Berlin was our 5th major marathon and our 9th big city marathon. We love the big marathons, love the hype, the volume of spectators and all the energy that goes with it. We went to Berlin with Marathon Tours. They were absolutely spectacular and really enhanced the Berlin Marathon experience for us. We enjoyed the cocktail reception, the pre-race dinner, walking to the start together (for those who wanted to) and of course the post race debrief over beverages.
We went to the Expo on Friday. There were tons of exhibitors, but the venue while unique was way too narrow and did not accommodate the crowds well. The T-shirt pick up was a complete gong show with lines up snaking throughout the venue haphazardly. We were in line up for about ½ an hour when they decided to move the line up outdoors which was a smarter idea but again very chaotic. Unfortunately after this we just wanted to get the heck out of there and didn’t really check out the exhibitors.
We participated in the Breakfast Run the day before, it was fun to see all the costumes, many dressed up in costumes representing their country and there were tons of hilarious costumes. It was a thrill to come into the Olympic stadium and do a lap of the track. If you go it is worth participating in. The run is very short and very slow paced. The actual breakfast part was like the expo, chaotic. We looked at the people scrambling to get donuts (mmm) and didn’t bother with the breakfast part.
The Marathon: Like other big marathons this is one where you have to get there early primarily because there is a long walk from the entry gate to the actual corrals. If you are doing a bag drop add extra distance. The bag drop is very well organized and efficient, but the tents are spread out over a very large area. Get to the corrals early, they are narrow. They do have big screens to watch the start line festivities and that was cool. The corrals are not as strictly monitored as some of the other majors. We were in the 3:30 to 3:50 corral and the 4 hour pace bunny was ahead standing ahead of us(?) We saw numerous individuals with slower corral letters on their bib in the same section.
The course as advertised is flat, flat, flat. Great crowds. The music was really outstanding. Lots of diverse, high quality acts there. Really enjoyed them.
Our only major complaint with the Berlin Marathon was the cups used at the aid stations. They were these thin plastic ones. They were fine to drink from but once tossed on the ground they really piled up and rolled all over the place and were extremely noisy as people stepped on them. We didn’t see any garbage cans . I would love to know the rational for choosing those. My husband and I have done a lot of events over the years and never seen those used before. At the Berlin marathon the aid stations are only on one side of the road. In a race this big they really need to be on both sides of the road and perhaps a little longer. It would be nice if all the Abbott Major races had some consistent standards around aid stations ie: how often, both sides, cups etc.
One of the best parts about doing the Abbot Major series is the opportunity to go these cities we might not normally go. We loved Berlin, and will definitely go back to check out more of the city.