Race Report: 2025 Boston Marathon

My last post was a race report for the Boston 5K race, which is held two days before the Boston Marathon.  This post picks up where that one left off.

Saturday, April 19

Race weekend is a time when I get together with various running groups.  My first meet-up was Saturday afternoon.  Saturday was the warmest day of the weekend, and I had some free time after lunch, so I went for a stroll through the Boston Public Garden.

There’s a statue in the garden called Make Way for Ducklings.  On marathon weekend, the ducklings are often dressed up.  This year, the people doing the decorating outdid themselves.

One of the groups I always see in Boston is called Boston Squeakers.  We met at Time Out Market.  Getting there on the T was a bit of an adventure.  Time Out Market is near Fenway Park, and I was going there about the same time that people were heading that way for the Red Sox Game.  Every train was packed.

Tiem Out Market is a good place for groups to meet, because there are dozens of long tables.  There’s also a variety of food and drinks.  Our squeaker reunion lasted for about two hours.  Then a few of us went out to dinner together.

Sunday, April 20

I had breakfast with two friends who were also in town for the Marathon.  We went to The Friendly Toast, which is a brunch spot I had never been to before.

After breakfast, I did a workout at the hotel and organized all my clothes for the race.  Then I headed out to walk around town a bit.

Sunday is the day that various running clubs get together for group photos at the finish line.  I belong to three groups that were meeting for group photos.  The first one was Marathon Maniacs.  They always meet at the finish line at noon.

The next group is called the World Marathon Majors Challenge Group.  Runners in this group aim to run all of the marathons that are collectively called the World Marathon Majors.  They met at 12:15.

The last group meeting for a photo was Boston Squeakers.  They met at 12:30.  After this group photo, I had lunch with two of my squeaker friends.

In the afternoon, I had another meet-up at Time Out Market.  This time it was with members of the 50Sub4 club.

Time Out Market has about a dozen restaurants, including one with pizza.  After most of the others left, I stayed to have dinner.

I went to bed early, so I was already sound asleep when the fire alarm went off at 9:00 PM.  This is the third time I’ve stayed at a hotel that had a fire alarm while I was sleeping.  It’s always the night before a race.

I heard a few short bursts of an alarm buzzer that was too loud to ignore.  Then I heard a PA announcement.  I sleep with ear plugs, so I couldn’t hear the announcement until I took out one of my ear plugs.  By then, I had missed part of it.  I was only semi-conscious, so I didn’t hear it clearly.  What I thought I heard is that some floors might need to evacuate, but to wait for further instructions.

I probably should’ve got up and got dressed, but I just wanted to go back to sleep.  After that, it was quiet for a while, and I may have fallen asleep again.

After a while, I heard the alarm sounds again, followed by another PA announcement.  I had my ear plugs in again, so I didn’t hear this one at all.  I convinced myself that if we really needed to evacuate the building, the alarms and announcements would be continuous.  It got quiet again, so I stayed in bed.

When I heard the alarm sounds a third time, I got up.  I took out my ear plugs in time to hear them say, “All clear.”  Then I went back to sleep.

I slept for a few more hours.  I woke up some time after midnight.  Then my mind was immediately on the race.  My body was ready to go back to sleep, but my mind was active.  I tried to get back to sleep, but I was awake for the rest of the night.

Monday, April 21

Monday was race day.  The third Monday in April is a state holiday called Patriots’ Day.  The marathon is a big part of the Patriots’ Day celebrations, making it a community event.

The start is in Hopkinton.  Most runners get there by taking school buses that pick them up at Boston Common and drop them off at Hopkinton High School.

Some running clubs arrange for their own buses to take them to Hopkinton.  I’ve been riding on a club bus for the past several years.  It costs extra, but it has some advantages.  Instead of being dropped off at the high school, we get to stay on the bus until it’s time to walk to the start corrals.  The club buses park at Hopkinton Elementary School.  There are plenty of port-o-potties near where the buses are parked, and the lines there are much shorter than the lines in the Athletes’ Village at the high school.

I was lucky to be able to get a room at the same hotel where club buses pick us up.  I could board the bus any time after 6:15.  The bus left at 6:45.

The ride to Hopkinton took about an hour.  That gave us a lot of time to sit and wait before the race started.  I knew several people on the bus, and I brought some water and snacks.

To get to the start corrals, we first had to walk over to the Athletes’ Village.  From there, we walked the rest of the way along the same route take by the runners who waited in the Athletes’ Village.  In all, it was about 1.4 miles of walking.  I allowed plenty of time.  There are port-o-potties set up around the parking lot of a CVS that’s right near the start corrals.  I stopped there for a final bathroom stop before walking to my corral.

Boston weather can change significantly from day to day.  On Saturday, it was unseasonable warm, with a high of 82.  On Sunday, it was unusually windy.  On Monday, we had weather that was nearly perfect for running a marathon.  The temperature at the start was in the mid-50s, and it didn’t change much during the race.

The race is divided into three waves with staggered start times.  I was in the third wave, which started at 10:50.  We were seeded into start corrals based on our qualifying times.  I was in the second corral of my wave.

My qualifying time was 3:26:56.  Everyone else in my corral had a similar qualifying time, so I was surrounded by runners who were most likely aiming to run a time in the 3:20s.

I run dozens of races each year, and the qualifying time I submit is always my fastest time.  I ran my best time on a course that descends 3,700 feet.  I can’t run that fast on a more typical marathon course.  My goal was to break 3:50, but I was surrounded by runners who were much faster than that.  One of the challenges in pacing myself well was to ignore the runners around me.  If I kept up with them, I’d start way too fast.  Adding to this challenge, the first four miles are downhill.

The first mile starts out sharply downhill.  I ran down the hill at a pace that felt comfortable.  I knew better than to push the pace.  Most of the runners around me were starting faster.  I did a good job of ignoring them and just running my own pace.

The course is marked in miles, but early in the race, they also had signs at each kilometer.  The first mile was mostly downhill, but it turns uphill right at the one kilometer sign.  Going up this hill, I maintained the same effort as before.  I didn’t worry about slowing down.  I didn’t want to expend any extra energy on this hill.

I needed to run an average pace of 8:45 per mile, but I knew some miles would be faster and some would be slower.  I was hoping to keep my effort consistent.  I ran the first mile in 8:22.  That was faster than my target pace, but I expected that.

The next three miles were also mostly downhill.  I ran them all at about the same pace.  After four miles, I was already 90 seconds ahead of schedule for a 3:50 finish.

