On September 29, I ran the Budapest Marathon. I’ve wanted to travel to Budapest for about
five years, but it always conflicted with another race. This year, I was finally able to fit it into
my schedule.
Buda and Pest were originally two different cities. Buda was located on the west side of the
Danube River, and Pest was on the east side.
There wasn’t a permanent bridge connecting the cities until 1849, when
the Széchenyi Chain Bridge was completed.
The two cities merged to form Budapest in 1873. The names Buda and Pest are still used when
describing different neighborhoods.
Thursday, September 26
I arrived at the Budapest airport in the early afternoon and
took a train into the city. I stayed at
the Hilton Budapest City, which is in northern Pest. After checking in, I went for a run.
I started by running toward the river, where I crossed a
bridge onto Margaret Island. Margaret
Island is a 2.5 kilometer long island in the middle of the Danube. An interesting feature of this island is a
running track that goes around the perimeter of the island. The surface is just like your average 400
meter track, except a lap around this track is 5.5 kilometers, and you have
river views. After one lap around the island,
I ran back to the hotel.
I had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. You guessed it. My first meal in Hungary was pizza.
After dinner, I walked down to the river to board an evening
cruise on the Danube. I got there early,
so I could be among the first to board. There are a limited number of tables around
the deck. Those seats have the best
views.
By the time the cruise started, it was already dark. At night, the bridges and buildings are lit
up. On the east bank of the Danube, we
saw the Hungarian Parliament Building, which is best viewed from the water.
On the west bank, we could see Fisherman’s Bastian and Buda
Castle.
We passed under several bridges, including Margaret Bridge,
the chain bridge, and Liberty Bridge.
I got back to the hotel around 9:00. I didn’t sleep on my overnight flight, so I
was ready to crash.
Friday, September 27
I got up early and went for another run on Margaret
Island. This time, I ran two laps. There are markings on the track indicating
when you’re passing drinking fountains or bathrooms. There are also markings for every 500 meters.
After eating breakfast at the hotel, I walked to Elizabeth
Square to meet the tour guide for a free walking tour. I’ve done tours like this in other
cities. The tour guides work for
tips. There are usually multiple guides
who speak different languages. I had one
of the English-speaking tour guides.
Our first stop was St. Stephan’s Basilica.
On the Pest side of the river, our guide showed us examples
of different architectural styles. Along
the way, she taught us some of the history of Budapest and Hungary. Then we crossed the chain bridge to reach the
Buda side.
We gradually worked our way up castle hill to reach
Fisherman’s Bastian.
From Fisherman’s Bastian, you get a great view of the
Hungarian Parliament Building from across the river.
Our last stop was Matthias Church. This was originally a Catholic church. During 150 years of Ottoman occupation, it
was converted to a mosque, and a minaret tower was added. Later, it was converted back to a church, and
the minaret tower was converted to a bell tower.
After the walking tour, I went to a nearby restaurant, where
I had a simple Hungarian lunch of goulash and bread.
After lunch, I toured the Buda Labyrinth, which is a maze of
tunnels under castle hill. The tunnels
are very dark. In most, there’s just
enough light to find your way. On one
section, it’s completely dark. It’s
spooky. From time to time, I encountered
plaques on the walls that talked about important people in Budapest’s history. One of them was Vlad the Impaler, who was the
inspiration for the character of Count Dracula in
Bram Stoker’s novel, “Dracula.”
After the labyrinth, I continued to explore castle hill on
my own. Then I gradually worked my way
south until I reached Eötvös Loránd University, where I picked up my race
packet.
By now, I had walked more than eight miles, and I needed to
get off my feet. For the rest of the day,
I used public transit. I went back to
the Hilton and rested my feet for about 30 minutes, while I recharged my
electronics. Then I went to dinner at a
ruin bar.
Ruin bars are bars which are built inside abandoned
buildings. There are dozens of them in
Budapest. Some are working-class
pubs. Others are trendy night-life
spots. This one had a restaurant, a
craft beer bar, and a spirit bar.
Saturday, September 28
After breakfast, I did another free walking tour. This one followed Andrássy Avenue from Elizabeth
Square to City Park. Andrássy Avenue has
three distinct sections. The first part
is a shopping and theatre district.
Here, we saw Budapest’s first department store and the opera house. The next section is mostly residential, but
is also home to a museum called the House of Terror. During the communist period, this was a
government building where people were detained, tortured, and killed.
The last section of Andrássy Avenue is the business
district. At the end is Heroes’
Square. The front of Heroes’ Square was
blocked by a huge stage, because the city was getting ready for a free concert
in the evening. In the center of Heroes’
Square is the Millennium Monument. Like
many of the city’s prominent buildings, it was built in 1886, when the
Hungarian people were celebrating the 1,000 year anniversary of their arrival
in Europe.
