Dumb Luck
On a normal morning of a regular workday, I checked my credit card statement to discover a charge for $174 from SCC Events. I was puzzled and a bit alarmed. Usually, unrecognized charges get flagged and canceled. As I stared at my screen contemplating what to do, I noticed that the transaction was from Germany. Then, through my rising panic, I had another thought.
Months earlier, I had put my name in the Berlin Marathon lottery and then proceeded to completely forget about it. I had no idea when the lottery drawing was scheduled to take place, figuring the odds weren’t in my favor. I unsuccessfully checked my email to see if I had missed something important, and then went to the official marathon website. Toggling to the section about the lottery, I read that the race organizers recommended checking the runner portal to see if your lottery entry had been picked. Now fully shaking, I logged in and discovered that sure enough, I had been selected. It wouldn’t be for another week that I would think to look in my spam folder and find the email informing me that “the lottery fairy has drawn your name: Congratulations!”
Since I was working from my parents’ house and they were both at work, I texted our various family group chats about the news. (This was before I moved to NYC and had a community of running friends, so the number of people in my life who shared my enthusiasm was limited.)
A few weeks later, my grandmom was over for dinner and the topic of my impending trip came up. My dad made the mistake of saying in front of a room of witnesses that he would be interested in coming with me to Germany. This was very early in 2023, and with the marathon still many months away, we only had a fuzzy idea of how the trip would go. I didn’t know that what started with random chance and an off-the-cuff comment would become one of the most fun, anxious, sleep-deprived and meaningful weeks of my life.
A Quick Note
Unlike the other posts on this site, I am writing this well after the fact. Fortunately, I kept a little diary at the time which included many helpful details. I also relied on the many photos I took and supplementary communication from race week to jog my memory. There are definitely some missing pieces, but the most poignant details remain.
Arrival and Expo
My dad and I managed to arrive at JFK security at precisely the same time. He had come up from Philadelphia and I had taken the L to the A to the SkyTrain, so I still don’t know how this happened. It was Thursday afternoon and we were taking the redeye to Frankfurt where we would have a short layover before boarding our flight to Berlin, arriving Friday morning. Mercifully, all of this went off without a hitch, although I think we had about 3 hours of sleep between us as both flights were full.
The trains in Germany are about as good as trains can get, so after going through customs and baggage claim, we made our way into the city. The marathon had provided me with a three day train pass which was really nice. There aren’t turnstiles at German train stations and instead, ticket inspectors randomly come around to make sure you have the right ticket. All of this meant that as long as I hung onto my pass, I could walk on and off any train I wanted without much thought.
We stayed at the DoubleTree Berlin Ku'damm on Los-Angeles-Platz, and I remember walking in for the first time and feeling a strong sense of relief. It’s not that I especially love DoubleTrees, but this one was very recently renovated and had a nice and familiar. We were able to check in right away after agreeing to take rooms on different floors and had some much needed down time. It was a typical gray Berlin day, and we eventually headed out to Hackescher Markt to get some food and go on a walking tour that my dad had booked ahead of time. Although we were both hanging on by a thread, this ended up being a great way to stay awake and not give in to the jet lag.
That night, we went to Restaurant Marjellchen at the recommendation of our tour guide. It wasn’t far from our hotel and had excellent food with a cozy atmosphere. After all the walking, meat, and potatoes, I had no trouble falling asleep that night.
The next day brought us much more sun and some lovely fall weather. I met up with my teammate Susan to do a shake out run in the Tiergarten. Marathon aside, I highly recommend running in the Tiergarten if you ever find yourself in Berlin. It is massive and has many beautiful paths that make you forget you are in a major city.
After our run, it was time for a quick shower and breakfast at the hotel before going to the expo. I must say that I do enjoy a good hotel breakfast buffet while traveling, the one at this DoubleTree was no exception. They had a mix of American and European options which made life very easy leading into race day.