Starting with mile five, the course leveled off.  Some miles were slightly uphill.  Others were slightly downhill.  For the next several miles, there was verry little net elevation change.

Although my target pace was 8:45, I could now afford to be about 10 seconds slower than that over the next nine miles.  If I did that, I would reach the halfway mark right on schedule.

In mile five, I kept up the same effort as before.  I wasn’t sure if that would give me the pace I desired.  I had to wait and see.  As it turns out, that mile wasn’t as fast as the first four, but it was still a little bit faster than my target pace.

I tried to ease up a bit in mile six, but my pace was still about the same.  Now, I was starting to get concerned that I was running too fast.  On the plus side, I was doing a really good job of ignoring all the other runners.  Everyone was passing me.

In mile seven, I did a better job is easing up on my pace.  I slowed to 8:59 in that mile after doing the previous mile in 8:39.  It momentarily shocked me to see that I slowed down by 20 seconds.  I had to remind myself that this was the pace I needed to be running.

Mile eight was slightly uphill.  I picked up my effort, because I didn’t want to run any slower than the previous mile.  I ended up running a little bit faster.

At nine miles, we passed a lake.  The wind was blowing across the lake, and the breeze felt good.

Over the next few miles, I was running a reasonable pace.  Overall, however, I was still ahead of schedule.

Runners who have finished the last 25 Boston Marathons are members of the Quarter Century Club (QCC).  These runners have special bibs on their backs with their names and the number of consecutive Boston Marathons they’ve finished.  QCC members no longer need to qualify for the race.  As long as they keep finishing each year, they get guaranteed entry.  They also get to start in the second wave, which gives them extra time to finish.

As I was catching up to QCC members, I went out of my way to congratulate and encourage them.  I hope to join the QCC someday, but it’ll take me another 11 years.  By then, I’ll be in my 70s.

About halfway through mile 13, I reached Wellesley College, where the students come out and make a lot of noise for us.  I estimated I was about 70 seconds ahead of schedule, so I could afford to slow down enough to take out my phone and take several pictures.

That mile was my slowest of the race, but I thought I was still ahead of schedule by about 25 seconds.  When I reached the halfway point, I was shocked to see that I was actually 15 seconds behind schedule.  My watch had been consistently giving me splits before I reached the mile markers, and the disparity had been growing.  I realized now that my actual pace, on average, was about three seconds slower than the splits I was getting from my watch.  I had to adjust for that in the second half.

I had two goals for this race.  My first goal was to break 3:50.  My second goal was to run negative splits, which is challenging on this course.  At this point, if I didn’t run negative splits, I also wouldn’t reach my time goal.

I’ve run lots of other racers after only getting a few hours of sleep.  I usually feel tired before the race, but I don’t notice it once I start running.  The lack of sleep doesn’t hit me again until sometime in the afternoon.

This race has such a late start time that I wasn’t able to shake off that tired feeling.  I had felt tired since the beginning of the race, and now it was already afternoon.  I felt like my effort so far had been quite reasonable.  If I struggled in the late miles, it was more likely going to be the lack of sleep that would catch up to me.

For the first half of the race, the wind was coming from the south, so it was a cross-breeze.  Now, the wind had shifted.  It was coming from that east, making it a headwind.  I had mixed feelings about that.  The breeze out of the east would keep me from getting hot, but I didn’t know if it would be tiring.

The next three miles were downhill, and I used them to re-establish my pace after having a slow mile going past Wellesley College.  In mile 14, I picked up my pace enough that I was now keeping up with the runners around me.  I sped up to 8:28 in that mile.

Mile 15 was also downhill, but not as much.  In that mile, I was just a few seconds under my target pace.

In the second half of the race, I started to see digital clocks showing the current time of day.  To be an official finisher, you need to finish by 5:30 PM.  These signs helped back of the pack runners know how much time they had to finish.

At about 25K, I began a half-mile stretch that’s sharply downhill.  Here, I sped up enough that I was passing other runners for the first time.  That caused me to have my fastest mile of the race.

Just before the 16-mile mark, I entered the town of Newton.  The next five miles would be the toughest part of the race.  This section has rolling hills.  There are a total of four hills.  I knew exactly where each one would start, and I knew exactly what each one was like.

The first hill starts right where you enter Newton.  It’s a gradual climb, but it’s fairly long.  On this hill, I challenged myself to keep running my target pace, even though it took more effort.  That hill was tiring, but after cresting the hill, I had almost a mile to recover before the next one.

I saw a spectator holding up a sign saying, “Welcome to Newton.  Have a Fig Newton.”  She was handing out Fig Newtons.  If you didn’t know, Fig Newtons were named after Newton, MA, so I couldn’t resist eating one.

Another spectator was holding a sign saying, “I ran a 5K once.”  I pointed at her and said, “I ran one on Saturday.”  That got a laugh.

When I reached the 17-mile mark, I was pleased to see that I had run faster than my target pace, even though that mile was mostly uphill.

At 17.5 miles, I made the right turn onto Commonwealth.  This is where the second hill begins.  This hill isn’t as long, but it’s steeper.  If I tried to maintain the same pace going up this hill, I would tire myself out.  Instead, I focused on maintaining a steady effort.  My time for that mile wasn’t as fast as the previous mile, but it was still pretty close to my target pace.

After cresting that hill, I moved to the right side of the street, to look for my friend, Eliot, who was volunteering at the next aid station.

The next hill was still more than a mile away.  Mile 19 is like the calm before the storm.  I made good time in that mile.

The third hill comes early in mile 20.  This is the smallest of the Newton hills, but I’ve learned to respect it.  After cresting the other hills, you come back downhill.  After this hill, the road just levels off.  If you’re tired at the top of this hill, you’ll still be tired when you start the last one.  I gave up a few seconds in mile 20, but overall, I was still on pace.

The last of the four hills is Heartbreak Hill.  This hill starts out with a gentle grade, but it’s a longer hill, and it gets steeper near the top.  You’re going around a bend, so you can’t see the whole hill when you start it.

Going up Heartbreak Hill, my goal was to run at a pace that wouldn’t wear me out.  I was willing to give up some time.  What I didn’t want to do is wipe myself out.  I was slow on this hill, but I knew it would be followed by a long downhill stretch.  If I had enough energy to run well there, I could make up the time I lost on Heartbreak Hill.  There was a banner across the road at the top of the hill, so you can see where the top was.

My time for mile 21 was 9:20.  My legs felt heavy after Heartbreak Hill, but I was able to recover as I started running downhill.

