Revisiting my Trip to Berlin this past September 2024
Berlin Marathon-Trip to Berlin
I got into the Berlin Marathon by entering the lottery last year. Incredibly I got in on my first try.
This complicated things because I was also scheduled to do the Chicago Marathon and the Dublin Marathon in October. The thought of doing the Berlin Marathon was too exciting so I didn’t even consider deferring to 2025. I was going to do all three.
Berlin would become my first International marathon, and it would be my third Abbot Worlds Major Marathon following New York and Chicago.
As I write this I am excited about 2025 and the fact that I am going to go back to Berlin and run the marathon again, this time, hopefully taking into account certain things like jet-lag and the delayed start.
I am excited to go back to Berlin, and as I read more about Berlin and the Brandenberg Gate, I’m still in disbelief that I was there and that I had that experience. It’s amazing to see old photos of the Brandenberg gate after World War II, and then during the Cold War when the gate was next to the Berlin Wall.
But getting back to my trip.
I wanted to share more photos of my trip even though it was a very quick trip.
To that end, let me categrorize the photos based on the events and where I went-
Airports-
I flew from Los Angeles to Munich, then from Munich to Berlin. But I also visited another airpor which was the Tempelhof Airport where the Berlin Marathon Expo was being held. This is where runners pick up their bib number and race pack and it is the first big dose of excitement and interaction with the Marathon events. It’s also where one buys the T-shirts, and swag.
Hotel-
I stayed at a nice hotel, with a small but nice room only about a mile away from Brandenberg Gate and about 4 blocks away from Checkpoint Charlie. The Marathon route actually went by the hotel at around mile 25.
Early Saturday morning I did a 3 mile run from the hotel to Brandenberg Gate, to the Fuhrerbunker, then to Checkpoint Charlie and back to the hotel. It was a glorious and memorable 3 mile run. I saw runners everywhere. I’ve never done a marathon where being out and about in the city was so full of runners and race excitement in the days before a marathon the way it was in Berlin.
Marathon Expo-
On Saturday morning I took an Uber to Templehof Airport. The airport is no longer being used as an airport, but going through the building you could still see the old manner of ticket windows and grand staircases. It was set up more like a train station terminal which makes sense given that this was one of Europe’s first major airports back in 1923. Over 100 years ago!
The Expo-
The line was very long to manage the volume of runners, but it was fun. A lot of switchbacks and distance. One could see vintage airplanes being displayed on the tarmac. The weather was so eerie and bright and sunny, but with a patchwork of clouds. Very autumn like, and unlike any fall day in LA. It felt ominous, yet comforting. A match to the excitement. I was really blown away, and mesmerized. And at that time I didn’t even realize the historical importance of Tempelhof Airport and it’s use during WW2.
Wrist band. There was a cute machine that one placed their hand through a loop, and it tightened, sealed and cut a marathon entry wristband that one had to wear until getting into the Start line staging area the following morning.
I got my race bib, but was so enthralled listening to the German race workers talking to the other runners and answering their questions and giving final instructions.
Then I went on to the expo to buy a hat and a t-shirt. I was anxious to get back to the hotel because this was my only day to go out and do something in Berlin and I wanted to go to at least one museum.
Berlin Story Bunker-
The museum I went to was a museum built inside a four-story bunker built to protect the citizens of Berlin from allied bombing. The exhibit inside was all about WW2 and specifically Hitler’s rise to power. The main point of the exhibit was to show that this did happen, that it was shameful, and that it should never happen again. The final phase of the exhibit was going down to the bottom floor that was emptied out and left in a state similar to how Berliners would have experienced it during the last days of the war. Cold. Dark. Scary.
Food-
I was on the hunt for carbohydrates…and specifically pasta, I did a meandering walk and found a pasta place that was very busy, and full of marathon runners doing the same thing I was. But it was an odd place because one had to order everything through an app or a digital kiosk. It was confusing, but I figured it out, and got my food to go. I took it back to my little hotel room and ate sitting on my bed and drinking lots of water and powerade.
