Berlin 10km

Sorry for the delay guys, I flew straight to Ireland after the race and have just returned home this morning. The race in Berlin was on saturday night and to be honest didnt go as well as I would have liked, but was a great event to be part of.

The race was held at 8.30 in the evening and as a runner you couldnt ask for a better course. Fast, flat and no real major issues en route. As a team we didnt really have a race plan, we all wanted to get close to 29 minutes, and were prepared to "give it some" to make sure we were competitive. Conditions were very warm and humid- but I like that and the warmth was a positive rather than a negative. On a personal note I felt good. Ready to run hard and although training hasnt gone brilliant, I was hoping that early season hard work could still be called upon when needed.

The race started out hard. The dutch guy who ran sub 29 last year on a slightly different course went flying off. In fact he went off too hard... or so I thought. I held back and was content to lead the pack. The first km was just under 2.50, and so the race went on. The pace felt quick, and leading the group I felt like I was setting a good pace. Throughout the race people dropped off the back but one main concern for me was the fact that there were very few km markers, and I couldnt see the lead clock, so was in no-mans land with regards to times etc. The course swept through the streets of Berlin and the atmosphere was great. Getting towards 7km there was a turning point after which it was a 2.5km straight line to the finish.

The group was now down to four as me and gaz (raven) shared the pace, and tried to push it on more. Seeing the finish line in the distance was tough, especially knowing it was a 2km long straight line to get there. At around the 8.5km point I made a move and tried to get away. At this point it was now down to the English lads to scrap for the medals. Although fight is something I didnt do at all. I thought I had a gap... then going into the last 400, both merrien and Raven drew level and then edged past. I hung on for a bit but then as they battled for silver I did something that still annoys me now when I think about it, and thats give up. When I saw the clock drift outside 30 mins that was the final nail in the coffin. (Although I would like to add that somehow the time keepers found 3 extra seconds on my time- as there is no way I was 7 seconds behind those lads- we all finished in a line??)

Anyways that aside the race didnt feel like a 30 minute race. It felt a lot faster, and all of the team (girls included) were at a loss to explain why the times were so slow... the organiser says its an accurate course. We, as athletes beg to differ. Ive run sub 30 a few times and have a pretty good feel for the pace-- and I certainly felt like I was running faster than that. But thats how it goes and times aside I didnt race the last 400 at all well and left Berlin pretty annoyed at myself for what can only be described as "bottling it" after feeling good throughout the race. The other lads ran great and it was a pleasure to be a part of such a great team. Gareth (Raven) in particular is an inspiration to me. Mid 30's and still churning out Pb's. Hes as tough as nails and all this working a full time job, no kit sponsorship and a true no-nonsense athlete....thats what these races abroad are about: learning from others.

So in conclusion, the race itself was 400m from being okay. The time was average, but that didnt matter. What did matter to me was the fact that mentally I should have been tougher-- a hard lesson to learn when you see a medal slip away from you!

 The Team + our mascot (haha, I mean Michelle Ross-cope)