This may end up being one of my shortest race reports ever because basically it went like this: I came, I ran, I had fun! I made it through my training for the Bremen Half Marathon just fine,  but my motivation to do the hard work needed to achieve a personal record pretty much disappeared over the course of my training cycle. So instead I simply made it my goal to enjoy the race.

The morning of, I tried to sleep as long as possible. Do you know how hard it is to time your breakfast and pre-race fueling when your race doesn’t start until 11:40am? Don’t hate me, but I really would have preferred an earlier start time so that my entire day wouldn’t be consumed by the race — but c’est la vie. I guess the organizers have to balance out the fact that there’s a 10K, a half marathon, and a marathon happening on the same day.  Anyway, I had plenty of time for my almond butter toast and coffee for breakfast, and then another banana about an hour before the race.

I walked to the start, which took about 20 minutes, instead of trying to figure out which tram lines were running without disruption. After changing and finding my way to corral, I started the half marathon along with 4,000 of my closest friends!

Pretty much off the bat I fell into what seemed like a reasonable pace and basically just maintained it for the rest of the race. I didn’t want to try any fancy stuff — just put in a good effort and have a good time. It was my third  time running this route, and I have to say it may just be one of my favorite half marathon races — starting in Bremen’s iconic Marktplatz, up along and through the Bürgerpark, through Findorff and the Überseestadt, along the Schlachte and Osterdeich, a round through the Weser Stadium, and then back into the city center.

I crossed the finish line in 2:14:39, which is more or less an average time for me — about 10 minutes slower than my best time. So my 13th half marathon won’t go down in history for me, but I still continue to be amazed that my body can pull through such a distance like it’s no big deal. That is definitely something to be grateful for!