Finishing my first Marathon: Berlin 2024

Training

I started training 15 weeks before the race with a plan by YouTuber Ben Parkes. I had used plans before for triathlons, but this was my first marathon-specific plan. The workouts were challenging but manageable, gradually building my endurance and speed while keeping me injury-free. The plan built up to 80 km of weekly mileage with usually two rest days. At first, I wasn’t sure about having that many rest days (‘one is enough,’ I naively thought), but I quickly came to appreciate them, as they made me well-rested for the harder key sessions. Towards the peak of the plan, the long runs went up to 38 km, with large portions at goal marathon pace. These sessions were tough, especially during the hot Berlin summer days, which sometimes reached over 30°C. The workouts in the heat were often more mentally challenging than physically, requiring extra focus to stay on course and not quit.

Coming from triathlon training, I was used to dealing with occasional overtraining injuries, but this time I stayed healthy (apart from the usual niggles here and there). Rest days were the key, I think! I still went out for occasional bike rides, sometimes swapping a scheduled easy 5-10 km run for a bike ride.

Race Day

Race day arrived, and Berlin was full of energy—runners from all over the world, thousands of spectators, and perfect weather. My goal was a sub-3:15 finish, which felt ambitious but realistic. The weather on race morning was relatively cool, around 8°C, but sunny and dry—perfect conditions!

I took three Maurten 160 energy gels with me. At the half-marathon mark, my girlfriend handed me a bottle of sugar water with another three gels taped to it. This fueling strategy worked well for me and I did not experience any stomache issues. Throughout the race I felt like I had enough of energy left in the tank. I also took another two gels at the Maurten fueling stop.

The race itself was an amazing experience. Berlin’s flat course is known for being fast, and I aimed to make the most of it. I started quite slow, with a 4:50 min/km pace, as there were many runners in my starting corral (Starting Block D). Although I put in an expected finish time of 3:15, there were quite a few runners who were much slower, making it tough to find a rhythm initially. I also had some side-stitches in the first 2 km, likely due to the cold morning and limited warm-up, but they gradually improved and disappeared completely.

Splits

I did not want to use Garmin’s PacePro functionality as getting my running split every km would have been too overwhelming for me. So I opted for AutoLap every 5km to know what kind of pace I am doing. I wanted to stay below 23:00 min / 5KM to hit my goal time. Ultimately, I ended up going too slow and zig-zagging through the field, with almost 500 additional meters or so at the end. I may not be happy about the specific times but it felt great to be picking up speed and doing a deep negative split. Here are my official splits:

After the initial slow start, I gradually picked up the pace and managed to run a big negative split. Running through so many parts of Berlin with cheering crowds was incredible and really kept me motivated.

At the 30 km mark, I expected to hit the wall, but instead, I felt even more energized and started to pick up my pace. Only in the last 5 km did I really begin to feel like I was running out of energy, and my legs started to feel very heavy. The crowd’s cheers helped me push through those final kilometers.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 3:17:15 — just two minutes over my target. My goal was a sub-3:15 finish, but most of all, I wanted to enjoy the day, my first marathon, and finish strongly. In the end, I felt super happy, but I’m sure I could have finished much faster if I hadn’t set out so conservatively. I had big respect for the race and want to prove what I am really capable of next time. Completing my first marathon was a big milestone, and I learned a lot about perseverance, pacing, and the mental challenges of running long distances.

Reflecting on the Experience

Looking back, I’m proud of the whole prepartion from start to finish. From following the Ben Parkes plan without injury to experiencing the atmosphere of Berlin on race day, it made me love running even more. The marathon taught me lessons in patience and celebrating progress, even if it wasn’t the exact finish time I wanted.

The day before the race, I got to meet Ben Parkes during a shakeout run. It was amazing to see the community he brought together, and I was glad to meet other runners from his group. I really loved the energy, the crowd, and the whole race day.

I want to give a sub-3 hour finish a serious go next year. It’s quite ambitious, but I felt comfortable during my last race, and with more training volume, I think I can achieve it. Most likely, this will be in Valencia 2025.