Sun, Oct 18, 2015 - 21K - 02:32:34
Müggelsee Half Marathon with Gisi
Gisi and I drove off this morning about 8:30 towards Müggelsee lake at the eastern most part of Berlin (almost in Erkner) to run our fourth half marathon together. The weather was threatening to be cold and rainy but turned out to be refreshingly cool and dry, the last 5K even with sun shining down upon us, wonderful conditions for a healthy run around a big lake. Unlike the Berlin Half Marathon which is a city-wide volksfest with people of all speeds running, this half marathon had mostly serious runners from running clubs. Out of 1051 runners, we finished 1029th and 1030th, effectively beating 21 people, not bad for Gisi not having run for many weeks after our 25K race in May, and recently only running one day a week, it's cool to both be in such good shape that we can just sign up for a half marathon and go run it. The scenery was beautiful and varied: forest, tunnels, bridges, many views of the lake, one long stretch along a highway, beautiful neighborhoods with water canals, and the last 7K along a winding forest path, this section of the race filling your senses with the smell of pine. At 16K, the sun came out and made it a cool, late summer day, a nice way to finish. My legs got a good workout at Gisi's very constant pace, and I'm looking forward to running the 42K stretch from Marathon to Athens in three short weeks.