Mile 22 is all downhill.  I adjusted my stride, and I increased my cadence.  In this mile, I ran past Boston College.  The students there were cheering just as loud as the students at Wellesley College.  This is another highlight of the course.

I ran hard all the way through mile 22, using the downhill to try to gain some time.  I ran that mile in 8:28, but I was disappointed that it wasn’t faster.

After that, the course started to level off.  I didn’t know if I could keep up a fast enough pace when I wasn’t running downhill.  I fought to keep up with the runners around me.

I was most of the way through mile 24 when I caught my first glimpse of the giant Citgo sign.  It was still about a mile and a half away.  When I got there, I would still have a mile to go.

I kept up a good pace through miles 24 and 25.  At the end of mile 25, I had to go up a small hill to reach the bridge over I-90.  It’s only a small climb, but it made my legs feel just as tired as they were at the top of Heartbreak Hill.

As I reached the Citgo sign, I had exactly one mile to go.  There’s a line across the street.  I checked my watch.  To break 3:50, I needed to run the mast mile in 9:27.  I knew I would do that.  I had run faster than that in the mile that included Heartbreak Hill.  If I could put on a strong enough finish, I might be as much as a minute faster than that.

I ran under the Charlesgate bridge, which is painted with the words, “Boston Strong.”  I kept going and started down the ramp to go under Massachusetts Avenue.  I wasn’t able to pick up my pace going down the ramp, but I fought hard to maintain my effort coming back up on the other side.

I made the right turn onto Hereford and worked hard to charge up the hill to get the Boylston.  By the top, I was starting to slow down.

After turning onto Boylston, I could see the finish line in the distance.  It was about three and a half blocks away.  At first, I was just keeping up with the runners around me.  With a block and a half to go, I was finally able to speed up.

I finished in 3:49:07.  I ran a Boston qualifier with less than a minute to spare.  I ran negative splits by more than a minute.  It’s the third straight year that I’ve run negative splits on this course.  That’s never easy.

A lot of people were stopping to take selfies just past the finish line.  I kept moving as quickly as I could until I reached the volunteers with finisher medals in the next block.  The Boston medal is always my favorite.

Next, a volunteer wrapped a heat sheet around me, and another added a piece of tape to hold it in place.  Now that I was no longer running, I really needed that heat sheet.  The wind felt much stronger on Boylston, because of the way the wind gets funneled between the buildings.  The temperature had dropped into the low 50s, and the wind seriously felt cold now.

In the next block, I accepted a small bottle of Gatorade from a volunteer, not knowing the food bags would have a larger bottle of Gatorade plus a bottle of water.

When I got to the end of the finish area, I only needed to walk one more block to get back to my hotel.  When I got to my room, my first priority was taking a hot bath.

I had a ton of post-race food, but I only ate a fraction of it.  It was already 3:00 when I got back to my room, and I was planning to have dinner at 5:30.

I had dinner with several of my squeaker friends.  When I looked at a map, it didn’t seem like the restaurant was that far away.  It was about a mile, which was a long way to walk after finishing a marathon.  We were talking well into the evening.

Tuesday, April 22

I flew home on Tuesday.  In the airport, I saw several other runners wearing their Boston Marathon shirts or jackets.  Some were still wearing their medals 

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:49:07

Average Pace:  8:44 per mile

First Half:  1:55:15

Second Half:  1:53:52

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  543

Boston Qualifiers:  178

World Marathon Majors:  28 (14 Boston, 6 Chicago, 4 NYC, 2 Berlin, London, Tokyo)

Race Report: 2025 Boston 5K

On April 19, I ran the Boston 5K.  This race was formerly known as the B.A.A. 5K.  This is the fourth straight year that I’ve done this race.  It’s held two days before the Boston Marathon, so it’s convenient.

They changed the course this year.  The race used to start and finish on Charles Street, between Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden.  The new course starts on Boylston Street, next to the Boston Public Garden.  The new starting line is around the corner from the old one.

The bigger change was moving the finish line.  The race used to finish where it started.  Now, it finishes at the Boston Marathon finish line.  I like this change.  The last kilometer of the 5K route is now the same as the last kilometer of the marathon.

A lot of the people doing the 5K race are local runners who have never run the Boston Marathon.  The new course gives them an opportunity to finish a race at the Boston Marathon finish line, which is among the most iconic finish lines in the world.

I arrived in Boston Friday afternoon and took the subway to my hotel.  I stayed at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza, which is only a block from where the 5K race starts.  It’s also a convenient location for the marathon.  I’ve stayed at this hotel twice before.  The last time I stayed here was 11 years ago, before it was a Hilton hotel.

After checking in, I walked over to the Hynes Convention Center, where the marathon expo was held.  My race bib for the 5K race was mailed to me, but I still needed to pick up my race packet for the marathon.  I had good timing and arrived at a time when there wasn’t any line to get in.

After bringing my race packet back to the hotel, I took the time to do some strength training exercises.  This hotel has a huge fitness center, although it took me a while to find it.

For a marathon, I usually have pizza as my pre-race dinner.  For the 5K race, I wanted something that wasn’t as heavy.  I found a place where I could get veggie tacos and sweet potato fries.  That seemed just right at the time, but may have been too much fiber.  More on that later.

I got to bed early enough to get a full night’s sleep.  I slept well, only waking up a couple times.  I typically wake up every hour or two.

The race was divided into two waves.  I was in the first wave, so I needed to be in the start corral by 7:30 AM, even though the race didn’t start until 8:00.  My alarm was set for 6:00, but I was already awake.  As soon as I woke up, my mind was on the race.

I didn’t have time for a sit-down breakfast, and I wouldn’t have wanted to eat a full meal anyway.  I made do with food that was in my race packet for the marathon.

Before leaving the hotel, I spent about half an hour in the bathroom.  It seems like everything I ate in the last three days was going through me.  When I finally left for the race, I wasn’t sure if I was done.

The temperature was about 60 degrees.  I could’ve run comfortably in shorts, but I chose to wear tights.  I was going to be in the start corral longer than I would be running, and I remembered how windy it was when I was walking to and from the expo.

Although the starting line was on Boylston, the start corrals were around the corner on Charles Street.  The only people who could line up on Boylston were the wheelchair athletes and the professional athletes.  After they started, the rest of us gradually moved forward.  After moving forward, I was right at the corner.  I could see the starting line, but it was still a good distance away.

This is a large race.  I would guess there were about 10,000 runners.  Inevitably, with that many runners, it takes a while for everybody to get up to speed.  I was held back a bit by the congestion until I got around the first turn.

