It was a very early start this morning, in order to be in Potsdam in time to collect my start number on time, but everything went smoothly, even if the queue for the numbers appeared shockingly long at first sight. It was already very hot as the runners gathered in the stadium for the start at 9 o'clock, and it was probably clear to everyone that a gentler tempo would be appropriate under such conditions. Last year it apparently rained all day. Today the sun was relentless, which one shouldn't complain about, considering it has taken so long this year to make itself felt.
The course is really very attractive. One can get an impression from the photos here. Each time I visit Potsdam, which I have probably done about five times in the past ten years, I think to myself, that I would like to get to know the town a little more, but it is not so important that I have ever made the time to follow my thoughts through. The race began by taking us through the city centre, followed by several large parks, including Park Sanssouci and Park Babelsberg, with their famous palaces. We also crossed over the Glienicke Bridge, famous as the sight of exchanges of captured spies between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, for which the press coined the name, the 'Bridge of Spies'.
Given the conditions and the fact that due to my recent illness I had not trained much recently, I was satisfied with my result: I covered the course in a time of 1:55:53, finishing overall 802nd out of 2,706, and 70th in my age class.
Well done!!
ReplyDeleteMC