Berlin 2010 - September

Seanie_H wrote: »

Slightly concerned at what I've been reading about the start. Seems amazing that so many races have the same problem. Surely somebody somewhere can come up with a standard start which can be applied at all races.

Which problems with the start? You mean congestion? It's unavoidable with 40k runners.

eliwallach wrote: »

Only worry is that our flights (from Dublin) land at 13:55 on the Sat, and the Expo closes at 18:00. All going well we should make it but it is a little close for comfort. IIRC wasn't there some discussion about this last year and a helpful friend can collect your race pack if it come s to that?

That's loads of time to get to the expo. But failing that, i'm sure there will be loads of runners heading over on the Friday.

Haile Gebrselassie is a memeber of Boards AC?! I'll still take him.
My OH is doing it too, as are a few friends. Trying to sort out accommodation now.

Seanie_H wrote: »

I dunno Krusty, I think it is avoidable..... My thinking is that if we can grow an ear on the back of a mouse, send people to the moon and make stout as good as a Guinness, then surely we can manage to start a marathon without a huge delay.

I'd have thoght the German's could solve a problem like that - same for the Japanese or even NASA. Has anybody ran in Japan or Cape Canaveral?

I didn't lose much time over the first two miles last year (30 seconds?), but the whole of the course is quite populous (think there were 1,200+ runners who finished under three hours!). That's more people than finish a typical Irish marathon! I suppose they could knock down their historic buildings and widen the streets, send everybody off in waves, and look at various other options (I'm out of ideas!) but then people would complain about the alternatives. If you're going to run Berlin, be mentally prepared to run with forty thousand other runners and if you can't hack the idea, aim for a marathon with a smaller field. Barcelona, has around 12K runners and is a fab race (but runs in March).

Another annoyance is water is served in plastic cups, which is pretty crap, so expect to be slowed down at the water-stations as runners try to avoid spilling and slipping on the plastic cups.

Got my accommodation booked, so I'm all set. Wahoo!

Seanie_H wrote: »

30 seconds isn't much I suppose. We'll see how we go at the back.

Yeah, seems like a bit of a step up numbers wise. Dublin's the biggest of the five I've done. Can't say I enjoy the long lonely stages in the small ones so I look forward to some company.

With a million spectators, there won't be too many lonely spots! Another annoying point was that if you run at your correct pace, (and don't suffer a slow-down) then you will be passing lots of runners for the last 6 or 7 miles (those who have slowed to a walk), which becomes a bit of a dance. It's a shame theywouldn't walk on the side of the road, rather than following the race line. Phew. Glad I got that off my chest. No more gripes today.

I tried the Hotel Berlin Berlin, but it's around €554 for the three nights now (for two people). So found a four star apartment hotel, with kitchen facilities, swimming pool near the start/finish for €400 for two people for the three nights. It's also close to the main train station (Hauptbahnhof). Link here, if anyone else is looking for something similar.

Computer says 313. I came 17th.
Best was: 2:28:43 (55th place). Worst was: 6:31:52
14 Irish people finished Sub 3 (of which 2 are regular boards posters).

Accommodation depends on whether your travelling on your own, or in a group. If you're part of a two-some, I posted a link back a couple of pages for some solid accomodation.

CianMcD wrote: »

Hi Village runner - thanks for suggestion. Sports travel international? Is it a travel group in Dublin or what? Do you think there will be another release of entries??

They are a group that charge a premium for an all-inclusive marathon package (including guaranteed marathon entry). Here's their Berlin site. Typically they require you to book either flights and/or hotel as part of the package.

There won't be any further releases of entries to the Berlin marathon, so going through operators like the above, or taking a charity-based guaranteed place are your only options.

Peckham wrote: »

Basic, but fit for purpose

What's a 'a snugly beer garden'?

Looks like you're around a street away from where we're staying.
Training starts in 3 weeks.

Yeah, you're right. 5 weeks. I'm just over-eager. I'm also planning a break of a week, but will keep it floating until I know what I'm doing.

I'm averaging around 40-42 miles per week at the moment, with lots of speed-work and hills, so ticking over nicely. Any idea what plan you're going to follow?

Peckham wrote: »

Not sure I fully understand Daniels though - am going to start a thread about it and see what others think. You've read his book haven't you?

Nope. Not in the least bit familiar with it, so will be keen to see how you get on in Berlin. I think we're getting to a stage where we have a consistent set of posters/marathon runners who have tried various approaches. We'll soon be able to include training plan review polls (are you watching Woddle?!).