Frankfurt. Sunday. “White collars” are resting on their only day off the week, but I am running. Faster than ever before. I overtake a hundred people, fly onto the red carpet of the Festhalle Messe — the finish line under a bright dome. Behind me is a 42 km 195 m distance covered in 3 hours 15 minutes . The “marathon” goal is achieved.
Translated from the original Ukrainian version on Medium .
Introduction
Sport is currently popular in the world. It’s fashionable to set seemingly impossible sporting challenges and overcome them. Someone swims across the Bosphorus, others prefer long-distance cycling, and some enjoy the suffering of an Ironman. And I run. About a year ago, I set a goal to run the, at that time insurmountable, forty-two kilometers. As you have already realized, I succeeded. In this note, I will tell you more about the race. The description will be in the style of the Nogibogi journal.
Across the distance
-0.1 km
The mood is gloomy, just like the weather. My fitness level in the last month suggested to my coach and me that I should run at a pace of 4:50 min per km. In that case, I would complete the distance in 3:24 hours. This seemed too slow to me, but I didn’t argue with myself or the coach.
A strong wind during the warm-up and a slight cold completely buried the dream of posting a good time. I started thinking about how to just make it to the finish. It was cold; it was impossible to stand for even a minute without a down jacket.
0 km
I entered my starting corral and it became warmer among the runners. There is indeed something special about mass events when 10,000 like-minded people are next to you. An atmosphere of a running festival prevailed.
To the right of the starting arch stands the Hammering Man statue. The hammer, which is raised to the head and lowered forward, symbolizes that we build our world using our minds and hands.
2 km
Frankfurt’s skyscrapers are among the tallest buildings in Europe. They impress with their grandeur, and many have original architecture.
I especially like the Deutsche Bank twin towers on Taunusanlage street. But precisely because of these temples of concrete and glass, my watch “went crazy”: the GPS signal was poorly received, and I didn’t know my pace. I accepted this and flowed with the current of a thousand marathon runners.
4 km
I feel great. Suddenly, a person falls in front of me, slipping on the tram track joints. Fortunately, nothing serious happened to the runner. I noted that if public transport had not been blocked, I wouldn’t have even heard the trams approaching. In Frankfurt, they are very quiet and fast, unlike in Kyiv.
7 km
To my left is the Alter Oper, built in 1880. The concert hall was completely bombed by Allied forces in 1944 and rebuilt in 1981. I feel a slight urge to use the restroom. I promised myself I would find a cabin somewhere around 15 km. For now, I endure.
10 km
I ran out of the business district. The number of fans supporting the runners decreased. My pace is 10 seconds faster than necessary. I had to adjust the mileage on my watch because the discrepancy with the official course marking was as much as 400 m. I started drinking icy water.
15 km
My fingers were numb. It became difficult to grab a cup from the volunteers with one hand. I figured out how to take water with two claw-like hands; it worked much better. I re-promised my body that I would go into a blue cabin at the 20th km.
21 km
The scenery changed: instead of glass high-rises—small, neat houses; instead of large squares and parks—a forest. I am running through some town. People here have set up grills, cooking food and offering runners a bite. The smell of barbecue is calling: “Stop, enjoy, why do you need that marathon?” But I’m not listening; I completed the “half” in 1:40 hours, 2 minutes faster than the planned time.
25 km
On long distances, the ability to clear your mind helps. I tried not to think about how many kilometers were left until the finish line. I concentrated only on the step, the next step, and the upcoming hydration stations. You can also look at the beautiful girls ahead. I ate an energy gel, barely opening the package with my teeth because I couldn’t feel my fingers. I forced my body with my mind not to even mention the toilet; I’m going for a record.
31 km
Finally back in the city. All the way, I was afraid of hitting the “marathon wall,” but it’s nowhere to be seen or expected. I calculated that only 11 km were left. That’s like a normal training run; I can cover it without problems. I decided to speed up a little. My mood improved.
33 km
I see people switching to walking more and more often. But surprisingly, I still have strength. Overtaking runners gives me extra energy, and I increase my pace.
37 km
The railway station is nearby, and the inside is very similar to the one in Lviv. Only in Ukraine do they not have ICE 4 trains capable of reaching speeds of 250 km/h.
I’m certainly not a German train, but I accelerated pretty well — 4:15/km.
40 km
Hey, folks, why are you standing? I remembered: they ran 40 km, they are tired. But 3:50/km is fine for me.
42 km
You already know the rest; that’s where this note began.
A separate note will be a story about the training, without which it is impossible to run a marathon so fast and without injuries.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to coach Volodya Yurchuk , my parents, my sister Kate Redko , who took photos of me, and the people who supported me on the course. It was pleasant to hear “Oleksandr, Go, go, go!” from a complete stranger.