TCS Amsterdam: sub-4 hour marathon

Today I ran my fourth full marathon, in Amsterdam. After completing Dutch marathons in Leiden (2015) and Rotterdam (2024) this one felt the closest to home because I lived in Amsterdam for three years as a student.

Planning & preparation

This being my fourth marathon, I knew what to do to accomplish the primary goal of making it across the finish in one piece. I followed about 80% of a generic 16-week marathon training plan. I practiced drinking water and eating carbs (gels) during the long training runs to prepare my stomach—never again will I run a marathon without nutrition! I calculated I needed to drink at least 100 ml of water at every water stop. I even carried water with me in case it would be too chaotic. I had six gels in my pocket.

I wore a pair of Nike Vaporflys, my trusted racing shoes since the Mumbai marathon in January. I’d put copious Vaseline between my toes, hoping to save most of my toenails. My Apple Watch was firmly strapped to my wrist (which now seems to have a dent, unfortunately) to check my pace throughout the race. I was set to join the 3:59 pacers and stick with them for at least 20-22 miles before deciding to speed up or not. My Spotify race playlist was teed up in case I needed some music—a tactic that works wonders to break boredom or tiring thoughts, and speed up.

The sub-4 hour goal

The desire to run a sub-4 marathon has always been there, but I never gave it much attention. I lacked sufficient motivation, confidence, and focus to accomplish such a thing. If you run about twice a week for a maximum of 10-15 kilometers at a leisurely pace, like I used to do, that goal is far off. Simply cranking up your mileage every week until you reach 30+ kilometres for your long runs allows you to complete a marathon, but not a fast one. Especially if you don’t know what you’re doing in terms of gear and nutrition, it’s a painful exercise. Still fun maybe, but you’re going to feel pretty dead afterwards. At least, that was my experience the first three times I ran a marathon. This time, I took a different approach.

First, I set a clear time goal. This is a stressful thing to do and I don’t recommend it for anybody who isn’t serious about running or has never done a full marathon before—set time goals for shorter races, maybe, but not the marathon. I only decided to set a time goal once I knew it was fully within my range according to the tracking app I use, commonly used formulas proposed by running coaches, and advice from an experienced runner. Before deciding on a sub-4 marathon I already knew I had it in me unless something unfortunate would happen (i.e. injury).

For once, I stuck to my freakin’ marathon training schedule to the very best of my ability. That doesn’t mean I followed it precisely though, no sir! I like to change things up and follow my instincts. But I chose two intermediate level training plans, compared them, and held fast to their main principles: run five times a week at various paces. As a result, I ran twice as much as I’d ever run before and much faster. I’m no Speedy Gonzales (is he still canceled?), but I realized there’s hope for me. I’m not doomed to be slow forever. I’m finally making progress.

That’s it. No other magic. I haven’t changed my gear or nutrition plan since the last time I ran a marathon, which was only 10 months ago and went pretty well for my training level and ability at that time. I guess the pacer was a new addition—I ran with pacers before but had never been able to stick with them throughout. I decided it would make things much easier if I just stuck with a pacer to take all the guessing and decision making away.

How it actually went

I got a little nervous in advance of race. Even got a headache the night before and woke up with an even bigger headache. I never have headaches so I knew what it was about. I almost regretted setting the sub-4 hour time goal. It had made my training a lot more meaningful but now it looked like it might ruin my fun on race day! And what if I wouldn’t meet my goal, how annoyed and deflated would I be?!

The first good thing that happened is that I met two very social British ladies. One of them decided I was going to be her running buddy (the other one wanted to run alone because she was too nervous). The one running with me was friendly, chatty, and a nurse, all good things, especially when I needed something to minimize the mild cramping and soreness in my right leg, for which she had salt tablets and paracetamol.

The second good thing is that everything went exactly as planned that day. I arrived an hour early, dropped my bag, ate a final banana and found a discrete place to pee so I could avoid the endless line for the porter potties. Then I waited with the 4-hour pacers in my comfortable sweats until our wave departed and I tossed the additional layer of clothing on the fence (okay, my pants landed on top of innocent lady, oops).

