Berlin Marathon 2025 - Maurice Quirke
- markgreig1
- Oct 1
- 5 min read
Berlin: fast and flat, promising your ultimate PB! Well, no, not this time.
My road to Berlin had started with great expectations. But an onset of tendinitis in
late July put paid to my training plan for August and early September. What had
been a plan to go all out in Mitte and Charlottenburg became a question of whether I
would make it to the starting line at all. But was I prepared to forfeit the 200€ fee?
And there was another imperative. It’s been 6 years since I ran for charity, so, after
securing my own place for Berlin, I had decided it was time to do it again and had
70+ generous donors supporting my efforts for MacMillan. How could I let them
down?
The morning before the race I made my way to the Rotunda in the Altes Museum for
a quick chat with Nike, “What are your top tips for my race tomorrow, Nike? And what
about the 2.30 at Newmarket?” She was not amused: “Man, what are you doing
traipsing around the museum the day before a marathon? Get your feet up.
Conserve your energy.” Not so much a top tip as a ticking off.
So, an hour later, lying flat in our apartment in Zehlendorf, I flipped from antiquity to
modernity and went to AI for advice - what to do if I felt a bit of soreness in my
Achilles during my run? No surprises - the top tip was “Stop!” My ancient and
modern oracles were firing off warnings.
On Sunday morning emerging from the underground at Brandeburg Tor was just
uplifting. A majestic setting where a fantastic conference of runners from all parts of
the world were summoning their powers. Victory was riding a chariot on top of the
Gate with her laurel surely extended just for me. Really? Ta. But do I need to do the
run first? The wave of excitement ran all the way through the entrance into the
runners’ area, onto the bag drop and along the lead-in to the warm-up area. Well, in
fairness, I don’t think the loo queue was exactly exciting. No flush (don’t ask!). And
running out of toilet roll? But, of course, the well-prepared runner plans for all
contingencies.
On the starting line the volume was rising. What is it about those moving images
relayed on the giant screens that elicits such powerful emotions? A mass of unique
individuals, all aligned, all facing in the same direction, all willing to test their limits
against the same 42.2k challenge. On the sound system the Black-Eyed Peas were
really convincing me that tonight was gonna be a good night. But wait, first of all
there was the small matter of this morning’s business. We’ll conquer this together!
We all started dancing in the starting pen. Yes, I thought, fuck Nike, I’m gonna have
a dance. In fact, I’m gonna dance my way around all the way to the finish. Such is
the power of music.
And up to a point the first half was a dance. For 20 or so kilometres I was in the
groove, my tendinitis had been subject to a miracle cure! And hey, training is
seriously over-rated; who needed those 5 weeks? Then the devil launched a triple
pronged assault: a stitch, hellish heat and, yes, a dodgy tendon starting to complain.
So, the second half was a different story.
The spectators’ signs were a welcome distraction. I must have passed more than
half a dozen telling me “You’re making it look easy.” Well, I hadn’t packed a mirror
into my running shorts along with the gels, but I’m pretty sure the form was lurching
towards ragged. But it’s when fatigue sets in that focussing on form is most
important. As best I could, I channelled my Shane Benzie (cf The Lost Art of
Running), running through the checklist – head, chest, arms, foot placement etc. I do
think it helped. What lifted me most, though, was the encouragement from family.
Navigating the underground expertly, there they were at 12, 32, 36 and 40k,
conspicuous and loud, vying with the colourful Mexican and Brazilian support, in the
midst of the chilled denizens of Berlin. Each sighting put bounce into my stride.
Eventually the stitch receded, but not before reminding me of school cross country
runs 20 minutes after a stodgy school dinner. But, while the stitch subsided, the heat
didn’t, rising inexorably to the mid 20s. For the last quarter, knowing my pace was
slipping, I stopped at every water station and, along with every other runner, took two cups, one for consumption and one to tip over my head for the temporary relief.
Into the final quarter of the run the question was would my tendon allow me to finish? Well, turns out it moaned a bit but grudgingly gave me a pass. When Brandenburg Gate came into view, runners with lax research skills launched their final sprint for glory to the arch. The smarter runners kept their powder dry up to the Gate and then let it all out for the 400 metres beyond to the finishing line!
Meeting up with family after a marathon feels like a reunion after an absence of months. It’s a wonderful moment. And so it was on to the restaurant for a beer, bratwurst and mash and time to hang out with Maciek and Monika. In that heat Maciek had run an amazing 2:55:13 and the previous day Monika, in similar heat, had set a new PB for 5k of 27:50. Plenty to celebrate. The beers were well deserved and the sausages were, well, interesting.
Finally, a tip from me (step aside Nike). Here it is: a dab of sudocream on the toes
works wonders as a protection against blisters. However, a word of caution. Going
through security on the way out of Brandeburg Airport, I watched my bag being
diverted for extra scrutiny as a posse of security staff gathered around the screen to
identify, apparently, an explosive substance in my luggage. The offending article?
My jar of sudocream. I don’t know the German for baby’s bottom, but after lengthy
consultation, they decided there was no terrorist threat after all. So there you have it:
a dab of sudocream on the toes for happy dancing feet; and, what’s more, a good
dollop elsewhere could be just the rocket needed to fire you to your ultimate PB.
If you’ve managed to get to the finish line of this marathon report and feel inclined to
donate to MacMIllan – great cause, wonderful people – here’s my sponsorship link:
Result: 3:35:14
Group position: 17 th
I’ll take it.