8 years ago, on Sunday, October 10th, 2004, I ran my 5th marathon race, the Munich Marathon. I can’t recall much of the race itself. I finished in 3:46 and as far as I can remember I was very weak during the last kilometers. But I had a goal apart from finishing: the Munich Olympic Stadium. One of the characteristics that makes the Munich Marathon so special for me is the finish: You enter the Olympic Stadium through the marathon gate and finish the race by running one lap on the Olympic track.

In 2004, the Munich Olympic Stadium was still the home of Bayern München, the soccer team I love since I can think. In 2006, Bayern moved to the newly built Munich World Cup Arena. But on September 28th, 2004, one and a half weeks before the marathon, they played one of their greatest Champion’s League matches in the Stadium that had been their home for more than 30 years. They beat Ajax Amsterdam, one of Europe’s finest teams, 4:0.

The first of the four goals was particularly beautiful: Bayern’s Owen Hargreaves played a pass over 60 meters from the defense to forward Roy Makaay, who hammered the ball into the goal (do yourself a favor and watch the video).

Fast forward to marathon day: I had crossed the finish line, received my medal and was spent. So I looked for a place to rest. I walked on the holy lawn to the center of the soccer field and lay down at the center of the circle. This was the moment: I looked into the sky and saw Hargreaves‘ ball on its way to the tip of Makaay’s toe flying over my head.

Then I saw many situations I had watched during the past 30 years, saw Beckenbauer, Müller, and all the great players of Bayern. It was like a dream, except that I was not lying in my bed but on that very soccer field where all the great matches had taken place.

Until a voice brought me back to the present: „Are you o.k.?“ It was a Paramedic from the red cross who suspected I had fainted. „Yes I am.“ I answered, got up and went to meet my family.

Time went by fast, and soon the so-called „catch me if you can“ half marathon race between Paula Radcliffe and Haile Gebrselassie was started. A few minutes later I crossed the starting line.

I ran the first 5 km at a moderate pace (~5:30), then I picked up pace and ran kilometers 6 to 20 between 5:10 and 5:20, which felt quite comfortable. At km 18 I met my wife near our hostel (very nice accommodation, should you plan to visit Vienna, please ask me) and stopped to have a little chat. At that time I felt so strong and got even faster.

The course of the Vienna Marathon consists of basically two laps. The first lap is the half marathon course. Last year I had run the half marathon in Vienna, so I knew the course. After passing the finish at km 21 the course was new to me. It’s always interesting to run a new course, so the kilometers flew by. At km 30 I still felt good, a bit tired but not exhausted. My pace was still between 5:20 and 5:30. At km 33 the so-called „Haile Meile“ began, a mile of the course dedicated to Haile Gebrselassie. The day before at the expo I had seen Haile for the first time, and there he said, in the Ethiopian language „Haile“ meant „Energy“, and when we runners would pass the „Haile Meile“ sign this should give us power and energy. Unfortunately the contrary happened to me. Sorry Haile, I’m sure it was not your fault!

Shortly after passing the 35km water station I hit the wall. This was my 17th marathon race, and I had never experienced this before. It was really like running into a wall. My legs were still ok, but the brain obviously sent the command to stop running. Nevertheless I forced myself to continue, but my pace dropped to ~7:00. Sometimes I had to walk. My plan then was to get close to the finish line – anyhow. I was sure I could run to the finish once I had reached the 40km mark. So I moved forward step by step, and eventually reached 40k, then 41k. I was running, slowly, but I wasn’t walking. With 500m to go, I began looking out for my wife and my daughter, who should be somewhere in the crowd. And I was busy making a plan how I could run another 500m. Then 400m. I hadn’t known how long 100m can be. I made it to the 42km mark, then the turn to the finish at the Heldenplatz („Heroes Square“: what a name for a marathon finish!). Crossing the finish line I glanced at my watch and was surprised that it showed 3:56. Despite my sluggish last 7km I had finished in under 4 hours.

I don’t know exactly why I hit the wall this time. The last 10 years I had run 2 marathon races per year, but in 2011 I ran only shorter distances. So my last marathon was in October 2010, 1 1/2 years ago. Perhaps, after this break, I should have done more long slow training runs. Or my inflamed tooth might be a reason. Last New Year’s Eve my dentist diagnosed an inflamed back tooth, which I finally had removed this week, 5 days before the race.

Anyway, after a good night’s sleep I’m happy with my race and especially the way I dealt with the wall. A new experience.