Conquering the Berlin Marathon: A Journey Through Pain and Perseverance

Katie Applegate(HF18527) – I ran a marathon. Actually, it was the 7th time (officially) that I ran a marathon.
I felt like I had a really great training season, until I didn’t. First, the foot slowly started aching after each run. And then it started aching all the time. And then a few weeks before Berlin my hip wanted in on the pain party.
I didn’t have a time goal for this race except to finish. I figured it would be between 5 and 5.5 hours but I wasn’t tied to any of those times. With the way my hip was feeling the day before during the 5k, I honestly didnt know how I would run 26+ miles. I was in pain and hurting with every step. But I downed some Advil and just tried to focus on each mile. It was the hottest on record for the Berlin Marathon and I started running at 10:40am so it was full heat and full sun in the 80s. It was hot. Thankfully our hotel had an ice maker and Kody had our water bottles filled and was able to meet me every 3 miles with both ice water and a cold coke. Once I got to the halfway point I was getting more confident in finishing, knowing I could run 13 miles. Once I got to the 33k mark, which was the cutoff point, I was even more relieved. Out of all the races I have done, this is the only one that I’ve gotten so emotional over finishing. I cried when I got within sight of the finish line because I honestly didn’t know if I was going to be able to make it.
I’m thankful for Kody who made sure he was at every 5k for me to get me what I needed and got me through with ice cold drinks on such a hot day.
I’m thankful for all the training miles that friends put in with me so I didn’t have to train alone.
I’m thankful for all the messages I had when I was running and congratulatory messages once I was done.
Running might seem like a solo sport, but it truly takes such a tribe of people to make it enjoyable.
Ideally I have 1 more marathon to run here in a few weeks (assuming the government shutdown gets their act together and my hip allows me to do a few more miles) and then I shall rest. A much needed and deserved rest.