Road To Berlin Marathon 2010

Looks like my trip to Berlin is confirmed! I've got the registration done and air ticket booked. Race day will be on 26 September 2010.

I've always complained about how expensive the registration fees are in locally organised race. But for my last marathon and also Berlin, it doesn't come cheap! Melbourne Marathon costs me AUD135. This is without any event's Shirt nor Finisher's Shirt. Same goes with Berlin Marathon, no shirts at all. If you want it, you will need to purchase it yourself during registration. Since I'm heading so far away, I thought it would be nice to have one. So how much did it burn my pocket?

Breakdown:

1. Registration - 80 euro
(this is already after early bird; 60 euro before Feb 1)

2. adidas Event-shirt (Climacool)- 30 euro

3. adidas Finisher T-shirt (100% cotton) - 20 euro
(I wonder, what if I can't finish?)

4. Medal engraving - 8 euro

5. Chip rental - 6 euro

Total cost : 144 EURO!! (And my credit card company charged me the rate of 4.745!!)

That equals to RM683.28. Blame the low value of the Ringgit Malaysia!

Berlin Marathon is considered one of the Marathon Majors, after London, Chicago, New York and of course Boston. If I'm not mistaken, both London and New York are two marathon majors which need ballots. I think Chicago is a direct entry, whilst Boston (the ultimate marathon race for all), different qualifying times are in place for different categories. My time is nowhere near qualifying for Boston just yet.

A background on Berlin Marathon from Adventures Marathons website:

The real,- Berlin Marathon started in 1974, and has appeared annually ever since. The very first person to win the Berlin Marathon, Günter Hallas, still runs the marathon today and was also there when the 2008 and 2009 versions of the race took place. And our guess is that there is a good chance og seeing him running the streets of Berlin on September 26, 2010, too.

The Berlin Marathon is part of the marathon series, World Marathon Majors, together with four other large and tradition bound races: Boston, Chicago, London and New York marathons. In the 2008 version of the real,- Berlin Marathon, 35,000 runners was cheered on by more than 1 million spectators.

In the early years of the Berlin Marathon it was set in Grunewald – a large forest in West Berlin. Seven years later, the race was moved to the city centre of West Berlin, and finally in 1990 – almost one year after the Berlin Wall collapsed – the course was led through both parts of the German capital. Running through the famous Berlin icon, Brandenburg Gate, was a symbolic action that brought out tears in the eyes of many participants in 1990. The course of the real,- Berlin Marathon is well-known for its flatness, which makes the race great for first-timers and for experienced marathoners looking to beat their personal best, as well as for its sightseeing potential. The course takes runners past several of Berlin’s historic landmarks, such as the Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Berliner Dom, and of course the Brandenburg Gate just before the finish line. Running the real,- Berlin Marathon can feel like taking part in a modern history lesson, only with a million exhilarated fans in stead of text books, and ancient buildings mixed between modern hi-tech shops in stead of a teacher.

More than one world record has been set on the flat, low-altitude course of the real,- Berlin Marathon. The 2007 and 2008 versions of the Berlin Marathon both featured new world records - even by the same man. In 2007 Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie took 29 seconds off the former record and finished by 2:04:26. And then in 2008 he improved his own breathtaking accomplishment by another 27 seconds and finished by 2:03:59. In 2009, he won yet again in impressive fashion (for the fourth year in a row), although not in record time. However, he did pass the 30K point in 1:27:49 which is a world record on road.

Registration procedures and various information regarding the full and 1/2 (half) marathon in Berlin, Germany, can be found at the official Berlin Marathon website here.

And this is from the official website:

40.000 runners and around 8.000 inline skaters will fill the streets of the German capital on the last weekend in September. The course is known as the fastest in the world, the crowds are legendary, the atmosphere is hard to top at this most international marathon in Europe. The course of the marathon is one big sightseeing loop through one of the most exciting cities in the world. Unforgettable moments will forever be remembered, especially when running over the final part of the course on the Avenue Unter den Linden through the Brandenburg Gate and past the grandstands on the last 400 meters to the finish line. We are looking forward to having you join us for the 37th real,- BERLIN-MARATHON, and we would like to wish you lots of success and fun in doing so.

Haile Gebrselassie should be heading there this year in his attempt to break his own world record yet again. Hope I can meet him and get his autograph!

Of course, I would like to finish with a smiling face like him but for now, the hard part....TRAINING!!