No products in the basket.
Goats on the run
Goats on the run 15: Berlin Marathon special
01
Oct
Oct
For the 15th edition of goats on the run we’re heading to Germany as we shine the spotlight on some of the many Lonely Goats who ran the 2019 Berlin Marathon and caught our eye on our Facebook, Instagram and Strava channels.
At Lonely Goat Running Club, all runners are welcome, regardless of the speed you run, the distance you run, the events you run, or the reasons why you run. This is why, in goats on the run we celebrate all achievements and like to include a variety of different events. That said, sometimes there is a flurry of Goats running at the same event and we can’t help but notice and shout about it.
The Berlin Marathon is one of the most important marathons in the world, part of the World Marathon Majors series, and the site of many world record breaking runs. Up at the sharp end, the Ethiopian great, Kenenisa Bekele, ran 2:01’41 and missed out on a world record by an agonisingly close two seconds. Just a little behind him, the Lonely Goat Running Club was well represented. Read on to discover how some of the Herd got on.
Colin & Ellie Deslow
Sometimes, spectating at a marathon can be almost as hard as running it – with sore feet from legging it to different points on the course, sore hands from clapping, and a sore throat from shouting encouragement at tens of thousands of runners. While Colin was smashing his marathon personal best (PB), Ellie was stood in the rain, ‘Goat-spotting’ and cheering everyone on.
“Gas Man”
Marathons don’t always go to plan. This was the case for “Gas Man”. He ran 3:41’02, but missed out on a PB. Not only that, he only saw one other Goat on the course!
Graydon Widdicombe
Berlin gets the thumbs up from Graydon: “Berlin Marathon for me today. 3:27’03 in the rain, but it was fantastic event. Great city too. Would highly recommend.”
Jim Nicholls
The ability and willingness to reassess your goals partway through a marathon can be the difference between enjoying an event or not. Jim wrote the following about his run around Berlin:
“Berlin Marathon… what an experience. I knew it would be busy but wow, it never let up. Lovely course and city, lots of entertainment on course and a good atmosphere all the way round. Shame it hammered down with rain for most parts.
I did spot a yellow Goat, who I had a brief chat with, and a green Goat around 20 miles. Well done guys (and every one else).
As for my race; I stuck with the 4 hour pacer (the legend Paul Addicott) as planned for as long as possible. Unfortunately after 19 miles my legs didn’t want to go much further. My mind did, but body said no! So plan B: Run as much as possible, encourage others and generally try not to swear too much about the pain and cramps!
Overall a great marathon, and a 2nd fastest marathon for me: 04:11’55.”
Josh Evans
Berlin is a flat, fast course, renowned as somewhere to set a PB. This was achieved by Josh: “Berlin Marathon done! New PB of 3 hr 12 min 13 secs. Delighted with that!”
Mark Lewis
It may be popular with PB hunters, but the fast, flat course and great crowds make Berlin a great place to run your debut marathon – like Mark did:
“Managed a 4:16’34 chip time at Berlin. Very wet course but happy enough with that for my first marathon! Didn’t see any other goats I’m afraid. I know a few of us were here though so hope you all were happy with your run!”
Neil Pitt
Mark, above, may not have seen another Goat, but Neil was probably pretty close to him. He wrote:
“4:21′ at Berlin, dropped my PB by 27 minutes (compared to the 2018 London Marathon which was not the best day). Chuffed with the time, very flat course and highly recommended to Goats to do a major that’s not London.”
Sean Henderson
Another recommendation for Berlin comes from Sean: “Finished the Berlin marathon yesterday. A great race and very flat too in the most incredible city. Highly recommended!”
Seany Anthony Fagan
The rain wasn’t enough to slow down Seany: “What a day in Berlin Marathon: New PB. Was a wet one, but didn’t stop play.”
Simon Nöske
Another Goat who ran a PB was Simon: “Berlin marathon done! Fabulous day, weather naff, but everything else was fab. Knocked 2 minutes of my PB so well happy. Think I’ll sleep tonight.”
Sue and Walt Cartwright
The Cartwrights (pictured at the top of this page) may have slightly downplayed the whole experience in their Facebook post, when Sue wrote: “Really enjoyed our break away in Berlin! Managed to get a couple of runs in.”
Anwen Davies, Iain Hawkins, Kristian Mears and Rich McAleer
A shout out is due to the Goats who managed to squeeze in a parkrun during their time in Berlin, by running the Hasenheide parkrun on the day before the Berlin Marathon.
Colin and Leigh
Keep on scrolling to check out Colin and Leigh’s Instagram posts summarising their time in Berlin.
Feeling inspired?
Has this given you an urge to enter a marathon – or even to try and run further than you have before – but you’re not sure of how best to go about it? If so, head to the Facebook Chat Group or the discussions area of the Strava Group. There’s a whole community of runners who will be more than happy to give you some advice and point you in the right direction. There’s also a ‘Beginners guide to the marathon’ right here on lonelygoat.com.
Just make sure to let us know how you get on.
Until next time
That’s it for the 15th edition of goats on the run. Congratulations to all the runners mentioned, plus all those we missed. As always, if you’ve achieved something in your running that you’re particularly proud of – completing an event or otherwise – feel free to let us know about it in the Facebook Chat Group or use the #lonelygoatrc and #lonelygoatrunningclub hashtags on Instagram.