I kept accelerating until I was getting out of breath.  I don’t do many short races, and when I do, I’m usually race-walking.  Running a 5K feels different than race-walking one.  When I’m race-walking, I can only move my legs so fast.  This morning, I knew my legs could go faster, but I also knew I was close to my aerobic limit.  I had to make an educated guess how fast of a pace I could sustain for the rest of the race.

After the second turn, we were running west on Commonwealth Avenue.  Here, we ran straight for a while.  I still needed to pass a few runners who lined up too far forward, but there was enough room to get around them.  I started to settle in and run at the pace of the runners around me.

I didn’t have any idea how fast I was running until I finished the first mile.  I got there in 7:30.  That’s comparable to my pace in other recent 5K races.  I think my best recent starting pace was 7:22, but congestion at the start made it impossible to start that fast.

Next, we angled to the left and went down a ramp to go under Massachusetts Avenue.  I accelerated going down the ramp, but struggled to hold my pace going back uphill on the other side.  By the time I reached finished that short climb, I was intensely out of breath.

Looking ahead, I could see the Citgo sign in the distance.  In the marathon, you see it late in the race, but today, I was seeing it from the opposite side.

As we reached Charlesgate Park, we had to made three quick turns.  First, we turned right to run along the east edge of the park.  Then, we turned left onto Beacon Street.  After running through the park, we angled to the right to turn onto Bay State Road.  These were all streets that I had never run on before.

Along Bay State Road, I left like I was running a consistent pace, but then I started to notice that some of the other runners were passing me.  I wanted to challenge myself to keep up with them, but I knew I couldn’t sustain a faster pace.  I thought about how far away the Citgo sign was when I saw it earlier.  I knew we would have to go past it before we started coming back.

We followed Bay State Road as far Sibley.  After making two left turns in rapid succession, we were back on Commonwealth, but now we were running in the opposite direction.

As I reached the two-mile mark, I was curious to know if it was faster than the first mile.  The first mile included a congested start, so I was hopeful that this mile would be faster.  It was, but only by a few seconds.

As we ran through Kenwood Square, I knew we had one mile to go.  I expected the last mile of the 5K race to be identical to the last mile of the marathon.  There was one small difference.  Commonwealth Avenue is a divided parkway.  The marathon route follows the eastbound lanes.  We were on the opposite side, in what are normally the lanes for westbound traffic.

Ahead of me, I could see the Charlesgate Bridge, which is painted with the words, “Boston Strong.”  Just before we got there, we turned to cross over to the other side of Commonwealth Avenue.  Now, with one kilometer to go, we were on the marathon route.

I could see the triple blue line that’s painted in the street to show elite athletes where to run to follow the most efficient path.  I stayed close to this line the rest of the way.

For days, I had imagined how I would feel at this point in the race.  I knew the rest of the course like the back of my hand.  I imagined myself deep in oxygen debt, but pushing myself hard to the finish.  The reality was different.  I felt like I expected to feel, but I just couldn’t push myself to go any faster.  Physically, I was probably capable of running harder.  I just couldn’t motivate myself to do it.

It briefly got easier as I went down the ramp to go under Massachusetts Avenue again.  It was tough coming up the ramp on the other side.  As the street leveled off, it got easier again.  Then I made the right turn onto Hereford.

Hereford is slightly uphill for two short blocks.  I had imagined charging up that hill.  I couldn’t force myself to do it.  I maintained the same effort.

As I made the final turn onto Boylston, I had a different problem.  Since the second mile, I had felt pressure building up in my intestines.  You never know if it’s just gas, and you don’t want to find out the hard way.  I was within sight of the finish line, but I had to hold back.  If I ran any harder, I risked having an “accident.”

I didn’t actually slow down on Boylston, but I wasn’t giving it my best effort.  That was frustrating.  In the distance, I could see the large digital clock just beyond the finish line.  It was counting up, but I couldn’t risk going any faster.

I finished in 23:23.  Comparing that time to other 5K races that I’ve done in recent years, this one falls somewhere in the middle.  I’m satisfied with my time, but I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to push myself harder on Boylston.  The good news is that I’ll get another chance on Monday, when I run the marathon.

The finish area for the 5K is similar to the finish area for the marathon.  It stretched on for the next three blocks.  After crossing the line, you need to keep moving forward.  That was fine with me.  I was motivated to get back to the hotel, and I was moving in the right direction.

About a block after the finish line, I reached the volunteers handing out food bags.  They give you as much food after the 5K race as they do after the marathon.

Just beyond the tables with the food bags, there were a few tables with bananas.  I skipped those.  I already had more food than I needed.

In the next block, I got my finisher medal.  The medals for the 5K race feature the B.A.A. logo, so they’re similar to the marathon medals.  I now have 18 of these unicorn medals.

The next block had our T-shirts.  After picking up my shirt, I kept on walking, so I could get back to the hotel for a much-needed bathroom stop.

The Boston Marathon is Monday.  Stay tuned.

Race statistics:

Distance:  5 kilometers

Time:  23:23

Average Pace:  4:41 per kilometer (7:31 per mile)

Unicorns:  18 (13 Boston Marathons, 1 Virtual Boston Marathon, 4 Boston 5Ks)

Race Report: 2025 Belgrade Marathon

On April 6, I ran the Belgrade Marathon.  You might say that this was the continuation of a long-term fascination with the Danube River.

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe.  The Volga is longer, but that river is entirely within Russia.  The Danube, by contrast, flows through 10 different countries.  It flows through the capital cities of four of them.

When I was growing up, I walked past my parents’ bedroom and heard some music my dad was playing on the stereo.  I asked him what it was, and he showing me an album of Viennese waltzes.  The selection currently playing was “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss.  That waltz was my gateway to the world of classical music, and it’s still one of my favorite pieces of music.

In 2012, while on a business trip in Switzerland, I had the opportunity to drive into Germany on the weekend and run the Einstein Marathon in Ulm.  The Danube River flows through Ulm, and the marathon route crossed the river eight times.  That was the first time I saw the Danube River with my own eyes.

Three years later, I traveled to Austria to run the Vienna City Marathon.  Vienna was the home of Johann Strauss.  As you might have guessed, the Danube also flows through Vienna.  You start that marathon by crossing a bridge over the Danube.  As you begin running, they play “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” over several large speakers.

The Danube also flows through Budapest, which is the capital of Hungary.  In 2019, I ran the Budapest Marathon.  The course included several miles along the banks of the Danube, and it crossed the river four times.

