Copenhagen Marathon 2010 - Race Report

Hi guys,

I'm finally back from Copenhagen and have some time to write a race report. In summary I kept it pretty easy, paid very close attention to form and technique, and wanted to see if I could go under 4 hours. I'm happy to say I managed to do this, and even managed to speed up as the race went on.

The days leading up to Copenhagen weren't that great as I had to travel to Spain on business, and there were some travel nightmares on the way to Copenhagen. So by the time I arrived in Copenhagen very late on Friday night I was thoroughly exhausted after a 15 hour travel experience.

The next day, I simply picked up my race number from the marathon expo and had two portions of pasta (although it did cost me 80 Danish kroner). That's around $20 in New Zealand, or £9. I was still feeling pretty tired that day and all I really wanted to do was just turn up and run in Copenhagen. After the strain of the previous few days, the mentality I was carrying was "let's get it over and done with".

Race day came, and the conditions were pretty much perfect, if a little windy. At times I encountered a few strong headwinds along the Copenhagen waterfront. It was a 9:30 start time, the sun was already high in the sky, but the clouds were also out and so it was quite cool and pleasant to run in. Around 15000 runners congregated on Islands Brygge, where the start and finish line was, and it was announced that the number of foreign runners taking part this year has also grown, which is great for the event.

Eventually I was under way, and if you're going to take a marathon slowly, the first few hundred metres are always going to feel like a walk in the park. Initially, I wanted to just go under 4 hours. However when I passed the first km marker at 5:40, which is pretty much the pace required to go under 4 hours, I thought maybe I could shoot for 3:50 instead. I tend to speed up as the race goes on, so a faster time per km will get me safely under 4 hours.

The halfway point comes up and I registered 1:54:19. Still feeling good and on track for 3:50:00. How about I push the pace a little, but not too much so as to completely wreck myself? Of course the run did get harder on the legs as the distance went on (my hamstrings are usually the first to complain), but at no point did I fatigue heavily, hit the wall, or cramp up in the latter stages of the run. The second half was 1:48:58, which gave me a finish time of 3:43:17. A new season best for the year!

Expecting to finish in just under 4 hours, I didn't expect to run this time coming into the race. However, I also didn't feel any sense of delight when I knew that I was on course for this kind of time. I just felt indifference when I crossed the finish line. I guess it was due to it being just another training run, and that I know I can go faster... so I guess the real question now is how much faster can I really go? Not wanting to sound arrogant, but I didn't even feel that tired at the end!

Afterwards, I had a quick massage and managed to walk back to the hotel. The hotel was around 2-3 km from the finish line, yet I didn't have any difficulty walking back. I would've thought I was going to limp the whole way, but I just managed to walk normally without any pain or difficulty. Instead of crashing to sleep, I actually stayed awake for most of the day and treated myself to a huge pizza.

After a bit of reflection, I have to say that the extra attention to technique has really helped carry me over 42.195 km. One focus point is my breathing, and when I really concentrate on breathing and getting sufficient oxygen into my system I just find that running becomes that much easier. Maybe it's a combination of the psychological (getting the mind off the pain in your legs) versus the physiological (oxygen for energy). Another area is the use of my hips when running. I found that my quads and calves weren't as fatigued because I engaged my hips a lot more, especially in the final 10 km of the marathon. Of course they became sore the morning after, but during the run I never felt any cramp, fatigue or extreme tightness and I was still able to keep pace and even speed up when I needed to.

I also have to credit the hill work I've done over the past month and a half, which in conjunction to better technique, helped me through the tough parts and made me a stronger runner. Copenhagen is a predominately flat course with a few hills included for good measure, so the hill work I've put in has certainly paid dividends.

I really shouldn't feel indifference now towards that race time. I broke 4 hours without much effort, and that run bodes well for the future especially if I increase my training intensity in the coming weeks. With only 120 days left to Berlin, I'm really entering the business end of my training and am excited at what I can achieve at Berlin in September. The dream of running a sub 3-hour time is still alive!

To summarise, here are some of my personal highlights, and lowlights, of this year's Copenhagen Marathon.

Highlights

• Free t-shirt with your race pack. Always a nice thing to have.
• Plenty of lovely looking Scandinavian lady runners taking part. That's always a good thing! ;-)
• Decent crowd support along the way. Not as great as Rotterdam, but still decent.
• You get to run through/past some of Copenhagen's major landmarks such as Christiansborg Palace, Gammel Strand, and The Little Mermaid (currently in Shanghai).
• Free massage at the end! Unfortunately, since it's free, demand is quite high, but I only waited for 10 minutes.

Lowlights

• Running on Copenhagen's cobbled streets can be uncomfortable.
• Course was largely a 2 lap repeat, so it can be a bit boring and discouraging at the same time.
• Live bands not that inspiring. Mostly just played classical/big band music, which doesn't really suit what a runner wants to hear when they run.

2 down, 3 to go. Helsinki is next, but I'm currently debating on whether I should really take part in this event. Berlin is 6 weeks later and I'm considering whether I'll be in proper shape come race day at Berlin. More on this later.

Another solid time in Copenhagen. However, the most important thing was that I focused on the key objectives, in particular keeping attention to form and technique, and keeping the effort easy as well. I think I was successful in meeting these objectives. The sub 3:45 time was just the icing on the cake.

Best,

Aaron

P.S. Here's a picture of me with my medal, just after I crossed the finish line. Even though I mentioned that I felt indifferent when I finished, I seem to look pretty pleased in this picture. Maybe I'm thrilled that I can definitely do better at Berlin, another 17 weeks away!