Bonn Marathon: Start & Race [EN]

eulenews (53)in #running • 6 years ago (edited)

Okay, now that I'm writing this, everything literally has finished. Nevertheless, I report chronologically and also make two posts out of it.

There's got to be some tension.

Except for the continuous rain the journey was unspectacular and we found a free place in the car park. First positive surprise, the rain stopped when we came out of the parking garage. With many other runners coming from all corners we went towards the start.
There was already some groovy music and the presenters were still talking.

Our running club was represented by 46 people and of course the obligatory photo had to be taken. Right behind the tent for the clothes bag storage we set up.

Then "roll up" for the run, i.e. take off your overclothing, pin the start number, load the honey sticks etc. into various pockets. Prepare the clock and MP3 player.

And off to the start box and wait for the start. Second positive surprise, the sun came out.
Each start number has a colored point that defines the start block. Allegedly the organizer tries to put fast runners into one block, but I have my doubts about that. Perhaps there is a completely different strategy or none at all?

In Bonn, the field of runners is started in groups with a distance of about 2 minutes each. This reduces the crowd and allows you to run freely. Thanks to chip time measurement, however, everyone gets their exact running time.

Then my countdown, start signal and off we go.

I got into the race quite well, with the first kilometre leading over the Kennedy Bridge, which is one of the few climbs. Besides, it takes some time for the field to disperse and so I lost some time. Basically the streets in Bonn are very wide and you could run quite free.

Up to now I had needed more than 5 minutes/km on average and this is unfortunately too slow for a finish time of 1:45.

A part of the first 5 kilometres is a section where the runners pass each other and a few hundred metres you can see the runners in front of and behind a lying runner.
I could wave to some of my club mates. This is also fun and motivating.

Back on the other side of the Rhine (via Kennedy Bridge), the route continues along the Rhine for a few kilometres. With the weather now shining brightly, that's a great thing. Then it goes by the Rheinauen and again on a road where you can see the other runners. And again you wave and cheer as if you hadn't seen your friends for years even though you were still at the start together. It's nice anyway.

Further around a few corners past the old chancellor's office and into the city centre. So far I had taken up 3 times food, 4 honey sticks, water and Coke. Since the sun was already burning down violently, I walked under the cold water shower at the penultimate refreshment stand.

Now just under 3 kilometres to run. It's getting harder and harder for me. Now I was overtaken again and again by other runners. But also overtook others. Due to the delayed start it is difficult to estimate whether they are from the same group.

Now finally the finishing straight in sight and cheering people left and right. There you are carried the last meters and you hardly feel the effort any more.
The official clock at the finish showed 1:46:50, but this is of course the gross time of the first starting group.

If you want to know how it turned out, read the next post: "Finish & Afterglow".