RB and I quickly settled into a comfortable pace, her goal was to finish the marathon, and hopefully in around 4:45:00. I was there to help keep her on pace and keep her moving if things got ugly. The weather was a bit brisk, probably around 13°C (55°F), but with a cool wind that brought the goose pimples out! At least the sun was shining and the wind was pushing gently against our backs.
The first part of the Oberelbe (Upper Elbe) marathon ran along the banks of the Elbe River, a major transportation route over the ages. The region is famous for its Felsen (rock) formations, which were very prominent on the opposite side of the valley that we were running through. The beauty of this river valley is absolutely breathtaking, a perfect place for a marathon indeed!
I let RB set her own pace as we started out, she ran about 10-15 seconds faster than our long training run pace, but seemed to be comfortable with this. After about 15 minutes we climbed the first "hill", really nothing worse than the bridges in our area, so we maintained our pace.
After about 5K we came to the first aid station. Due to the hour delay in the start of the race I made sure that we both started drinking right away, the outside temperature was rising! RB can't run and drink, so we walked through the station. We didn't lose much time and were soon on our way again, passing by the first town Rathen. Despite being a small town, there were several people out on the streets cheering us on.
The marathon route continued to follow the meandering of the Elbe River, sometimes along the bank, other times drifting into the shady forest as we bypassed dwellings. RB seemed to be in good spirits and our pace allowed me to chat away as we went. For the time being she was responsive and was able to converse as well. We climbed a few more short "hills", eventually passing the 10K marker at 1:03:17 near the town of Wehlen. Despite walking through two aid stations, our pace was still right on schedule at 6:20/km (10:12/mi.).
RB was still running steady as was our chatter. I suffered a mental low point along this part of the trail when RB said she probably wasn't going to run any more races until the end of the summer - in other words she wouldn't be running outside of our normal running club times, I would lose her as a training partner. I more or less figured on this since I started running with RB five months ago, but it was still hard to swallow...I took a deep breath and turned my attention back to getting her to the finish line.
Our next major landmark was the town of Pirna, which was located shortly before the 20K marker and was the largest town along the way until Dresden. Pirna is also where the half-marathon had started earlier. Pirna is a lovely old town, and the organizers were not shy about showing her off, sending us through the middle of the old marketplace! The streets were alive with supporters, some lining the route, others sitting in the beer gardens toasting us as we ran through, in each case spurring us forward with new found energy.
The sun was now overhead and the temperature began to climb, someone said over 70°F. It was still very comfortable to run, but we made sure to drink as we passed the aid stations. As we passed the halfway point (2:20:52 clock time) RB was still feeling good, but remarked that she had to work harder and her legs hurt than with our training runs. My theory was this had to do with too much walking around the day before and having to stand around an extra hour before the race.
After a few more kilometers I noticed that our pace slowly began to decrease, and RB lingered longer at the next aid stations. I tried to get her back on pace, but by the km 31 (19.2 mi.) marker her average pace was floating around 7:10/km (11:30/mi.). I was pretty much carrying on a one way conversation by this time and RB was more or less running with tunnel vision. I knew that my runner was hitting the wall so I tried to lighten up her journey by pointing out some of the interesting landmarks as we passed by. I also encouraged her to eat and drink more at the aid stations. At this point it was all about keeping her moving!
At around kilometer 35 (mile 22), we passed the Blue Wonder, a well known bridge in the Dresden area. I pointed this out to my runner and she found this about as interesting as a bad joke. I tried to remain upbeat and kept encouraging her. Our pace had leveled off and RB was gutting it out. We passed many who were walking by this time, to her credit RB walked only through the aid stations, the rest of the time she ran!
My quads were feeling abused by this time, as they always are when I run on asphalt and cobblestone streets, but I knew they would be fine later in the day. RB's quads were sore too and with around 5K left to go she just wanted to get the race over with! We approached the outskirts of Dresden and followed the banks of the Elbe River into the center of town.
With about 3 km (2 miles) to go RB hit another low spot, running her slowest kilometer, but soon after this we passed Marianne who was waiting for us. Marianne had finished the half-marathon and after showering decided to walk out to meet us. This seemed to work wonders for RB, we managed to pick up the pace for the last couple kilometers.
Finally the edge of the sports stadium came into view and I could tell my runner was relieved to say the least. We entered the stadium and made our way over the ¾ lap to the finish line. As we approached the Finish I dropped back a couple steps and told RB this was her moment - she finished her first marathon in 4:49:39 (chip time). Congratulations Marathoner!
A group of young ladies were passing out finisher medals, I let one slip mine over my head, then I caught up with RB and asked her what she needed, directing her over to get something to drink. She wanted some space and walked around a bit, I followed a few steps behind to make sure she was okay. After a bit we stood and drank some more water, then headed over to the showers.
As we walked over to collect our drop bags I told RB how proud I was of her...but I don't think it had sunk in at that point what she had accomplished...she was too pooped!
After showering we met outside and went to look for Holm and Marianne. We didn't see them yet, so picked up something to eat and drink and found a table to wait for them. I was in awe; RB was a little stiff, but by far in better shape than anyone that I ever saw who ran their first marathon.
Eventually Holm and Marianne joined us and we chatted about our races for a bit. After we all ate we made our way over to the train station and caught the train back to Konigstein.
Here is the link to a picture gallery showing countless pictures of the race and route:
Coming up next: After action review and playing tourist in Dresden.
Congrats Jack! Can you send me some pics please, yopu know how I love the German scenery.
you are such a great friend! congrats to RB! a first marathon sub-5 is pretty fantastic! well done both of you!