Beyond Heroes’ Square is City Park, which is Budapest’s
largest green space. It includes a zoo,
a lake, and a castle.
The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is also in City Park. This is one of numerous thermal mineral baths
in Budapest. This is where the walking tour ended. It was a beautiful day, and I wanted to stay
in the park a little longer, so I had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the
lake.
After lunch, I went back into the city center to see St.
Stephen’s Basilica. On the walking tour
I did Friday, I only saw the outside. I
went back on my own, so I could see the inside of the basilica.
St. Stephan’s Basilica is the tallest building in Budapest,
equal in height to the Hungarian Parliament Building. There’s an observation deck at the top, where
you can get panoramic views of the city.
Next, I went to the Great Synagogue. This is the largest synagogue in Europe and
the second largest in the world. I could
only see the outside, however. Because
of the observance of Rosh Hashanah, the synagogue was closed
to tourists.
By mid-afternoon, I felt the need to take a break and get
off my feet. I went back to the hotel to
rest, which also gave me a chance to recharge my electronics and get my running
clothes organized for the race. I was
tempted to go to one of the thermal baths, but I saved that for after the race.
When I went back out for dinner, it was raining, so I went
to an Italian restaurant that was only a short walk from the hotel.
Sunday, September 29
Sunday was race day.
The race didn’t start until 9:00 AM, so I had time to eat a light breakfast
at the hotel before leaving. The start/finish
area was on the campus of Eötvös Loránd University. The university was on the opposite side of
the city from my hotel, but they were both along the same tram line, which made
it easy to get there.
The start area was sprawling. It was like a carnival, with several small
tents offering food samples. Some, like
chocolate mile and yogurt seemed like reasonable pre-race foods. Others, like small salads, struck me as the
last thing I would put into my digestive system right before a race.
I made a bathroom stop and located the tent for gear
check. Then I found a place to sit down
and relax. About 10 minutes before the
gear check was scheduled to close, I took off my warm-ups and checked my gear
bag. Then I made a final bathroom stop
and found my way into my start corral.
This is a large race, but it was divided into waves. Each wave had five start corrals. I was in the third corral of the first wave,
which was for runners who were going to average 5:00 to 5:30 per kilometer.
Most of my recent races have been trail marathons. The last two that I ran for time both had
downhill courses. This course is
relatively flat, so I wasn’t completely sure how fast I could run it. My best times this year on similar courses
were around 3:27, but I wasn’t confident I could run that fast. My last race took a lot out of me, and I
didn’t know if I was fully recovered.
I was reasonably confident I could finish in 3:35, which
would be a Boston qualifying time for my age group. I already have a qualifying time for the 2021
Boston Marathon, so I wasn’t under any pressure to run fast. Still, I’ve always considered a BQ to be a
standard of excellence, so I set that as my goal.
I needed to average 5:06 per kilometer, which was near the
fast end for the corral I was in. I
lined up near the front of the corral.
When the race started, I was expecting a lot of
congestion. We were packed pretty
tightly into the corrals, but the start was surprisingly smooth. Almost from the start, I was able to run my
own pace.
I always have trouble gauging my pace in the first
kilometer. I felt like I was running too
fast, but I decided to wait and see what my time was at the one kilometer mark.
We started out running south, but quickly made a U-turn and
started heading north on a road that was right next to the Danube River. Most of the course was close to the
river. For the next five kilometers, we
were right at the water’s edge.
My time for the first kilometer was 5:03. I had mixed feelings about that. On one hand I had started pretty close to the
right pace. What was unsettling is that
it felt much faster. It seemed like it
took more effort than it should.
In the second kilometer, I sped up to 4:53, but it felt the
same. That was too fast, so I tried to
relax a bit. For the next several
kilometers, I settled into a pace that was just under 5:00.
At two kilometers, we passed underneath the Liberty Statue,
which was high on a hilltop, in front of the Citadel. We were on the Buda side of the river. We ran past many of the same sights I had
walked to on Friday, but my gaze was focused on the river.
The next landmark was the Elizabeth Bridge. By watching for the bridges, I had a good
feeling for where I was. Next, we ran
under the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
The aid stations had water and Gatorade. Some had other drinks as well. The first time I reached an aid station, I
ran past all the volunteers handing out water and looked for the Gatorade
table. There were volunteers standing in
front of the Gatorade tables, but they weren’t handing out any cups. Maybe they weren’t expected the faster
runners to drink Gatorade this early, but I always try to take in as many
calories as I can. I momentarily stopped
to grab a cup from the table. Then I
resumed running as I drank.