Two years ago, I ran the Bratislava Marathon in Slovakia.  The closest major airport to Bratislava is the Vienna Airport.  I flew to Vienna and took a ferry on the Danube to get to Bratislava.  Just like the Budapest Marathon, this course crossed the river four times and included sections along both banks of the river.

A few weeks before traveling to Bratislava, I was on a ship traveling to Antarctica for the Antarctica Marathon.  I was sharing a cabin with a runner from Serbia.  During one of our conversations, I mentioned that my next race was going to be the Bratislava Marathon.  When I told him it would be my fourth race in a city on the Danube, he told me I needed to run the Belgrade Marathon.  Two years later, I took his advice.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia.  The city is located at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers.

Wednesday, April 2

I left Minneapolis on an overnight flight to Amsterdam.  As usual, I chose to stay awake on my flight.  I knew I would arrive tired, but that made it easier for me to adjust to the seven-hour time difference.

Thursday, April 3

I arrived in Amsterdam around 7:00 AM.  Serbia isn’t part of the Schengen zone, so I didn’t have to go through immigration/customs in Amsterdam.  Instead, I stayed on the non-Schengen side of the airport.

I arrived in Belgrade around noon.  My hotel arranged for my transportation from the airport.  When I met my driver, I was impressed by how good his English was.  He didn’t have any accent at all.  As it turns out, he’s originally from Canada, so English was his first language.

I stayed at the Belgrade Hilton, which is in the city center.  I had enough Hilton points to get four free nights.  From the Hilton, I could walk to every place I needed to go, so it was ideal as a home base.

I got to my hotel much earlier than the advertised check-in time, but they had a room ready, so I was able to bring my bags up right away.  As soon as I was settled into my room, I walked to the race expo.

The expo was at Belgrade Fair, which is a large event center with multiple buildings.  To get there, I had to walk about two miles.  After so many hours on airplanes, it felt good to stretch my legs.  It was also nice to get some fresh air.

Besides my race bib and T-shirt, my race packet included food & beverage samples, plus two small tubes of sunblock.

I have horrible luck with air conditioning in hotels.  Before going to the expo, I adjusted the thermostat, but it didn’t seem like the A/C was turning on.  I set the fan speed to high, but it didn’t even seem like the fan was on.  I decided to go to the expo and check again when I got back.

After I got back from the expo, the room was still warm.  I asked to have maintenance come up and look at in.  While I waited, I started doing a strength training workout.  More than half of my exercises can be done in my room.  There are only a few that I can only do in the fitness room.

When maintenance arrived, I found out that the thermostat wasn’t really on, even though it looked like it was on.  To turn the system on, you need to press the power button twice.  You also need to press it twice to turn it off again.  I’ve never seen one like that before.  After that, it worked, but it took time to get the room cooled down.  In the meantime, I continued with my workout.

After my workout, I only had about an hour before sunset, so I didn’t do much sightseeing.  I had to stick to things close to my hotel.  This is Stari Dvor (the old palace).

I wanted to also see Novi Dvor (the new palace), but I couldn’t get a view from directly in front of the building.  The area around of the building was mostly fenced off.   In a small park in front of the building, there were dozens of tents.  In recent weeks, there have been large anti-government protests in front of Novi Dvor.  I assumed these tents were set up by protesters.  It turns out it’s more complicated than that.  The tents were set up by counter-protesters who support the government.  This was the best view I could of the palace.

A short distance away, I saw the House of the National Assembly of Serbia.

I had dinner at one of the restaurants at the Hilton.  This was my first opportunity to try some Serbian dishes.  I also tried a local after-dinner drink called Rakija.  Serbian food tends to be heavy on meat and cheese, so this was a filling meal.

By the time I went to bed, my room had cooled down somewhat, but it was still much warmer than what I’m used to at home.  I slept well for about four hours, but only because I didn’t sleep the night before.  After that, I was awake more than I was asleep.  By the time I was starting to sleep well again, it was time to get up.

Friday, April 4

I didn’t need to be up early, but I set an alarm for 7:00 to force myself to adjust to the local time zone.  The first morning is always the toughest.

I booked a free walking tour, but it didn’t start until 10:30.  That gave me plenty of time to enjoy the breakfast buffet at the Hilton.  It also gave me time to get organized and plan my day.

My walking tour began at Republic Square, which is about a mile from my hotel.  I left a little early, so I could visit St, Mark’s Orthodox Church on the way there.

Republic Square is the main meeting place in central Belgrade.  Local residents will tell people to meet at “the horse.”  That’s a reference to the statue in front of the National Museum.

I’ve done free walking tours like this in several other cities.  It costs nothing to sign up.  The tour guides work for tips.  At the end of the tour, you tip whatever amount you feel is appropriate.

Our guide began by telling us about the various buildings around Republic Square.  Next, we walked to Skadarska Street.  This street is lined with cafes, and it’s another place where people commonly get together.

As we worked our way through the old town, our guide showed us Serbia’s first brewery and the former homes of several prominent Serbs.

Throughout its history, Belgrade has changed hands a few times, and different religions have been dominant at different times.  When the Ottoman Empire controlled the region, they converted all the churches to mosques.  Later, when Christianity became dominant again, most of the mosques were converted back to churches.  This is the only remaining mosque in Belgrade.

Next, we visited Belgrade Fortress, which is located on high ground, overlooking the rivers.

From just outside the fortress, we had a good view of the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.

This statue, which is on the side of the fortress facing the rivers, is called, “The Victor.”  It was erected after World War I.  It’s a symbol of both victory and peace.

Our next stop was St. Michael’s Church.

Across the street from the church, we saw Kafana ?, which is the oldest restaurant in Belgrade.  This was the last stop on our tour.

The tour lasted about three hours.  By now, I was hungry, and I was in need of a bathroom break.  I walked back to Republic Square to have a late lunch at a restaurant I had noticed there earlier.  On my way, I saw a protest march.  Their signs were all in Serbian, so I couldn’t be sure what their cause was, but it may have been another anti-government protest.

After lunch, I made one more stop before walking back to the Hilton.  I wanted to see the   former residence of Princess Ljubica.  I felt a bit sheepish when I located it on a map.  As it turns out, it was just around the corner from where the tour ended.  I could’ve saved some walking by stopping there before lunch.

I learned a few things from the tour guide, but I also learned things about Belgrade just by walking around on my own.  I sometimes noticed what looked like entrances to subway stations.  Belgrade has trams and buses, but it doesn’t have a subway system.  What looked like subway entrances were actually the entrances to tunnels leading under some of the busier streets.  In some places, it’s the only way to get across the street.

