Copenhagen marathon - Sunday 18th May

I've been laying down a lot of running miles since returning to Sweden in January, clocking up 80-110km each week, with one long run each weekend of 30-40km. May was a busy work month with trips to Cambridge (UK), Reykjavik (Iceland), Washington D.C., and Frankfurt (Germany), so I've had to fit training in around travel, which means doing a lot of running in the dark! 

Out running along the bay in Reykjavik (May 2014)

It's more than 10 years since I raced a marathon (one that wasn't part of an Ironman or just for training that is), so I decided to enter the Copenhagen marathon last Sunday. The race covers much the same route as the IronMan event later this year and the Danes have a great reputation for organizing great events and supporting them with thousands of supporters. True to form, the Copenhagen marathon was a fantastic event!!!

I arrived home from Germany last Thursday to a house full of sick kids, so I did may best to help Camilla take care of them without picking up a bug myself! My plan had been to stay in Copenhagen the night before the race, but instead I decided to sleep at home Saturday night and drive down early Sunday morning. At 5am I hopped out of bed with a bit of a sore throat (which I ignored), ate breakfast and jumped in the car, arriving in Copenhagen at 8am. 

The Copenhagen marathon is a medium-sized event as big-city marathons go, with about 12,000 entrants. It starts on the waterfront close to the city center and winds around the city for 42.2km, with crowds lining most of the streets in their thousands. We stood bunched tightly together 50m from the start line, with the smell of Deep Heat muscle rub hanging in the air, and athletes jostling from one foot to the other in nervous anticipation of what was about to come. Then the gun fired and we were off. 

I raced the London Marathon back in 1997 and set my best time ever of 3hrs 02mins. 17 years later, and my goal was to better this and dip under the illusive 3hr barrier - call it an age-neutral attitude if you will ;-). My race started well and I soon slotted into a comfortable pace, on track for a 2hr 55min marathon. My throat was still sore, but kept my fingers crossed it wouldn't affect my performance. At half-way I was well inside 3hr marathon pace, but things were getting tougher. I focused on staying on pace until 32km with the hope I could hang in their for the last 10km. At 32km, I was still running just under 3hr marathon pace, but the writing was on the wall; my legs were tiring and the last 10km proved a struggle. With 5km to go I knew it wasn't going to be my day, so I decided to save my legs and cruise in for a 3hr 07mins marathon. Not exactly what I'd hoped for, but good preparation for my next event on May 31st, the Kullamannen Ultra marathon, a 54km hilly trail race on the Kullen peninsula!!