Race Morning-
I got up at 4:00AM and went out for a one mile jog. My body, for whatever reason, decides to get things moving after about a mile of running, so I wanted to take care of things before the Marathon and to minimize any chance of a sudden need. Plus it’s a good warm-up and I got to get out and do a little more exploring of the city on my own before the sunrise.
Back to the hotel, a quick shower, then to the breakfast area where I made a critical mistake. They had a good spread of food, and I had bananas and pancakes…but their coffee offering was not that great. It was a machine that only doled out small cups of espresso. So I had one. Just one. I would later pay the price for underestimating my need to match my usual intake of coffee, but also because I needed something to fight the jet-lag that was present, but was being masked by my marathon excitement.
After breakfast, I went up to my room and changed into my race outfit and grabbed my gear. It felt so late. I’m usually at the starting area several hours before the start, just hanging out. But here I was in my hotel at 8AM. It felt weird, but I double checked the time and my start corral wasn’t for 2 more hours. I headed out for the walk to Brandenberg Gate, and the starting line.
Start/ Finish Staging area-
The staging area was in Tiergarten, the park just on the other side of Brandenberg Gate and directly in front of the Reichstag Building. I got into the staging area and immediately headed for a line to the porta-potty. A long line, which is pretty standard for the start of a marathon. I had a nice chat with some runners. As soon as I was done, I got back into another line, and repeated the ritual. The line was even longer this time. Nowadays I’m just so nervous about starting a race and needing to use the bathroom. During one of my LA marathons I was in the start corral and really needed to go. It was uncomforatable and stressful. I ran the first mile of the race, and, thankfully, at mile 1 there were porta-potties and I was fine. But I’m familiar with the LA marathon and I know where the pitstops are. I get more nervous when it’s all new and I’m figuring it out. Simple things like needing a bathroom become mission critical when it comes to running 26.2 miles, especially with all of the hydrating and nerves.
The Staging area was eerily reminiscent of the Chicago Marathon, in that both have start and finishes in the same area, both are set in a large city park, and both have Start corrals on a main road that runs adjacent to the park. After my final bathroom visit, I ditched my bag and headed to the start corral to seed myself in with my group. There were so many runners! And yet, everyone is there for the same reason, everyone is excited, and it’s totally civilized. There is music playing and a DJ host pumping the crowd with announcements and information. It’s even more exciting to hear these familiar race sounds, but also hear it being spoken in German, a reminder that this is the Berlin Marathon.
Starting line-
A few weeks before I was in Berlin I did the Santa Monica 10K. It was 90 degrees, and they did this staggered start that turned out to be disorganized and annoying. We were told the start would be sooner in order to beat the heat, so I was at the starting line at 6:45, but with the staggered starts we didn’t actually start running until an hour later, but this time the sun was up and the temperature was rising. Now, here I was at the Berlin Marathon with 50,000 runners, and it was extremely well organized, and they had these crowd warm-up activities that were so much fun to watch. There was music pumping. People were singing. It was so exnihilating, and when I think about why I want to go back and do the Berlin Marathon again, my mind immediately goes back to that moment of being in the crowd and being a part of that. And I hate crowds!! I hate being smashed into people…but this was totally different, this was exciting and I felt like I was both a witness and a part of something really amazing. And looking up I could see the colorful towers marking the Starting Line. And there were flames shooting up! Off in the distance I could see the towering pedestal of the Victory Column with the golden winged statue at the top.
And that is it…the crowd moved forward. I set my watch and my music and crossed the starting line. And then I was running the Berlin Marathon.
The Marathon-
Oh boy. Where do I begin? Running past the Victory Column was amazing because the route followed the larger curve of the round-about so it had a sweeping grand sense as you went around. There were several other large round-abouts on the course that had the same sense, and felt very European. Lots of avenues with trees in Fall colors. Beautiful old and new buildings.