By the time I got back to the Hilton, it was late afternoon.  I had been on my feet for several hours, and I needed to take a rest break.

During the walking tour, our guide showed us a place overlooking the river that’s a great spot for watching the sun set.  As the sun got low in the sky, I walked there.  When I left the hotel, it was partly cloudy.  When I got to my view spot, it was getting cloudier, and I could see that it was raining farther west.

When it started raining where I was, I decided to leave.  I didn’t want to stand around in the rain while waiting for the sun to set.

I started walking back into town, and I eventually ducked into an Italian restaurant that was near my hotel.

During the walking tour, our guide also mentioned that rakija can be made from several different kinds of fruit, and it can also be made from walnuts.  After dinner, I tried some walnut rakija.  Walnut rakija has a stronger flavor than any of the fruit rakijas.

I slept better that night.  I still had a restless period in the middle of the night, but it didn’t take me as long to get back to sleep.

Saturday, April 5

I spent most of the morning at the hotel.  I didn’t do any running Thursday or Friday, so I did a short run on one of the hotel’s treadmills.  Ideally, I would’ve run outside, but it’s tough to run in the city center.  The sidewalks are crowded, and I would be constantly stopping to wait for traffic lights to change.  This was one of those occasions where I could get a better workout on the treadmill.

After my run, I took the time to read all my race information and organize my clothes for the race.  Then I headed back to the fitness room to do a strength training workout.

When I was ready to venture out, I walked to the Temple of St. Sava.  This church was in the opposite direction from all the other sightseeing I had done, so it made sense to save it for Saturday.

It was getting warm, so I stopped briefly at the hotel to drop off my jacket.  Then I went to the Nikola Tesla Museum.  When I got there, I saw a long line, and I found out it would be at least three hours before I could get in.  I probably should’ve gone there on a weekday morning rather than waiting until Saturday afternoon.

I still had most of the afternoon, so I went back to the old town instead.  On my way, I saw people setting up the finish area for the marathon.

I went to a beer garden where you pour your own beer and pay by volume.  That enabled me to sample different Serbian beers without drinking too much overall.  I had dinner at the same Italian restaurant where I had dinner on Friday.

I went to bed earlier that night, and I slept for most of the night.

Sunday, April 6

Sunday was race day.  The race started at 8:00.  I got up at 6:00, so I would have plenty of time to get ready.  My breakfast consisted of a cup of tea and food from my race packet.

The start area was near St. Mark’s Church.  It only takes 15 minutes to walk there from my hotel, but we were advised to get there by 7:30, so I left the hotel at 7:15.

It was much cooler than it was the previous two mornings.  When I left the hotel, it was 39 degrees.  I didn’t expect the temperature to change by more than a few degrees during the race, so I dressed warm.

As I left the hotel, I felt small drops in the air.  I went back to get a plastic rain poncho that I could keep folded up in my fanny pack.  I wasn’t expecting to wear it, but I wanted to have it with me just in case.

It was windy.  I arrived at the start area about 30 minutes before the start, but I didn’t want to stand around for that long in a cold wind.  I looked around for a building that was open.  At the end of the block, I saw a Starbucks.

Starbucks was packed with runners.  Some were buying coffee.  Some were waiting to use the bathroom.  Some, like me, just went inside to seek shelter from the wind.

We were supposed to be in the start corrals 15 minutes before the start.  I gave myself two minutes to get from Starbucks to the start corral.  It was cold at first, but as more runners packed in around me, I wasn’t as exposed to the wind.

Ideally, I wanted to break 3:50, but I wasn’t sure of I could do that on this course.  Most of the course is flat, but we started and finished in the city center, which is on higher ground than the rest of the city.  That meant I would have to go uphill in the last couple of miles.  I decided to start at that pace and see how it went.  I saw a 4:00 pace group, so I lined up just in front of them.

While I was waiting for the race to start, it started to snow.  The snow didn't last long, but it was a reminder that this was going to be a cold race.  I wore a Tyvek jacket to the start.  I was tempted to keep it on for the first mile or two, but it's harder to take it off while I'm running.  I waited until a minute or two before the start, and then I took it off and tied it around my waist.

I heard some lively music.  I would’ve assumed it was recorded music, but then I saw that it was just one guy above us playing a saxophone.  He was good.  He was jumping up and down as he played, and trying to get us pumped up.  I saw other runners jumping up and down.  I conserved my energy for the race.

The course was marked in kilometers, but I was pacing myself in miles.  To break 3:50, I needed to average 8:45 per mile.

The first few blocks were on level ground.  I have a tendency to start faster when I’m cold, so I had to consciously hold back.

After just a couple blocks, we turned and started running downhill toward the Sava River.  I was willing to let myself speed up going downhill.

After a couple more blocks, I saw someone down in the middle of the street.  At least two people were tending to him.  I don’t think it was a runner.  He was wearing a yellow reflective vest, which is the same thing the volunteers were wearing.  I’m not sure what happened.

I ran the first mile in 8:11.  That’s much faster than my target pace, but I wasn’t concerned.  I expected to be faster in a downhill mile.

The next mile started out downhill, but then we turned and ran parallel to the river.  After we turned, the course leveled off.  Then, near the end of that mile, we started running uphill.  I wasn’t expecting that.  It wasn’t until I turned the next corner that I saw we were coming up to a bridge.  The approach to the bridge was uphill, but the bridge itself was fairly flat.

Just before getting onto the bridge, I saw my tine for the second mile.  It was only six seconds slower than the first mile, even though part of it was uphill.

We started and finished in the city center, which is east of the Sava River, but the majority of the course was in the newer part of the city, which is west of the river.  I had read that the west side is mostly flat, so I was looking forward to several flat miles.  I knew, however, that we would eventually have to go uphill to get to the finish, which was on high ground.

As I crossed the bridge, I told myself to relax and ease up a little on my pace.  Coming off the bridge, it was downhill before eventually leveling off.  As a result, that mile was also fast.

Now that I was finally on level ground, I told myself again to slow down.  To do that, I needed to allow myself to drift back in the pack.  If I kept up with the runners around me, I would keep going too fast.

Starting with mile four, I found the right pace.  My next few miles were all within five seconds of my target pace.

The first time I came to an aid station, I didn’t feel like drinking.  I was cold, and the last thing I wanted to do was drink cold water.  I knew I’d need to drink during the race, so I grabbed a bottle from one of the tables.  I only drank a few sips.  Then I tossed the bottle onto the grass.

