Preparation for BMW Berlin Marathon 2015

What a wonderful experience, where do I start in recounting this great day?

Probably by telling you what I did in preparation.


In October 2015, I entered the lottery for a place in the Berlin Marathon 2015.  In early December I was thrilled to be picked out along with my brother Brendan as well as Conor Cusack and Liam Horan from Tralee.  After having tendonitis for much of 2014 and a Dublin marathon blighted by blisters, I had a few serious decisions to make in order to do my entry in Berlin any justice at all.

As I was in the middle of changing my running form, I knew that I had to persist with the mid-foot strike and that I would have to train a bit different to the previous year.  Now, having said that, my preparation for Tralee International Marathon in March was quite similar to the previous year. Although I was not over-striding anymore and I had increased my cadence, this came at a cost as I was blistering badly on any long run.  Looking back, I was making the mistake of doing these too fast and not giving my feet time to recover.  I had my feet taped for the marathon in Tralee and this worked a treat.  On the day I ran out of steam and wilted over the last 8km. This, I now believe, was because I did my long runs too fast and I was tired - but I had no serious blisters and took 10 minutes off my previous time finishing in 3h 47m.

A good friend advised me to walk barefooted on the beaches as much as possible to toughen my feet.  I took that advice and spent many an early morning walking on Banna.  As well as being good for the feet it was good for the soul.  I knew that I would not be able to run as I did the previous year so I made the decision to get back out on the bike.  I was also introduced to hill walking. A great way to mind my feet but also to get good strength into the legs.  I did the Dingle Way Challenge and the Tom Crean Endurance Walk with both walks talking around 11 hours. 

A step over to the Dark side with a 40 mile run in early July showed me the benefit of a Long Slow Run. I was able to train the following day and run at 8 minute/mile (5min /km) pace.  I ran the Keith Whyte marathon in Courtmacsherry in late July and now that Berlin was less that 2 months away, I deliberately slowed the time to finish in 4h 10m. I ran with a man from Cork who told me how important it was to really ease back on the pace when doing a long run. He had improved this marathon times significantly as a result of doing this and not doing his 21milers (33km) at marathon pace. 

A busy summer at work meant that some weeks I was only getting in one and sometimes two runs from Monday to Friday.  I used the Tralee parkrun 5km on a Saturday morning to build up my speed. Early August took me into the Galtee mountains, two weeks after Courtmacsherry. A good workout with the feet well protected. I did my first 21 miler five weeks out from Berlin, running the first 10 miles at 8 minute/ mile pace and the second half around 3 minutes slower.
As I wasn't following a strict training plan, it felt as if I was just a bit lazy. I knew I had the strength to finish but I was worried would I break 3 hours 40.  I didn't want to run another 21 miler but I did need to get a really good long workout into the legs before I started tapering.  At the start of September, I walked 21 miles (33km) on the Sheep's Head Way in West Cork.  After 7 hours, admiring the stunning views, my legs were well tired but the feet were good. 

For the next three weeks, I took it easy, telling my self, I needed to rest.  I ran 6 times, covering around 50km but each of these runs was at comfortable 8 min/mile (5min/km) pace.

Before I knew it, it was marathon week. Conor and I headed to Shannon Airport on the Friday morning.  It was very evident that the majority of the passengers heading to Berlin that morning were going for the marathon. 
Stopping in to the expo to get out numbers on the way into the city meant that we would have Saturday to concentrate on rest (hopefully). It was absolutely massive and you could have spent a small fortune getting through the vast array of stands.

Saturday morning we took part in the 6km Breakfast run which finished at the Olympic stadium, along with about 10,000 others. In a city with such history, this was a special event with great colour and enthusiasm.  After a quick change at the hotel, it was time for more carbs.  It was nearly getting to the stage of ordering pasta and having a side order of pasta to wash it down.

After a recce of the Start Finish area at the Brandenburg gate, we witnessed the finish of the Mini-marathon for 12 to 17 year olds. Upwards of 10000 took part.  This was a city embracing the whole Marathon experience and the support was incredible. We also saw some of the 1000 inline skaters who completed the 26.2 route in under an hour.  Good roads mean good times and these athletes were good.

Even though Brendan and I didn't take up Conor's invite for the walking tour, my garmin had clocked up 20km since our early morning start.  Not ideal preparation for our big event in less than 24 hours.


Next up....

Marathon day

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