I was doing okay at first, but then my mind turned into a fog. My body wanted to go, but my mind wanted to go back to bed. Jet lag. It was really tough. I did the math in my head, and basically my body, still on LA time, was thinking it was 2AM in the morning. Not the time to be running a marathon. The late start, the minimal coffee and now the jet-lag really gave me a struggle. But I pressed on, somehow. Music was a big help. Of course I thought about ditching the marathon. But I just stared at the ground and kind of went into a trance. The miles went by. I was thankful there were so many water stations, I stopped at most of them for a sip of water, and to just help keep things interesting.
The city went by. Right now I can barely remember what the city really looked like because I was just looking at the runners in front of me, or the road. Thankfully things got better for me after mile 20. At this point my body thought it was 6AM which is a normal time for me to be up and running. So the final miles of the marathon I was strangely alert and enjoying the sites.
We went past Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. I had no idea what it was, but it really struck me. It was so beautiful, and gothic, but it has, very clearly, been preserved in it’s post WW2 bomb-damaged state. It was incredible to jog past and marvel at.
Another challenge for me was the cold. I had trained all summer in LA where my runs were frequently in the 80 degree range. I think it is much harder to acclimate to hot weather running, and I’ve never really thought about the need to also acclimate to cooler weather because I naturally thought cooler weather just means it’s easier to run. But I was definitely getting cold during the Berlin Marathon in a way I’ve never felt before in a long race. And the worry is always, that something as simple as that could be dangerous. I’ve seen runners at the side of the road suffering from hypothermia getting attention from medics.
But even if I wasn’t in that kind of trouble, the issues is if I start to get really cold, I don’t have the calories to warm-up…and I’m far from my hotel room. But…I just kept going. It was interesting because when the sun went behind the clouds I got cold…and when the sun popped out, I would get warm again. Which makes sense, but it was so weirdly immediate. Clouds cold, Sun warm. Back and forth for most of the race. In the video clip I shot after the finish line my first report is remarking how cold I was during the race.
I always have moments during a marathon when I wonder what I’m doing. I always think that this will be my last race and that I’m never doing this again. Not just a marathon, but I’m never going to run again. But this was the first time I was fantasizing about having to go online and cancel my trip to Chicago and cancel my plans to run the Chicago Marathon. In a bizarre way, this thought became motivating. And yet…two weeks later…there I was, in Chicago….but that is another story.
The Finish Line.
Seeing Brandenberg Gate, then running towards it was just amazing. I wanted to really soak up that moment, and I was in disbelief that I was there, that I had done it, that it was going to be over within seconds, and yet I wanted that moment to last.
I past through the gate, and still had a few hundred meters till the finish line. I didn’t realize it at the time but I was now passing through where the Berlin Wall had stood. I ran back into Tiergarten where the race had started hours before…and I crossed the finish line. Even though it was a tough marathon for me, I finished feeling good. I was not dying or feeling totally wiped out, just exhausted, but smiling and happy. Yes, knees were sore, and yes, I needed to get some water and electrolytes in me ASAP, but i did have a moment to look around and enjoy seeing other runners crossing the finish line. I got my space blanket and headed back to the hotel…a walk of about a mile…but it was fine. Walking is good after a marathon.
Trip home.
After the marathon, I got to my hotel and napped for about an hour…then I was back up, and feeling good so I went out for a walk and to get some food. My last moments in Berlin. I’m always amazed at how quickly I can get back up on my feet and be up and about after I just get 3 or 4 hours of recovery and replenishing my electrolytes and water. It actually felt good to be up and walking.
Early the next morning I ubered to the airport. I saw lot’s of folks at the airport with their medals on display. I would nod to them, they would smile, nod back. The adventure was over, and now it was just going back home.
Two weeks later would find myself doing a similar 3 day trip to Chicago, and two weeks after that, Dublin.