In the past week I've met 3 people who have entered to run the Berlin Marathon for this year. This event is 3 weeks before our very own Melbourne Marathon and 21 weeks away this Sunday! An exciting time for them as they sit on the cusp of their extensive training program and buildup.
The Berlin marathon is probably most well known for having set the most new World Records of any marathon in the world, that figure being seven. Therefore it is considered a fast course, and thus a popular choice for runners looking to run a new personal best time!
Last year's Berlin Marathon saw Dennis Kimetto from Kenya set and new World Record for the Men's race in the phenomenal time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds. That average pace equates to 2 mins, 54 seconds per km, for 42.195 km! That is crazy. To appreciate just how fast that is, I challenge you to try to run at that pace for 1 km, or perhaps 2km. Let alone for 42.195km! It has started talk of whether any runner can ever break the 2 hour barrier?
Run or watch any marathon and you will see the power of the human body and spirit alive and well.. The 26.2 mile ( 42.195km) event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896 and has grown in popularity ever since, with numbers of participants and events nearly doubling in the past 10 years!
It's no wonder that this event appears high in many a mortals Bucket List, and there's no shortage of choices for where to tick off this event.
Here's a link to "The 30 best Marathons in the Entire World" , listed based on popularity, excitement, inspiration and general crowd favouritism. After the New York City marathon, the next on my list would have to be the Marathon du Medoc. This event takes runners, who are mostly dressed in hilarious costumes through the vineyards near Bordeaux, France with wine on offer at more than 20 drinking stations. If you make it to the 38km mark you can expect all you can eat oysters, cheese and ice cream in the last 4 km. Don't expect a PB here, rather just a great time.
Whichever Marathon it is, you'll commit alot of time, effort and probably a bit of money in getting there, so make sure that you get to the start line in one piece by planning well & preparing properly for the marathon.
If you're thinking about the marathon, we can show you how, and ensure you have a great race day!