Getting down to the expo at Flughafen Tempelhof took quite a bit of time. As I discussed in one of my Tokyo Marathon posts, the expo sites for World Majors have to accommodate tens of thousands of people, which isn’t easily accomplished in a large city. Berlin uses an old air field for the expo which is both sensible and very cool.
The trains became progressively crowded as we got closer, and by the time we got off at our stop, it was obvious where we needed to go thanks to the stream of people. I had heard some horror stories about long lines to get in, but thankfully we had gotten there at a time when the lines were moving and it wasn’t too bad. My dad wasn’t able to join me in the runners-only area, so I headed off to get my official wrist band, bib and timing chip.
While most marathons these days put a timing chip in your bib (the big number you pin to your chest), Berlin uses chips that you lace onto the top of your shoe. The benefit of this is that you can go to any line at pickup and they will print your bib for you on the spot. The downside of this is that you have to a) not lose your chip which is a small piece of plastic, b) not forget to lace it correctly into your shoe, and c) remember to take it off and return it before leaving the finisher area at the race. I cannot emphasize how stressful point c) is on account of how hard it can be to untie your shoe gracefully after running a marathon. Anyone who forgets to do this is charged a fine of €60, which is a lot for a pretty useless souvenir.
Upon getting my bib, chip, and safety pins (or “needles” as the volunteer behind the table called them), I noticed that some people had gotten t-shirts. It’s pretty typical to get a shirt included in your entry fee for major races, so I asked a random guy who had one how I could get one too. To my dismay, he informed me that I was supposed to have ordered ahead and they were not free.
With this frustrating realization, I went into the second part of the expo where I found the official (not free) race gear made by Adidas. This raised my spirits after the t-shirt debacle, and I happily browsed through the many options. Everything for the 49th edition was light teal (the color scheme differs each year so the gear is unique), and I ended up picking out a very nice windproof jacket for myself, a mug for my mom, and a wooden noise maker for my dad to use while cheering on the course.
This took some time as the merch area was packed, but finally I made it to the register and headed out to meet back up with my dad. Although we didn’t hang around for too much longer, seeing the airfield was really cool. They had all sorts of tents and activities going on for the runners, rollerbladers (more on this shortly), and their families. There were some old planes on display and we noted as we walked out through the main terminal that there was no place for a security checkpoint. Before leaving, we took a quick photo and then trekked back into the city center for more sightseeing.
We ended up walking around quite a bit, the highlight of which was stumbling across the rollerblading race that takes place the day before the marathon on the same course. It was very cool to see the skaters flying along and to be part of the energetic crowd cheering for them. I got some water and a cookie from a little food stand and tried to keep my nerves at bay (unsuccessfully). I remember looking at the Brandenburg Gate and thinking that the next time I saw it, I would be about to start the marathon.
That night, we set out for a pre-race meal at a little restaurant up the street that we had scoped out. Apparently this was a very popular choice, because it was packed and the wait time was much longer than we wanted. Instead, we walked out to the main road in search of another option and stumbled across a little place on Meinekestraße with traditional German food which wasn’t busy at all. I ordered beef goulash with potatoes and a non-alcoholic beer called Jever FUN which made for an excellent meal.
By this point, my pre-race anxiety was very high and I made the mistake of checking my step count and discovering I had covered 10 miles over the course of the day and about the same the day before. I had been thinking over my race strategy and had settled on not being too aggressive with some options to pick up the pace towards the end, assuming I was still feeling ok. Berlin has a reputation for being a very fast course thanks to the mild weather and flat landscape. At the time, it was where the world record had been set. I knew I wanted to do well, but also I felt like traveling all this way only to suffer for 4 hours didn’t make much sense. I was also dealing with a sizable amount of self doubt.
Trying to relax and get some sleep was tough, although I felt a good deal of comfort knowing that if I slept through my alarms, I could rely on my dad to knock on my door. Plus, I had just gotten him a very loud noise maker. After getting my things in order, I went to bed, full of goulash and anticipation for the day ahead.