At five kilometers, I was directly across the river from the
Hungarian Parliament Building. Looking
farther ahead, I could see Margaret Bridge, and just beyond it was Margaret
Island.
Shortly after running underneath Margaret Bridge, we made a
U-turn onto a ramp that took us onto a wider street that was higher above the
river. Now we were running south.
In international races, I always wear my Marathon
Globetrotters gear. Somewhere around
eight kilometers, another Globetrotter recognized me. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite
place where we met before.
Next, we turned away from the river and ran through a long
tunnel. Pest is fairly flat, but Buda
was built on large hills overlooking the river.
Most of the marathon route was in Buda, but we avoided all the
hills. Most of the course was flat. Where there was a slope, it was gentle. The only hills were ramps and bridges.
After going through the tunnel, we gradually looped around
back toward the river. At 10K, we turned
onto the chain bridge for our first of four river crossings.
After crossing the river to the Pest side, we starting
running south along the east bank. I saw
a sign that said, “11” and briefly mistook it for a kilometer marker. Then I looked at my watch and realized it couldn’t
be. In fact, I had missed the 11
kilometer marker. I was already almost
to 12K.
After going under a bridge, we came up a ramp and turned
around onto another street. As I reached
an aid station, there was a section of cobblestones. Other runners were spilling water and
Gatorade, so the street was wet in spots.
I know how slippery wet cobblestones can be, so I ran cautiously through
this section.
We crossed the river again on the Liberty Bridge. Then we turned left in front of Hotel Gellért
and started running south toward the start/finish area.
As I reached the 14K mark, I checked my time. I was roughly one third done, and I was on
pace to finish in 3:30. I asked myself
how I felt. For now, I was fine, but I
questioned whether my pace was sustainable for the whole race. It seemed like I was working harder than I
should be.
At 15K, we ran through the start area again. I thought we would repeat the first few
kilometers of the race, but this time we went about a kilometer farther south
before turning around. Somewhere between
17 and 18K, we began retracing the early kilometers.
It was here that I started to speed up. Now my kilometer times were between 4:50 and
4:55. I was worried about going too
fast, so I finally forced myself to ease up a bit. In the 20th kilometer, I slowed to 5:05. That was much more reasonable. Then in the 21st, I slowed to 5:11. That was too slow.
I reached the halfway mark in 1:44:46. I was still on pace for 3:30. I again asked myself how I felt. I felt about the same as I did at 14K, except
now I was getting hot, and sweat was dripping into my eyes.
At the start of the race, it was 55 degrees, but it was a
sunny day, and it was getting warmer. By
the end of the race, it would be close to 70.
I worried if that would make my pace feel more tiring.
The next time I ran under a bridge, I noticed how much
cooler it felt in the shade. When we
were next to the river, the only shade was under the bridges.
I sped up significantly as I started the second half of the
race. I think I did that subconsciously
as a reaction to slowing down so much in the previous kilometer. I started consistently running kilometer
times between 4:50 and 4:55.
Lately, I’ve been running almost every day. Most of my training runs are between 11 and
13 miles. At 24K, I told myself the
remaining distance was less than my average training run. That made it seem manageable, even though I
was getting hot.
We retraced our previous route as far as Margaret
Bridge. Then instead of turning around,
we continued past Margaret Island. Just
north of Margaret Island, there’s another island. We continued north alongside a narrow channel
before eventually making a loop through a residential neighborhood.
At 28K, I was roughly two thirds done, so I again took
inventory of how I felt. My pace felt
manageable, even though I was going a little faster now. My biggest concern was overheating.
In the next kilometer, we reached the northernmost part of
the route and start running south again.
I immediately felt a cool breeze.
It wasn’t strong enough to feel tiring, but it was enough to cool me
off. This breeze was going to keep me
from getting too hot. It also helped
psychologically to know I was now running toward where we would eventually
finish.
We were far enough north that I wasn’t familiar with the
neighborhoods. At 30K, we ran through an
area with uneven cobblestones. It was
tiring and uncomfortable. I was glad
when we got through that section.
A short time later, we turned onto Árpád Bridge. This is the bridge that crosses over the
northern tip of Margaret Island. On the
bridge, another runner recognized me. I
passed him too quickly to get a good look at him, but I think it was a runner I
met at breakfast that morning. He was
doing the 30K race, which started in a different place, but finished with the
marathon.
We only went halfway across the river. Then we took a ramp that led us onto Margaret
Island. In two training runs, I had
already logged 17 kilometers on this island, so I felt at home there. We were running on a road, but it was right
next to the track where I had run before.
The road swerved to the left. Now we were running up the center of the
island. I never saw the 31K sign. When I got to 32K, I was pleasantly surprised
to realize I only had 10K to go.