Races in the U.S. typically use paper cups.  You generally get an appropriate amount of water or sports drink, but they go through thousands of cups.

European races more commonly have bottles of water.  Instead of wasting cups, they waste plastic bottles.  Also, more than half of the water generally gets wasted.

More than once during the race, a runner I didn't know started talking to me in a language I didn't understand.  The T-shirt I was wearing was from the Budapest Marathon.  I assume these runners were from Hungary, and they assumed I was too.

At about 7K, I ran near a runner who was listening to a recording that may have been made by a coach.  I overhead a fragment of it.  “At 7K, you shouldn’t be going fast.  I want you to be in control of your pace.”  That’s about what I was telling myself at this point.  I had found the right pace, but I needed to control my effort.  I needed to work just hard enough to stay on that pace, but not so hard that I would tire myself out.

At about 8K, I started to notice perspiration under my shirt.  Earlier we had been running into the wind.  Now, after a couple of turns, the wind was at our backs.  When the wind was at my back, I felt warmer.

At about 9K, I started to feel the sun.  We were told to expect overcast skies, but now it was only partly cloudy.  When the sun was shining on me, and the wind was at my back, I started to feel hot.

I was almost to 10K when I reached another aid station.  The only fluid they had was water.  I didn’t know if other aid stations would have any kind of sports drink.  I needed to start taking in calories.  They had bananas at that aid station, so I ate half a banana.

Somewhere in the eighth mile, we started going uphill.  We were on a ramp that would take us up to the Ada Bridge, which is another bridge over the Sava River.

Now that I was running toward the river, I could see how much higher it was where we would finish.  I wasn’t looking forward to the climbing we would do near the end of the race.

Climbing up to the bridge, I got hot.  I remembered the announcer in the start area telling us it would be windy, and we would feel the wind most on the bridges.  I was hoping the wind would cool me off as I crossed the bridge.  I didn’t feel the wind at all, so I decided it was time to take off my gloves.  As I took them off, I could feel how sweaty they were.

Going uphill and crossing the bridge, I managed to stay on the correct pace.  As soon as we came off the bridge, we started a short loop that would take us right back onto the bridge to cross it again.  In the middle of that loop, there was an aid station.  I was pleased to see they had cups of Powerade, in addition to bottles of water.

As I started crossing the bridge in the opposite direction, I immediately felt a headwind.  I was hot earlier, because the wind was at my back.  Now, I had a headwind, and my hands quickly got cold.

I picked up my effort, so I wouldn’t be slowed down by the wind.  I overcompensated.  After staying close to an 8:45 pace for several miles, I sped up to 8:25.  After that, I gradually throttled it back to the correct pace.

On the west side of the river, we ran two loops.  The loops were different, but there were areas of overlap.  As we got onto a common section, I saw the 38K sign for the second loop.  Just beyond it, there was an aid station.

I drank a few swallows from a bottle of water.  As I continued through the aid station, I saw bottles of Coke at another table.  A volunteer on my right was holding up a white cup and yelling, “Coca-Cola.”  A volunteer on my left was holding a similar cup and shouting, “Jägermeister.”  I’m pretty sure both cups had Coke, but that got a laugh from me.

I didn’t drink any Coke this time around, but I knew I would see this aid station again.  I made a note to remember it, as I planned to drink some Coke the next time I came through here.

Later, I saw a 39K sign.  It was nice to know we would still be on this side of the river with only 3K to go.  That meant we wouldn’t have to start running uphill until the last 3K.

Shortly after that, we turned to begin the second loop.  This loop was the longer of the two.

As we started that loop, we were running into the wind.  From what I remembered of the course layout, we would be running into the wind for at least a few miles.  I was hopeful that this was the last section that was into the wind.  It wasn’t.

Somewhere around 12 miles, I heard honking.  A motorcycle was going by on our left.  The motorcycle was followed by a police car, then another car, then two more motorcycles, then a group of four elite runners.  These were the leaders of the half marathon, which started much later than the marathon.  They were on their first (and only) loop.

Several minutes later, another motorcycle went by.  One of the runners following the motorcycle was the lead woman in the half marathon.

Just before the halfway mark, we reached the point where the two loops diverged.  Runners doing the half marathon turned left where we had turned earlier.  Those of us on our second loop of the marathon kept running straight (and into the wind).

I reached the halfway mark in 1:53:38.  I was well ahead of schedule for a 3:50 finish, but only because my first three miles were fast.  Since then, I had stayed pretty close to my target pace.  My plan at this point was to stay on my current pace until the last two miles.  I expected to slow down on the uphill finish, but I was hoping to have enough of a cushion that I could afford to slow down in the tough miles.

I wasn’t sure how much longer I had to run into the wind, but I was determined not to let it slow me down.  I picked up my effort so much that I started running mile times in the 8:30s.

When I finally saw runners ahead of me reaching a turn, I was relieved.  After making the turn myself, I still felt the wind, but now it was a crosswind.  For one mile, I sped up to 8:29.  Then I slowed back into the 8:30s.  Earlier in the race, I would have been concerned that this pace would wear me down.  Now that I was in the second half, I was more willing to push myself.

With 10 miles to go, I told myself I had eight flat miles, followed by two tough miles.  I focused on continuing to run 8:45 or faster in each of the flat miles.  If I could do that, I could afford to slow down in the last two miles.

All of my sightseeing had been on the east side of the Sava.  The majority of the race was on the west side.  I was seeing these neighborhoods for the first time.  It was mostly residential.  There was very little overlap between the two loops.  On the second loop, I wasn’t seeing any landmarks I recognized.

The second loop had more turns than the first loop.  There were so many turns that I lost my sense of direction.  The only clue to my direction was the wind, but it seemed to be shifting.  It always seemed like we were running into it.  I kept up my effort, but my pace settled back into the 8:40s for a couple miles.

With six miles to go, I told myself I had four more flat miles.  I picked up my effort enough that I ran the next two miles in 8:24 and 8:29.  I was building a bigger cushion for the uphill miles.  For one mile, I eased back to 8:45.  Then I sped up again, running mile 23 in 8:28.

During the next mile, we came back to a street that we had run before.  As we turned right, I saw a larger group of runners coming from the opposite direction.  They were turning left onto the same street.

This was the point where the marathon and half marathon merged together.  The half marathon runners outnumbered us by about ten to one.  I quickly realized that their average pace was slower than ours.  To maintain my pace, I had to weave through them and not be distracted by their slower pace.  That was easier said than done.