Race Day
Sunday morning gifted us with more perfect fall weather. I met up with my dad in the lobby and we set out for Berlin Zoologischer Garten Bahnhof where we would catch the U-bahn to take us to the start. My dad had brought a sign that he had made at home which was unbelievably thoughtful. He wanted it to be a surprise so I had to wait until I was out on course to see what was on it, and I was genuinely touched.
Many other runners were going the same way which was reassuring, although it appeared a lot of them had elected to take the S-bahn (a larger train) which made me start to worry about being late. Compounding this, one of my teammates had messaged the group to say that he had already arrived. I did pause from my anxious thought spiral to realize that by absolute chance, the second song on my playlist was U2’s Zoo Station and the train we were taking from Zoo Station was called the U2.
She's just down the line, Zoo Station
Got to make it on time, Zoo Station
I'm ready
Ready for the gridlock
I'm ready
To take it to the street
Once again, getting off the train and finding our way to our destination was made easy by the thick flow of runners all heading for the start. It was a long walk, but the amount of people still filing into the starting area made me feel a bit better. We paused in the line shuffling along to snap a picture in front of the Brandenburg Gate before it was time to part ways.
Getting from the main entrance to my starting corral was chaotic and stressful. The start is in the Tiergarten which, as previously noted, is massive. The signage wasn’t great, and I ended up walking around in a panic for a bit followed by another American woman who was in a similar state. The worst part was finding toilets. Normally, there are tons of toilets in the starting area before the corrals. For this race, however, there were only a handful with massive lines scattered around. By this point, I was in full panic thinking I would miss my start and be in the last corral which left a half hour later. This would mess up my nutrition strategy and mean I would be running as the day got hotter.
Fortunately, my friend and teammate Susan was already in our corral. She texted me to share her location and tell me that there were plenty of available bathrooms by her. This was where my whole day turned around from anxiety to excitement. After passing through the many check points that (somewhat) prevent runners from going to a different corral than the one marked on their bib, I found the rows of toilets I had been looking for and then met up with Susan. At this point, the corrals had moved up significantly, indicating that it was just about time to start.
A very serious-sounding German man came on the speakers and lead us in a pre-race chant presumably to get us hyped up. It consisted of him saying “louder!” as everyone held their hands over their head and shouted “huh!” punctuated with a clap. This repeated multiple times with the rate of claps and “louder!” increasing. It was silly and fun, which was just what I needed in that moment.
At 10:05 (the official start of our wave), they set off pyrotechnics, which was cool except as we were in the back, we didn’t start moving for another couple of minutes. We officially crossed the start at 10:15am and enjoyed the thrill of finally getting underway after so many months of anticipation. Running down the main boulevard of the Tiergarten towards the Siegessäule (Victory Column) was extremely cool. As we settled in and chatted, we were briefly joined by a woman from Wisconsin. She was aiming to run 4:15 and I hope she succeeded.
We first saw my dad between 6 and 7km and I finally got to see what was on his sign. He had put together a compilation of photos (which he had taken) from other races I had done as well as a US flag and Dashing Whippets logo. In big letters it said GO ANGELA! so I couldn’t miss it. We saw him again at 11km right before seeing Susan’s family.
It is impossible to explain how amazing it is to see people cheering for you throughout a marathon. My dad and I had planned ahead of time where he could see me so I would know where to look for him. This involved a lot of subways and getting the timing just right. In the end, we saw each other at least five times which really made all the difference. This was PhD level cheer squad support, and the way my dad was able to navigate the trains, get to each spot in time, and snap some pictures was seriously impressive.
Around 15km, Susan had to pause for a nature break, and with her permission I continued on alone. I hadn’t been listening to my playlist, so I put in my headphones and enjoyed the Berlin-themed music I had assembled. The entertainment along the course was incredible, so I found myself pausing my music constantly to enjoy it. There were a lot of drum circles, but also a good amount of rock, marching band-style music, and (my favorite) alpine horns.
