I got luck in 2018! By how much? you might ask. By 26.2 miles, all the way to the Berlin Marathon 2018. Can you quantify that expression? 😄
I was fortune to have participated in the Berlin Marathon 2018. It is one of the six world marathon courses that is highly sort after. This was also the year when Eliud Kipchoge set the new world record for Marathon distance at the Berlin Marathon by whooping 2:01:39 finish time. That’s 26.2 miles in close to 2 hours, simply amazing! He shaved off 1 minute 18 seconds of the previous world record. I’m no where near that numbers, I’m off by hours 😄. But I was just happy to have participated in the event, along side the world champions and cross the finish line on the same day and on the same course. That’s a win for me! 👍
The Process
The process starts off by participants applying through the online selection process here. There are two ways to get in. You’d have either have best cut off timings from previous marathons, or be lucky enough to have selected in the lottery. I was on the latter camp. I just signed up and started counting my days. I went through the lottery and was lucky enough to get picked! Good days! You’d have to do this one year ahead. Meaning, for 2018 Berling Marathon, I have registered and gone through the process in the year 2017. The competition is high and the slots fill soon, like lightning fast.
The Finish Line (Brandenburger Gate)
I was pretty exhasuted after the race. I went straight to home, had a gigantic meal and slept for like gazillion hours. Here’s a picture I took the next day. I wanted a picture infront of the Brandenburger Gate, the gate that signifies the finish line for the marathon. It was so highly crowed on the race day, getting a picture of me standing straight with the medal was highly impossible.
Berlin Tour
I was tired after the marathon. The nice thing is that on the race day, the marathon participants along with a campanion are allowed to ride the Berlin Public Transportation for free. My friend was kind enough to guide me through the transportation and help me with all the local necessities. I enjoyed it!
I love food. One of the definite things that I’d like to do whenever I visit friends or family members is try new cuisines. I tried Durum Doner and I loved it! It’s a turkish dish stuffed with sauted vegetables and meat. Would definitely visit Berlin sometime in the future to enjoy the local food.