Sub-3:30 marathon musings

To my own great surprise, I finished the 2026 Berlin Marathon in 3:28:34, shaving 25 minutes off my previous personal best and breaking the magical 3:30 limit that once seemed so far away and was, deeply within my ambitious heart, my big wish for this year because it's a Boston marathon qualifier!

Why Boston matters? I'm not entirely sure of my answer here. I only found out recently that it's the most elite marathon in the world and that you can only ever participate if you achieve their strict cut-off times (or raise 10K for charity). I listened to a lot running podcasts and I think that caused me to believe that this was something I, too, should strive for.

In the end, I think it was mostly about the fun of having a challenging goal that gave it meaning for me. Running a marathon in Boston, which was actually the first proper U.S. city I ever visited, is not really on my bucket list. And let's face it, I'll probably be one of the slower runners there! I enjoy the irony of that, though. 

The training block

The method I chose to achieve my sub-3:30 marathon goal is called Runna. It's a running app that tells you exactly what to do and snipes at you every time you miss a pace target or a workout. It sets an incredibly difficult goal for you and then lowers your expected finishing time by ten minutes every time you underperform. This didn't make me feel good at all, but it proved to be effective.

My training block was 20 weeks and I had a good level of fitness when I started. I already ran a marathon and two ultras earlier that year. But I didn't execute the plan perfectly. The number one reason is that I can't seem to bring myself to run more than 3-4 times a week, when they really expect you to run at least 4-5 times a week. The other reason I skipped and underperformed regularly was because I live in The Gambia, where it's hardly ever the right weather for a killer workout.

But I also did a few things right, of course.

Crosstraining. I did some intense cross-training by simultaneously training for a half Iron Man. I also played plenty of padel and attended weekly CrossFit classes. Some weeks, I worked out 12 hours or more.

Heat training. Another bonus of my training was that it was tough to run in The Gambia. It was hot, the roads were shit, and I had to wake up freakishly early on running days. All that built stamina and grit.

Fueling practice. I also worked on my fueling. Instead of making excuses I stuffed myself with Graham crackers at 5 AM and sucked down SIS gels during my Sunday morning long runs while sensible people were probably relaxing at home with a coffee and a croissant. 

Intervals. Another key element of my training was doing many interval and tempo runs. The intervals were tough and I often had to adjust the pace down due to the heat and humidity, but I hit most of my pacing goals, most of the time. Forcing myself to crank out just one more interval at a pace much faster than my marathon pace felt crazy, but I knew it had to be done. I told myself that every second of pain earned me a second of speed gain on marathon day.

Tempo runs also seemed really effective. Every Thursday (if I was motivated enough) and sometimes on Sundays as part of the long run, I ran at my goal marathon pace. The longest stretch of practicing this pace, which was 4:50-5:00mins/km, was probably 14 km. It felt challenging, but over time I noticed a big difference. It started to feel familiar and my body just settled in. And that, I think, is exactly what you need if you want to do it for 42 km straight. 

Play by play

So how did it go? This is probably the last time I'm going to describe running a marathon. I've done eight of them so far and the race itself doesn't make a big impression on me anymore. The crowds and all that, I hardly notice it anymore. It’s become a game of precision. Proper preparation, fueling, gear, logistical planning, and race execution. More than any of the other marathons, this one felt a bit mechanical. But in a good way.

My race strategy was clear: I was going to pace myself very strictly. Not starting out too fast. I wanted to catch up with the 3:30 pacers, who I imagined would be running in front of me, and step on the gas during the final 10K if possible. As it turned out, I started in front of the pacers, and they never caught up with me. Instead, I was being paced by my Garmin watch! Runna programmed it for a 3:20 - 3:28 finish and it gave me sharp feedback every time my pace was outside of that specific range.

Fueling wise, I planned to take 4-6 gels during the race. That's not enough according to everything I've ever read about it, and this worried me the most. I was scared of hitting a wall for taking too little, or getting a stomach cramp for taking too much. I ended up taking a gel every 5 km like clockwork, sipping them rather than swallowing them down all at once. It felt fine! I think what helped was that I'd eaten quite a bit of food in the morning (white bread, jam, banana) and my digestive system was primed for it. For future runs and races I'll remember this — don't go on an empty stomach, and don't force gels down if my stomach isn't at least half full or I'm not well hydrated.