I when I got back to the aid station with Coke, I grabbed a cup from the guy shouting, “Jägermeister.”  It was Coke of course.

When I finished mile 24, I was pleased to see that I didn’t slow down.  I ran it in 8:28, even while weaving through the thick crowd of slower runners.

Next, we crossed the same bridge that we had crossed early in the race.  The approach to the bridge was uphill, but the bridge itself was flat.  For most of the race, I was cold.  Running uphill with the wind at my back, I quickly got hot.

I expected to slow down in that mile, but I ran another 8:28.  I just had 1.2 miles to go, but I knew it would be mostly uphill.

At this point, I could break 3:50 just by running the last 1.2 miles in 15 minutes.  I didn’t have to maintain a fast pace.  I just had to run.  As long as I didn’t walk, there’s no way I wouldn’t break 3:50.

You might think we would be going down a ramp as we came off the bridge.  Nope, we started climbing.  I may have slowed down, but I kept running at whatever pace I could.

We turned a corner and briefly ran downhill.  I enjoyed it while I could, because I knew it would be short-lived.  Soon, the road leveled off.  Then it turned slightly uphill.

I knew eventually we would turn left and run away from the river.  I had done enough walking in this part of town to know that going away from the river always meant going sharply uphill.

When I reached that turn, I knew it would be steep.  Thankfully, we only ran in that direction for one block before turning again.  A lot of people walked up that hill.  I kept running at the best pace I could manage.  That was my only rule at this point.  No walking.

I was relieved when we turned again.  It was still uphill, but only slightly.  The hardest part was over.

I remembered reading in prerace instructions that with 400 meters to go, marathon runners would go to one side of the street, and half marathon runners would go to the other side.  I couldn’t remember which side of the street I was supposed to run on.  I thought I was supposed to keep left, but I wasn’t 100% sure.  I stayed in the middle of the street and ran directly toward a volunteer who was directing traffic.

When she saw my marathon bib, she directed me to the left.  After that, I could focus on looking for the finish line.  When I saw a balloon arch over the street, I picked up my effort.

My time for mile 26 was 9:07.  That’s only 22 seconds slower than my target pace, even though it was an uphill mile.

That balloon arch wasn’t the finish line.  By the time I got there, I could see that there were two balloon arches before the actual finish line.  The street leveled off, and I was able to run hard to the finish.  I finished in 3:46:10.  That surprised me.  I didn’t think I could run that fast on this course, but I keep surprising myself.  For the last four months, I’ve felt sluggish in most my training runs, but on race day I always run strong.  Amazingly, I actually ran negative splits, even though the first half was net downhill, and the second half was net uphill.

After finishing, I kept walking forward until I got my finisher medal.  Then I paused to put on my gloves.  One glove was wet.  I remembered spilling water on it at one of the aid stations.  That was early in the race, when I was hot.

As I continued walking through the finish area, I was handed a plastic bag with post-race food.  I didn’t open it until I got to the hotel.  I also never took the time to put on the jacket that I had tied around my waist.  I didn’t think it would take long to get back to the hotel, and I just wanted to keep moving.

I didn’t bring my phone with me, because I didn’t think I would need to it find my way back to the hotel.  I was wrong.

The entrance to the Hilton is on Kralja Milana.  This is the street I always took when I was walking to and from the old town.  I thought the race would finish on the next street over, and after exiting the finish area, I could just turn right and follow Kralja Milana to the hotel.

As it turns out, we finished on Kralja Milana.  I was so focused on looking for the finish line that I didn’t notice any of the buildings around me.  Making matters worse, when I exited the finish area, I wasn’t even going in the right direction.  I didn’t know it, but I was on a street that runs perpendicular to Kralja Milana.

After walking for a few blocks, I realized I wasn’t recognizing any of the buildings around me.  I thought I was at least going in the right direction, so I kept walking.

After walking for several blocks, I reached a street corner that had a map.  From where I was on the map, I could see that I was well northeast of where I expected to be.  I was still confused about how I got there.  I didn’t know which direction I was heading.

I stopped a local resident and asked her if she spoke English.  She did.  I showed her on the map where I was trying to go, and asked her which direction I should be going.  She pointed in the direction I should go, but told me I wouldn’t be able to get through the park.  Looking at the map, I could see that the National Assembly was that way.  I asked her if going that direction would take me to that building.  She said it would, and I told her I knew the way from there.

I eventually got back to the Hilton, but it took much longer than I expected.  By the time I got there, I was pretty cold.  After getting out of my sweaty clothes, I took a long hot shower to get warmed up.

When I opened my snack bag, I was disappointed to see that there wasn’t much solid food.  There were large bottles of water and Powerade, but the only solid food was an apple.

For dinner, I went to a place called Bucko Pizza.  This is a pizzeria that has a style of pizza that’s unique to Belgrade.  I seek out local styles of pizza when I travel, so this was a must.

Their pizzas all have the same base, which has a few toppings built in.  What makes it unique is that you can top each slice with one of eight sauces.  You can order a whole pizza, but they also sell pizza by the slice.  I got three slices, so I was able to try three different sauces.  On one slice, I got their cheese topping.  On another, I got their sesame and cheese sauce.  On the third, I got their “vitamin salad,” which is a veggie blend.  The slice with the cheese topping was delicious, and tasted fairly conventional.  The other two slices looked weird and tasted weird, but I’m glad I tried them.

I usually sleep poorly the night before a race but sleep like a rock the night after.  This trip was the opposite.  I slept well before the race, but I struggled to get much sleep the night after.

Monday, April 7

I had an early flight back to Amsterdam, so I had to leave the hotel at 3:30 AM.  The hotel arranged for my transportation to the airport.

I still needed to pack, so my alarm was set for 2:00.  I was already awake at 1:30.  I probably only got four hours of sleep, which is not what you want when you’re starting a long travel day that will include a seven-hour time change.

My flight to Amsterdam took two and a half hours.  I’m posting this from the Amsterdam airport, where I have a four-hour layover.  I still have a nine-hour flight back to Minneapolis.  When I get there, it’ll still be mid-afternoon, but I’ll have been awake for 21 hours.  The next challenge will be adjusting back to my own time zone.

Race statistics:

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  3:46:10

Average Pace:  5:22 per kilometer (8:38 per mile)

First Half:  1:53:38

Second Half:  1:52:32

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  542

Boston Qualifiers:  177

Countries:  54

Cities on the Danube:  5