My favorite spectators were a group of about six Danes who (according to their sign) were part of a ski team. One of them was wearing a Viking helmet and all of them were dressed head to toe in red and white. They brought a ton of enthusiasm and I was grateful to see them a few times.
Around half way, a guy with a very deep voice who was waving a flag I didn’t recognize gave me some encouragement. The awesome crowd support and musical entertainment continued, and I passed a band with a jazzy flair featuring a woman absolutely belting. She was wearing a Yankees hat and dancing with passing runners which looked like a lot of fun.
By 25km, I was running strong and had gotten down a good system for refilling my water bottle at the aid stations (more on that below). I had also managed to avoid slipping on the plastic cups which were scattered around the water tables. I am not sure why this marathon uses plastic instead of paper cups, and presumably there is an environmental reason. However, it’s pretty annoying because they create a hazard and are hard to drink from since they’re so stiff.
Despite that, I had arrived at the 5km section which contained approximately 50 feet of elevation. Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t have noticed it, but after being promised a pancake-flat course, it felt like a climb. The course had wound its way out of the city center and into a scenic neighborhood with plenty of tree cover. The crowd support wasn’t quite as strong, but I remember really appreciating the elderly ladies sitting outside their homes banging pots and pans as we passed. Around 30km where the hill started to break, we were greeted by a massive group of Mexican fans who brought much needed energy after a relatively quiet few miles. I also saw my dad a couple more times, although I don’t remember exactly where.
With 10km to go, I had thoughts of picking up my pace a little, but I was feeling good and worried if I did that I would feel less good. Admittedly, this is not a strategy anyone with a competitive nature would take, but I was heading towards a pretty comfortable PR if I stayed consistent, and I wanted to enjoy the last hour of this amazing experience.
The feeling of getting towards the end of a marathon (when you are enjoying it) is exciting but also a little sad. I restarted my playlist when I hit three hours and estimated it would take me to the end, which was basically correct. One of my favorite memories of the whole race was listening to Überlin by R.E.M. (my mom’s recommendation) knowing that things were really going my way and I was going to hit a big goal. That song still makes me emotional.
I know, I know, I know what I am chasing
I know, I know, I know that this is changing me
I am flying on a star into a meteor tonight
I am flying on a star, star, star
With only a few kilometers to go, Take Me Home, Country Roads came on which helped me stay relatively relaxed given the circumstances. The last song I listened to before taking out my headphones to soak in the finish was You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry & the Pacemakers, which came on as I made the final turn and saw the Brandenburg Gate. This was my grandmom’s recommendation when I did a solo 28 miles during COVID lockdowns, and it has been one of the final songs on my marathon playlists ever since.
Running on the blue tangent line onto the mats under the Brandenburg Gate was incredible. It is so rare that you get to literally follow in the steps of greatness, and I knew that a few hours earlier, Eliud Kipchoge had run on the very same line to win in 2:02:42. (I had been tracking the elite field and checking in as I ran.) The year before, he had broken his own world record by clocking 2:01:09 on the same course, and it was still a few weeks before Kelvin Kiptum would shatter that time in Chicago. As I went under the Gate, I felt all the emotion of the months of preparing for this exact moment. I was ecstatic coming across the finish line with a 15 minute PR of 4:20. I would later check my official results and see that I had run almost equal splits in the first and second half, which was an accomplishment in itself.
Afterwards
Immediately after the finish, I collected my medal and was greeted by the speakers playing Sweet Caroline as well as many volunteers ushering everyone along. The finishers area was on the lawn in front of the Reichstag which was very cool. When I put my name in the lottery, I had selected the poncho option instead of bag drop, so I followed the signs (which were much more helpful than in the start area) to pick one up. A surprising number of people who didn’t have a little poncho icon on their bib tried to snag them anyway, but were consistently turned away by the volunteers.