How I kept my pace so steady? For one thing, I didn't do any of the usual smiling and high-fiving children along the way. I ran wherever I had enough space and kept a straight face, saving as much energy as possible. The kilometers ticked by slowly and then increasingly faster. I turned my music on around 13 km, enjoying the boost. Around 27 km I realized I still had so far to go and momentarily got nervous — was I going to hit the wall? — but I distracted myself with some small, fleeting thoughts about nothing.

The Berlin marathon course is nice but uneventful. Let's be honest: it's not the most beautiful city in the world. The streets are wide and pleasant though, and it's almost completely flat. The ups and downs were so gradual, I made it a game to even notice it. The biggest giveaway that we were going uphill was not the slightly increased tension in my legs—it was the people around me decelerating significantly or even starting to walk. I allowed myself to slow down to a 5:05 pace a few times, knowing I'd make it up with a 4:50 pace on the "downhill" stretches. What goes up must go down!

Most of the run felt relatively easy. I stayed locked in. I drank water at every water station without ever stopping. I sipped my gels mindfully. I didn't follow or interact with any other person on the course. I didn't smile for the cameras.

Still, my sit bone ached from the very beginning and, further along in the race, my feet and legs started to complain. But I knew it wasn't serious so every time the pain came to my attention I said to myself: I'm not interested in this pain. Ache all you want, I just don't care about it. I don't think I'd be able to do that if it were my Achilles or my knees, because that tends to get worse and lead to injuries that last for weeks or even months, but these mild aches just didn't impress me. I sit enough in my life.

Because things went so smoothly, it's hard to even describe how the first 10 km went, or the second, or the third. It wasn't a blur, but there seemed to be almost no distinction between my experience during the beginning or the end of the race. In the beginning I was fresher, but nervous. Towards the end I was a bit weary but I'd become convinced I could make it if I just kept going, and that made me feel strong.

When I finished, I felt surprisingly fresh. I had absolutely no desire to collapse on the ground. I chit chatted with a few other finishers, searched for the poncho I was promised, drank several non-alcoholic beers, and made photos for people struggling to make selfies. My adrenaline easily outbalanced my fatigue. I also knew that moving would save my legs from stiffening so I just kept going. I walked over to a nearby cafe to meet up with some friends, who I later joined in some tourist activities like going up the TV tower (by elevator!) and having drinks at Klunkerkranich.

Major marathon time!

The marathon time I achieved comes with several rewards. The main prize being the Boston marathon, although my participation in 2028 race is not entirely guaranteed. To qualify in my age group, I needed to clear 3:35, which I did, but also have a buffer large enough to get selected in case the marathon is oversubscribed, which it always is. My buffer is almost 6.5 minutes so I'm feeling pretty safe. I have a very good chance. And more importantly: I earned that BQ, with time to spare, whether I go to Boston or not!

At the same time, I qualified for the Chicago marathon, which is also a Major. I didn't know about all this "Major" stuff until recently, but it turns out there are 8 in total: Boston, New York, Chicago, London and Berlin since 2006, and in recent years they added Tokyo, Sydney, South Africa, and Shanghai. Ever since they started this series, many serious amateur runners pursue these marathons, which is why it's very hard to get into them unless you get lucky during the lottery draw, or do the charity thing. 

The qualifying time for Chicago (in my age/gender group) is 3:40. Unlike Boston, they give everyone with a qualifying time guaranteed access. I'm not interested in flying there all the way from The Gambia, but I figure I'll partake in 2028, after we've left here anyway and probably live in the US. I like that it gives me a lot to look forward to! These two majors are going to keep me busy plotting and planning runs for at least another two years. 

New goals

A separate question is what my new goals should be now. By now, I know a fair amount of serious amateur runners and I'm juggling various pieces of advice. One of them told me that the fastest marathon runners are those who are also fast on short distances. I'm not fast on short distances at all, so maybe that's something I could train for. It would give me a different type of training schedule, which might also be easier to fit into my daily life.

Alternatively, I could spend more time doing other things to keep up my endurance but that are less hard on the body, like biking. I still have that bike trainer sitting in my office from the Iron Man training. Or maybe I should lift more weights and grow more impressive muscles.

Another strong attraction, for me, would be doing more multi-day adventure races. Ultra runs, or perhaps even bike rides, through nature are way more fun than road races. I often think of places I want to go deep into the jungle, the desert, or the mountains, and how much more I would enjoy that if I were hiking, running or biking than if I just sit in a car and check it out through the front window. And I've made some friends in the ultra running community who keep tempting me!