Never Run a Marathon EVER
Earlier this month on April 6th I ran my first Marathon as I took part in the yearly Bonn Post Marathon. Contrary to what the title suggests I would actually highly recommend it despite the pain of actually running one. My friends and I had heard about the marathon at a pre departure abroad meeting in the fall at Lafayette and decided we would start training when we got to Bonn and see where it goes. As we trained we noticed it was actually going really well to a point where we decided to enter the marathon and give it a try.
First Day One Man Down
It all started on a cold rainy day along the Rhine in January where our heroes embarked on an arduous 1.5 mile journey at a blistering 9 minute per mile pace. We lost one of our group to a torn MCL half a mile in. Being one man down after half a mile frightened us as we thought this pace surely was not sustainable. By mile one and a half there would be no obnoxious Americans remaining to run the marathon. Morale was low, skies were dark, but we remained strong.
In all seriousness however it was a shame to lose our friend Donovan on our marathon journey to a reaggravation of a partially torn MCL. Me and Ryan spent four months slowly working up from running 2 miles a day to eventually 8 and being able to effortlessly run half marathons. As we increased our distance it became a really great way to explore the new environment we found ourselves in as we varied our routes often. It slowly went from something we felt we had to do into something we genuinely enjoyed. The mental benefits from running almost every day were absolutely fantastic as it always left me feeling fresh and rejuvenated no matter how much my body ached after each run. I quickly found out the value of a nice cold shower although I’m not sure my host family enjoyed my late dinners that emerged from running for an hour and a half every day.
Race Day Vroom Vroom
When race day came about, although we felt prepared, I was waiting at the start line nervous and anxious to get going. As we ran I slowly became more comfortable as I saw mile after mile pass. They had aid station stacked with bananas, water, Gatorade, and for some reason Coca Cola which filled me with joy every time I saw one around the corner. I think by the end of the Marathon, Ryan was at least one percent banana by mass as we stopped at every single Aid station to refuel. About 20 miles through I severely regretted my decision and was thinking to myself “why would anyone ever do this to themselves” as I found our fallen soldier Donovan waiting on the side of the road offering a bite of Doner which tasted like it was made by the hand of god. All jokes aside by the end of it I felt a fantastic feeling of accomplishment and I will definitely be running more marathons in my future. Morale was definitely improved and aching relieved when I was presented with an ice cold glass of Cologne’s finest beer, Gaffel Kolsch upon crossing the finish line.
About the Marathon
This year marked a huge milestone for the marathon as 18,080 runners took part, making it the biggest race in the marathon’s history (Bundestadt Bonn, 2025). The event is Bonn’s largest sporting event (Bundestadt Bonn, 2025) which was very visible by the masses of runners as well as the density of supporters along all 26 miles of the route. The marathon consists of two laps on both sides of the Rhine and a picturesque finish underneath Cherry Blossoms in the center of the downtown area of Bonn. While I was starting to hurt a little after halfway through I had a fantastic time and it felt like the perfect way to cap off our fantastic time abroad. I’d recommend it to anyone visiting in the future as training for it proved to be a fantastic way to get acclimated to such a new and different environment.
-Ryan C
References
Bundesstadt Bonn. (2025, April 7). Bonn marathon: 18.000 Läufer*innen sorgen fur ein unvergessliches Lauffest. https://bonn.de/pressemitteilungen/april/Bonn-Marathon-18.000-Laeufer-innen-sorgen-fuer-ein-unvergessliches-Lauffest.php?form=translationDisclaimer-ODI3NTAyMjkw&action=submit#translationDisclaimer-ODI3NTAyMjkw