After that, I tried to get my bearings and figure out how to meet up with my dad. I swear sometimes I have a big sign on my head that says “please, dear stranger, strike up with conversation with me,” because as I was fiddling with my phone, I sensed someone trying to talk to me. I say “sensed” because he was speaking German which I found confusing and probably said something like “what?” in my most American accent. This made him switch to English. It turned out his name was Andreas from Munich and he wasn’t all too happy with his finishing time. He was hoping to meet up for a drink later and I made it clear that regrettably I did not share that hope and redoubled my efforts to find the exit.
By this point, it was pretty clear that the fastest way for me to find my dad would be for both of us to head back to the hotel. This was because we were on opposite sides of the race course and there was no obvious way to get to across above ground. It took me awhile to eventually find a station that would take me the way I needed. Along the way, some woman asked me for directions, something I am sure she came to regret because in retrospect, I have no idea where I sent her.
Back at the hotel, my dad gave me a big hug and said he was very proud. I still don’t have enough words to thank him for coming all the way to Germany to watch me run a marathon. It will take a really long time to top the emotions of this day.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
As we are approaching the 50th running of the Berlin Marathon, I wanted to provide some suggestions and lessons in case they come in handy.
I will start with some advice my friend Yoon gave me during my Berlin training. If this is your first time running on a course that only has kilometer markers, I highly suggest changing your running watch to metric so you can mentally prepare for that. Honestly, even if it’s not, you will have a much better idea of your splits if your watch and the course markers are aligned. Plan your splits and then convert them to minutes per kilometer. The good thing about kilometers is that they go by faster than miles. Of course the downside is that there are way more of them, but don’t worry about that.
Secondly, don’t be like me and actually take time to review the start area map before you get there. Also account for a lot of walking beforehand if you take the train to Potsdamer Platz, because you will have to go behind the Brandenburg Gate to get to the entrance. Don’t stress too much about this, just account for it when you plan out your arrival on race day. Taking the U2 was totally fine although it’s possible the SBahn might have been slightly faster. All of the trains in Berlin are good, but be sure to check the schedules in case you pick one that doesn’t run super frequently.
During the race, the nutrition and hydration options were pretty good. They gave out Maurten gels towards the end and had plenty of water, hydration mix (I think also Maurten), tea, and fruit. Although definitely not the top tier options offered in Tokyo, I remember the selection being solid. Everything at the aid stations was marked by big signs that had words and pictures. As far as I remember, the water bottle refilling stations were typically at the end of the line, but you could see the sign with a water pitcher well in advance.
I usually carry a water bottle, so my strategy was to unscrew the top as I jogged up to the table, hold out my bottle for a volunteer to refill, and then screw the top back on while jogging away (not before saying thank you, of course). This worked well for me, although hydration vests are allowed which could also be a good option if you usually wear one. I do not recommend taking the previously mentioned plastic cups if you can avoid it. If you want to dump it on your head, that’s one thing, but good luck taking a sip without walking and/or inhaling a lot of water. If you do take one, please drop it in one of the big yellow bins when you’re done instead of on the ground where anyone can slip on it. And definitely don’t be like the guy I saw who flung his over a fence into a construction site for some reason.
And finally, you may be tempted to lay low before the race, but I strongly suggest that you take some time to get out and enjoy the atmosphere. It’s pretty similar to New York before the marathon where the whole city is absolutely pumped to be hosting such an incredible race. You may even be lucky enough to spot some of the elites doing their shake outs (at a breezy 5:30/mile pace). Local track club host events and the gritty, edgy attitude of the city really shines. Berlin is an incredible place with a fraught history. Before starting your 42.195km journey though the streets, take time to learn about how they were built and rebuilt.
And most importantly, cheer on your fellow runners.
This was a nice surprise on my inbox, and a cool way to start my work day after the long weekend!
Congrats on finishing Berlin and the PR!!