"The race was good but had a lot of hills", commented Joseph Lagat of kenya, the winner of 2010 Stockholm Marathon. Having finished second in his first marathon in Valencia with a 2:10, Lagat expected to do better in Stockholm. He did win this time, but the steep Västerbro bridge slowed him down a bit. Lagat missed the 27 year old course record by only half a minute with 2:12:48.
I agree Stockholm is not the fastest marathon around, but it's a scenic two loops course and the race is well organized.
No wonder this is the largest marathon in Scandinavia with over 20 thousand entries. About 15 thousand of them actually showed up on Saturday, and about 14 thousand were able to finish. These are all record numbers.
Also the spectator support was huge. Maybe it's due to the Royal Wedding or something else, but the crowds seemed even more cheerful than usual. There was never a dull moment.
Throughout 2010 Stockholm will be celebrated as Europe's first Green Capital. For example, all the cups used during the race were compostable and were collected to be composted.
This year's race had the additional benefit of a brilliant weather. It was sunny, +19 degrees C, with a few clouds here and there and a weak wind. It was absolutely ideal for running.
Sweden's Isabellah Anderson 3-peated her two previous victories with a third straight one in 2:31.35.
My somewhat ambitious personal goal was to finish in under three hours. Long story short, everything went well, except I just wasn't quite quick enough. I ended up finishing in 3:06:26. I'm happy for my course PR though, which improved considerably from 3:14.
Here are my official chip splits. My overall place improved continuously from start to finish. My start group was C, which meant there were many slower runners in front of me. I wasn't able to run my own pace during the first few K's. I kept on passing lots of runners throughout the race.
Here is the data from my Garmin Forerunner 110. It says the distance I ran was 42.98 km, although the course is reliably measured to be 42.195 km. The tunnels along the course seem to have confused the GPS. Also other GPS users have reported unexpectedly long course measurements.
Brooks Green Silence racing flats performed more to my liking after I had changed the laces into shorter, thicker ones. There were no blisters or any other issues. These funny looking shoes are fast and furious.
I carried a quarter kilo plastic squeeze bottle of honey in my hand all the way. I ate nothing else during the race, although there were various snacks available. I tried tasting a salty gherkin handed out by a volunteer around 17K though, but it tasted much too salty so I threw it away. I drank plain water only, except a little sip of diluted coke at 36K. No sports drinks or gels. I felt fine energy wise, but somehow my pace gradually dropped.
My second half (1:35:01) was over 3 minutes slower than the first (1:31:25). With a better start group (ie. B) I probably would have run the first half in slightly under 90 minutes. Next year I need to do that and then run the second half in 90 minutes as well.
Crossing (twice) Västerbron, Sweden's largest arched bridge, didn't feel as challenging as I remembered it from my three previous Stockholm Marathons. Actually it was easy for me.
What truly scared/amused me, and probably most other runners too, was the little flat bridge before Västerbron. No one wouldn't have even noticed it - if it didn't start moving under our feet. The bridge resonated with our weight in the weirdest manner. For a moment, the strange feedback movements of the bridge made us doubt the health of our feet or minds - or both.
I think it was a good idea to travel by cruise ship directly from Helsinki to Stockholm's Värta harbour, which is conveniently located a mile from the start/finish area. You can relax and eat well on the ship before and after the marathon. You can also leave all your luggage in your cabin and simply walk to the start with your race gear on about an hour before. They will even collect your race number, chip and package for you, so they are ready waiting for you aboard the ship. They also featured a marathon expo on the ship, as well as entertainment, massage service, sauna, jacuzzi and so on.
All in all, I'd say it was a solid performance. The result was over 19 minutes better than my best marathon last year. So I'm making progress. If I can keep it up, PRs will break.
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