2013 had started slowly in terms of running races, this all changed with the 33 Vattenfall Berlin Half Marathon on April 7th. Neither Tiffany nor I had ever run a half marathon before and to be honest, both of us were happy that we had at least run the entire race track a couple of weeks earlier as one of our long runs. To say we were nervous as we made our way out of the house on a very chilly, perfect blue sky April morning.
The Race Expo
The half marathon weekend already began on Thursday afternoon with the pick up of our race packet at the race expo. The race expo for the Berlin half (and then later on in the year for the full-) marathon are held at the Spring and Fall Berlin Vital expo which takes place at the old Tempelhof airport. This place is amazing to begin with. When Templehof airport, which is located in the middle of Berlin was closed the terminals became a place to hold exhibitions. The old runways, tarmac and other outside airport areas have been turned over to public use and are now popular with runners, bikers, skaters and anyone looking to enjoy some time outdoors.
SCC Events runs a very tight ship with all of their events and the half marathon was no different. The expo area had plenty of counters to claim your bib and race packet and the whole process took less than 60 seconds. No standing in line, no problems – absolutely perfect. I have no idea if there were lines on Saturday, but arriving early and checking out the action on thursday made things run really smooth.
We only spent a very limited amount of time at the expo and didn’t purchase anything at all. However, two things did catch our attention – 1) One of the races with a booth at the expo was the Spreewald Marathon, in itself not so exciting. However, as it turns out their marathon medal is a metal pickle. I just had to find a way to race that race to get one of those! and 2) SCC Events apparently had a whole basement full of tech shirts to clear out from previous races. For the bargain basement price of EUR5 for 1kg (about 1.1lbs) you could score some great Adidas tech shirts. We ended up with 7 of them (a little more than 1kg) which makes it about EUR0.70 per shirt. Not bad for a shirt that normally costs about EUR35 in the store.
Race Day
The start and finish area of the Berlin Half Marathon is traditionally on Karl Marx Allee, a soviet era boulevard of grand proportions. This road is seriously very very wide and a perfect starting point for a race of about 30,000 competitors. To get there a quick subway ride from pretty much anywhere in the city to Alexanderplatz puts you within 3 minutes walk of the starting line.
It was great seeing the city filled with runners as everyone was making their way over to the race area. Berlin has an excellent public transport system which means that if you miss one subway, the next one is right behind.
Alexanderplatz Subway Station Exit on the way to the Berlin Half Marathon
The runner’s camp was laid out very well and plenty of port-a-potties and bag check trucks made all the pre-race preparations easy peasy and within a couple of minutes we were wandering around the starting area taking in the sights. The race took off promptly at 10.05am (which is very party a bit the night before friendly) and went on rather smoothly thanks to the very wide roads in the starting area.
Berlin weather can be a bit finnicky in the spring and this year was no exception. We were glad to wear our winter running gear while getting started – however, promptly after the start the sun came up and temperatures were 3 times higher than what we had experienced in months.
The vibe in the starting area was great. With Berlin being such a big tourist destination these days and the race going underway in one of THE city squares where people tend to congregate there were A LOT of spectators cheering on the racers as we got underway.
The Course
I am a huge fan of using running for sightseeing. A race course that runs by the major tourist sights ranks pretty darn high in my book. For this the Berlin Half Marathon is fantastic. On the course you get a taste of the Best Berlin has to offer and you get a chance to experience some of the better known sights first hand.
The race starts in the former east of the city, starting at Alexander Platz and then following Unter den Linden all the way to the Brandenburg Gate, passing along such sights as the Berliner Schloss and the Berlin Cathedral and the world famous Adlon hotel. You then run through the Brandenburg Gate (definitely a high light of the run) and cross into the western part through the Tiergarten part and by the Siegessäule Monument.
The famous Berlin TV Tower on Alexanderplatz
On the return trip from Charlottenburg (right by the Charlottenburg Castle) one gets to enjoy a run along the Ku’Damm with its fancy upscale shops such as the famous KaDeWe department store. Another highlight comes just before the end of the run when you get to run through Checkpoint Charlie – the history in this town is just amazing.
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I might be partial since I am a huge fan of Berlin and I truly enjoy living and running here, but this is truly a great race track. Some people pay a lot of money for tour guides to show them exactly those sights you get to enjoy while burning off some calories.
The Medal
In SCC fashion the medal for this race is very simple and does not differ much from those given out at other SCC Events. Nothing special here.
33. Vattenfall Berlin Half Mararthon 2013 Medal
The Good, the bad and the ugly
Overall this is a very well organized race and the course is absolutely worth it. Things ran smoothly from beginning to end and there was not all too much left to coincidence. There were only three refreshment points along the way, and those were all pretty crowded. If you carry your own water not really a problem, but if you rely on nourishment along the way you may lose some time.
Speaking of refreshments, Erdinger – a brewery from bavaria – is one of the sponsors of this race and runners are greated with non-alcoholic wheat beer at the end. A nice treat after a job well done.
33. Vattenfall Berlin Half Mararthon 2013 Race Report
This is a fun race which takes you to the most famous corners of the city on streets that are wide enough to not have to worry too much about the 30,000 other competitors. Actually, everything is big about this race – the expo, the bag checks, the banks of port-a-potties. Very cool. And will always be grateful that this could be my first half marathon.
