a childhood friend and his family who now live in the Bavaria region of Germany. I reminisced about how we hung out so much as kids in the late 90’s as I finished carb loading for the race. It definitely felt wild watching over our kids play in Europe, as we used to do in a smaller city in Missouri. As we left the restaurant to head back to the S Bahn, I felt confident in my abilities to execute a good race. I somehow managed to even clock six hours of sleep.

I woke up on race day feeling excited while using my Picopresso to make a double shot of espresso. The last minute trip to Aldi to buy a throw away sweater paid off dividends in not freezing on my way to the start. By the way, German shopping carts handle remarkably well. The S Bahn closest to our house conveniently stopped directly at Brandenburger Tor, close to the security entrance. I arrived one hour and 45 minutes to the start, which gave me plenty of time to enter the corral first. Fortunately, I found my two friends, Kerome and Evan in a sea of people before the start.

Kerome took off at the start and ended up running a remarkable time. I stayed back and worked alongside Evan, as we navigated the flat and fast course. Ever crucial, how we approached the first 5k would determine how we would feel once approaching the halfway mark into 20 miles. We planned to run mid 2:30’s to under 2:40. Honestly, the course felt like a blur, much like the trip to Berlin. We eased into the race settling into the low 6:00 per mile to high 5:50’s range. It felt very comfortable, as we were able to hold conversation and relax. The course honestly felt a little more downhill than flat in some sections. We would cross half-way in 1:19 and change. Then, we eased into gradually increasing our pace with the goal of racing the last 10k hard.

Passing the halfway point into 21 miles felt ok. I picked up the pace a little, but decided to run even efforts until the last 10 kilometers. Along the way I saw a few sub-elites stopped on the side of the road not having the greatest day, unfortunately. I would also pass a Kenyan pacer for the professional field jogging with a sports drink in hand. I took the narrow turns on the road aiming for the tangents. I remember having to slow down to not run into someone ahead taking the turn, yet a runner behind pushed me forward on my back. I found it a bit odd since we still had plenty of time on the course. Also, the road barriers in the middle of the street became obstacles in some sections. At this point, I still felt that I could finish the race under 2:40.

It became difficult after hitting 35 kilometers. I felt my pace slipping trying to approach the last 7 km of the race. My rhythm felt flat, so I made an executive decision to stop, then pick back up again. Doing so seemed to help, but the last few miles of a marathon really tests your resolve—will this ever end? Of course it does! As I checked my watch, I knew I’d miss running sub 2:40, however a personal best waited at the finish line past the Brandenburg Gate. I saw my family cheering at the end, which helped push me to the line. 2:42:30! Shaving a few minutes off my 2:45 from New York City last year.

Overall, I view this Berlin marathon experience positively. Disappointment is only rooted in what you expected to find, so managing expectations is key to growth. I have not hit my ceiling with running. There is plenty of room to improve and stay motivated. Berlin provided a lot of feedback that I will use to better my times in future races. After all, I completed 20+ miles under a 2 hour and 40 minute finishing time. The only place to go from here is up.

After crossing, I met Evan at the finish line—congrats on the 2:37! I rang the PR bell, grabbed a cup of non-alcoholic beer and received a free beer glass. I mean, an actual beer glass from the land of beer! Berlin definitely lived up to all the hype. I highly recommend running it. The way it coincided with the timing of some accomplishments in my personal life set it up for the ultimate victory lap. I’m looking forward to increasing my capacity and getting back into the lab soon after recovering from my efforts. Prost!