We left the south end of the island on a short bridge that
makes a T with Margaret Bridge. This
bridge was part of my running route, so I knew it was uphill in the direction
we were going. I challenged myself not to
slow down here. For the first time in
the race, I started to get out of breath.
We turned left onto Margaret Bridge to finish crossing the
river. This bridge was also part of my
running route, but this time I got to run in the street, instead of on a narrow
sidewalk.
As we came off the bridge, we started running north again,
but this time we were on the east bank of the river. I missed the 34K sign. At 35K, I computed my pace for the previous
two kilometers. They averaged 4:49,
making them my fastest so far. That
surprised me, since it included the hill coming off of Margaret Island.
We were on an out-and-back section. As I got close to the turnaround, I saw a
pace group going the other way. I
realized it must be the 3:30 group. They
started in corral 2, so they crossed the starting line about two minutes before
I did. By the time I made the turn, I
could no longer see them, but I knew they weren’t too far ahead of me.
After turning around, I felt the wind again. Next to the river, it was stronger. Now I had mixed feelings about it. It helped keep me cool, but now the headwind
was tiring.
Despite the tiring wind, I kept up my pace. We were running right next to the river,
underneath the bridges. After passing
the chain bridge, we started to repeat a section that we ran earlier in the
race. I didn’t realize it until I saw
the same “11” sign that confused me earlier.
Between 38 and 39K, I heard a yell from the crowd. I turned my head in time to recognize a woman
from Germany whom I met on one of my walking tours. She and her husband both run marathons. They knew I was doing this one, and she said
she would watch for me. I waved to her.
The 39th kilometer was my fastest of the race. I ran it in 4:40. Now I knew I would break 3:30, even if I
began to fade. With only 3K to go, I was
pretty sure I wouldn’t fade. Just ahead
of me I saw the 3:30 group. I did my
best to catch up to them.
At 40K, we made a sharp turn and reached the aid station
with the cobblestones. After the aid
station, we crossed Liberty Bridge again.
I was right behind the 3:30 group, but I couldn’t catch them on the
uphill side of the bridge. When I
reached the downhill side, I raced past them.
After coming off the bridge and turning left, I was running
straight toward the finish. Ahead of me,
I saw the Petőfi Bridge. That’s the same
bridge the tram crossed. After that, I
would be close to the finish area. I
remember checking my watch at 42K, but I have no recollection of my time. I could see a banner saying, “100 meters to
go.” Beyond it, I could see the finish line.
I finished in 3:27:14.
That exceeded my wildest expectations.
Only the headwind in the last 14K kept me from overheating.
Usually, when you cross a finish line, the first thing you
receive is either a medal or a bottle of water.
Instead, I was handed a chocolate candy with a marshmallow center. I walked a long way before finally reaching
the volunteers with the finisher medals.
At the end of the chute, volunteers were wrapping runners in
plastic heat shields. I didn’t need
one. It was 70 degrees and sunny. It was scary how comfortable I was walking
through the finish area with bare arms and legs.
They had a food tent where I received a large bag of snacks,
plus a banana and a can of non-alcoholic beer.
A volunteer also handed me a huge bottle of water, but I knew it was
more than I could drink, so I gave it back.
After retrieving my gear bag, I sat down to eat the banana and drink the
beer. I saved the rest of the snacks for
later.
I felt no need to put on my warm-up clothes. Instead, I made a bathroom stop and started
walking toward the tram stop near the bridge.
On my way, I saw the woman from Germany again. I don’t know how she got to the finish area
so quickly. I last saw her on the other side of the river. It’s even more amazing that we bumped into
each other in the finish area, where there hundreds of people going in
different directions.
I went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and change
clothes. Then I ate more of my
snacks. There was a bottle of tea, a
granola bar, at least two candy bars, a bag of potato chips, and a larger bag
of crackers. I ate as much as I could,
but I still had some leftover.
I spent the rest of the afternoon at Széchenyi Thermal Bath
in City Park. They have several pools of
varying temperatures. I spent most of my
time in the warmest pool, which was just warm enough to feel warm, but not so
hot that I would perspire. Even before
going there, my legs felt OK, but I felt even better when I left.
After a race, I usually celebrate with pizza. Instead, I ate the rest of my post-race
snacks and supplemented them with appetizers from the hotel lounge. I had a little Hungarian cash leftover, so I
used that to buy some celebratory beers at the taproom of a local brewery.
Race Statistics
Distance: 42.2 kilometers
Time: 3:27:14
Average Pace: 4:55
per kilometer (7:54 per mile)
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:
386
Countries: 37
Boston Qualifiers: 126
