On March 29th, 2026, the Berlin half-marathon took place. It was my third time racing it. Once again, it was a fantastic experience! A near-perfect organization, the expo, the course, the aid stations... everything was great! I can only recommend it.

Prep

I followed a training plan using the "Kiprun Pacer" app once again for just over 3 months, running 4 to 5 times a week. The training period was quite chaotic for the major part. I got sick in December, and January broke a record as the coldest January in Berlin in 16 years. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground for 3 weeks, with frequent snowfall throughout the month. The weather was absolutely horrendous.

We welcomed our first child in February 🎉 so that also impacted my training for a few days. Fortunately, I then had a full month of parental leave - that helped me train besides taking care of the little one. 🐣

Finally, March was fairly uneventful. I was able to train consistently until race day. I even managed to break my 10k PR while training (running it in 40'49"), 2 weeks ahead of the race. I also got to cycle outdoors a couple of times when the sun finally came out again, in addition to using my indoor home trainer.

I mostly skipped going to the gym this time around. I only went a couple of times in January.

In terms of volume, my weekly mileage never exceeded 65 km.

The last week leading up to the race was really relaxed compared to the weeks before. I ran only 27 kms total across Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. No carb loading, I simply avoided fatty food as well as vegetables and fruits on Saturday.

That race weekend coincided with the clocks moving forward for Daylight Saving Time. What a shame! We lost an hour of sleep. Regardless, I managed to get a decent night's sleep, between 7 and 8 hours.

Race day

The alarm clock was set for 8:35 but I was awake before then. I ate a third of a Gatosport cake, a banana, had a sip of coffee, made one last toilet stop and boom! I was on my bike, headed to the start line.

The weather conditions were PERFECT. Around 6°C, dry, clear sky with some clouds, no rain expected at all, light wind but nothing crazy.

I met up with a friend on the way to the Reichstag. We got there just before 9:35, locked our bikes and extra clothes to them, and started walking to the start pens. I discarded my outer layer (an old ugly sweater) near the pens, and finished warming up. By 10:03, it was time to get into the pen. As usual the pens were full, so people were lined up on the sidewalks, waiting to get past the fences. I joined them.

10:04: 1 minute to go. The famous song "Sirius - The Alan Parsons Project" started blasting from the loudspeakers. Countdown... 3... 2... 1... go! Everyone started moving slowly towards the start line, I managed to get past the fences after a few minutes, but because of the sheer amount of people, I only managed to jump in when the runners from pen C were passing me, instead of B - those were already further at the front, closer to the start line. About 5 minutes after the starting gun, I finally crossed the start line.

In the first kilometer, I remember starting way too fast, as usual. Running a 3'40" or 3'50"/km pace. I forced myself to slow down as we approached the Siegessäule. I also remember telling myself that my goal pace (4'05"/km) was gonna be pretty hard to hold for 21 km...

I met my friend again randomly around km 2. Although she was meant to start in pen C, because of my chaotic entry into the pens, she had managed to start a few minutes ahead of me. 😁 We laughed about it, wished each other luck, and I slowly pulled ahead.

The first 5 kms were pretty monotonous and unexciting. I found my rhythm and ran on average slightly faster than 4'05"/km, quite easily if I'm honest.

Just after passing the Charlottenburg Palace, around km 5 or 6, I got the impression that I had a tiny pebble in my left shoe, stuck between my sock and sole. At first not painful nor truly uncomfortable, the discomfort came and increased throughout the race. No matter what I was trying with my toes, the pebble seemed unmovable and stuck.

By km 10, the discomfort had turned into mild pain. I stopped at km 11 for 5 seconds to bang the heel of my shoe on the pavement, trying to dislodge it, but to no avail. I gave up on solving the issue and decided to carry on: I would have to endure the pain until the end. The pain never left me and only increased until the finish line, but more on that in a second.

At km 17, I was still on average slightly faster than my goal pace. That's when I realized that not only was I gonna hit my goal and do better, but also this was a good sign for my sub-3 marathon goal later this year!! I was genuinely feeling at ease, running at that pace.

The last 3 or 4 kilometers were awesome! We ran near Alexanderplatz and onto Unter den Linden. The crowds were amazing! I saw my girlfriend, my baby and several friends cheering from the sidelines. Running at home is second to none! I accelerated at the very end, ran through the Brandenburger Tor and crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 0 seconds!

Throughout the race I ate 3 Maurten gels and grabbed water at every water station. My breakfast turned out to be perfect. No feeling of hunger and no gastric issue.

I'm also very happy to report that I suffered no side stitches.

The "tiny pebble" in my shoe turned out to simply be a blister that grew in size over the race. I found no trace of any pebble. That explains why I couldn't "move" it. The issue likely stems from my socks. When I ran the Paris marathon a year ago, I also got a blister under the other foot. I normally never wear these socks during training, only for races. I should probably wear different socks or get used to them while training.

I can't say whether I was being too distracted from the difficulty of the race by my blister and that's why the race felt so easy or not. But the truth is, I really enjoyed this race and I think I could even have run a bit faster! My heart rate was fairly stable and in a relatively easy zone the whole time, except in the last 3 kilometers when I picked up the pace and went faster. That truly gives me great confidence for my sub 3 hour marathon goal!

Conclusion

This half-marathon was a milestone for me this year despite not being my primary goal. My main objective of the year remains the Berlin marathon in September, where I hope to break 3 hours. I have also another race planned later this April, a 25-km race, that I don't care much about, because there's quite some elevation gain. Therefore I do not intend to run it faster than the half marathon. Maybe I'll try to hold the same pace, at least on the flat, we'll see.