Following the pacers was very relaxing. I didn’t have to worry about my pace, so I could just chat with my new British friend and enjoy the sight of Amsterdam in fall. We felt like the pacers were going a bit fast, but it turned out later they were right on pace, on average, and anyway we had no problem keeping up.

After ten miles or so, or maybe it was at the halfway point, I got tired of talking and for the long stretch south there weren’t many supporters or musical ensembles either, so I turned on my music. I hadn’t allowed myself to listen to any of my favorite race music since June, when I completed a half marathon in Boise, and I’d been adding some new stuff, so I really enjoyed it. Music isn’t always necessary for running but during a race it’s amazing. It makes me feel a lot of things and really gets me going.

The British nurse proposed to speed up around the 32K point. She argued that it’s a great time to shave off a few minutes of your time if you still feel fresh, better than trying to do it at the very end when you have less to give. She also mentioned it’s nice to change pace. But even before that mark I already itched to go faster. I wanted to move and get that feeling I get when I’m really running, not just jogging along.

Basically, after the nurse gave me the pills, I left her behind. I wasn’t trying to shake her or anything but I couldn’t keep checking on her either. Towards the end of a marathon lots of people slow down, so it’s necessary to wind around a lot of runners, which is hard enough to do alone on a narrow road with unexpected traffic islands. She mentioned I was going a bit fast and that I looked fresh, even that she was hoping I’d slow down. I didn’t. I just ran and ran, listening to my body, increasing my pace and watching the final kilometer markers fly by.

It’s weird how a three or four hour running session that seems endless during training becomes such a manageable task during a marathon race. It doesn’t feel too long at all. It’s like time stops and you just go on a fun journey that you don’t even really want to end.

Did I run entirely pain free? No. But the discomfort in my right leg and knee was minor. It was the bottoms of my feet that felt the impact the most but I knew I didn’t have to worry about that. And: no toe nail damage whatsoever! I suppose I’m better at protecting my feet somehow, perhaps a sign of good form? Or the right shoes.

My finishing time: 3:53:47!!! I’m not sure how that happened. I figured if I gained 20 seconds per kilometer for the final twelve kilometers, that’s four minutes. So I must have gained 30 seconds each kilometer on average. I guess I just had it in me so I’m glad I sped up. When I finished, I still wasn’t tired! I felt like jumping and drinking beer and dancing!

TCS Amsterdam vibes

I was curious to find out if the notoriously cranky Amsterdammers would be even more annoyed by all the road closures, or if they—like the Rotterdamers—would turn the occasion into a opportunity for day drinking and silly fun. It turned out to be a mix. Plenty of them came out for support, but most of them just looked cold. Rotterdam vibes were far better though, spring versus fall, there’s a big psychological difference in the Netherlands.

Frankly, I was a bit annoyed by the organization. Picking up the bib the day before took way too much standing in line. On race day, there wasn’t a moment of togetherness like there is at some races. For example for someone who passed away, a war, or something else that’s more important than a marathon and therefore deserves a public mention and collective moment of silence. The announcers just kept repeating the stale “run your masterpiece!” marketing line they’d clearly been fed. There were a lot of foreigners, mostly Europeans, which is fine of course, but it’s just that Amsterdam is already so overtaken by tourists that this took away from the feeling of being home. These are just minor gripes though.

What’s next: running wish list

As happy and excited it makes me to prepare for a marathon, it’s maintaining my ongoing joy in running that matters more. If you love cooking, you don’t stop after preparing a 10-course meal either, right? But to enjoy running I need goals.

Fortunately, there’s a lot more to aim for. And it’s going to take a few years to accomplish, for sure! Here’s what’s on my wish list:

• Run an Ultra marathon (starting with a 50K or 56K)

• Run a World Major marathon (through the lottery system, which takes time)

• Form or join a running group in The Gambia

• Complete a triathlon (starting with the Olympic distance and a 70.3)