Steve and I arrived in Hamburg 3 days prior to the marathon. With perfect weather, we filled those days with sightseeing, delicious food, and drinks. Unfortunately, I couldn’t adapt to the time change and so I was only getting about 1-3 hours of sleep each night. Regardless of the sleepless nights, we made the most of each day as we toured the city. We covered most of the sights and put in hours of walking. We also ate most of the foods on our must-try list. The experience was amazing, but it made getting to the start line of the marathon a real struggle. My belly was full, and I was tired and dehydrated.
However, after a 2-mile walk, I made it to the start line and was sure glad I did! The Hamburg marathon course was scenic, with crowds similar to that of the Boston Marathon. The marathon is as much a sight-seeing tour as it is a running race! The course couldn’t be more diverse and exciting. It wanders through Hamburg’s main highlights, and in a city like Hamburg, the highlights are abundant. We ran along the Reeperbahn to Altona then along the Elbchaussee to the Harbour, where we saw spectacular buildings like the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Around mile 9 we ran through a tunnel where the locals chanted, and the sound was incredible. We moved out to the green areas of the city towards the Stadtpark. The last section of the running course brought us through Alsterdorf and Ohlsdorf. At mile 20 my quads locked up. I switched to intervals, running for 10 minutes and walking for 1 minute until I hit the finish line. We then ran from the “Witch's Cauldron" on Eppendorfer Baum. After running along the west bank via Dammator I ran then ran through the Finish Line! With a 4:06 finish I was feeling amazing. I recovered from the run with a brat and beer. After hanging out with the locals for a while, we walked back to our hotel. The day ended with dinner with the best Sherpa EVER! Hamburg is a beautiful city, and the Hamburg marathon Inspires!
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AuthorPollyann Keller Archives
October 2024
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