Hamburg Heat and Organisation
April 2025
by Caroline Freeney
Hamburg was my 13th marathon and up there with one of my favourites. Why Hamburg? Just a simple chance meeting with a runner who had previously run Hamburg, and his face lit up with he talked about it and how it was his favourite of all he had ran.
Before I know it, I am looking up flights and hotels. It was all very convenient, one hour and a half flight from Dublin and hotels (reasonable priced) within walking distance of the expo and race start/finish, it seems like a no brainer. Just had to do the training now.
Flights booked for the Friday before the race day on Sunday the 27th of April, off we head to Dublin and landed in Hamburg airport, the train from the airport brings you directly into Hamburg and a 10 min walk to the hotel. All very easy as only the Germanys know how. The following day on the Saturday off we go to the expo, and it all starts to feel real. While I planned to take it easy the day before, Hamburg has so much to offer, I ended up walking approximately 10 miles (unintentionally). The harbour is a must see and a walk down the main street is well worth a look.
Fast forward to the morning of the race and I’m feeling good. The race starts at 9:30 and I am about 10-15 mins walk from the start line. I get into my zone and stay at the back as the sun is already shinning down at this stage. Although it was only 14 degrees it felt a lot warmer as there were no clouds and no breeze. Off we set and I decide early on to reduce my pace, due to the weather being warmer than expected. The crowds along the route were very encouraging and there was music and cheering throughout all the route.
I have never seen a better organised marathon, with stops every 5k that included water, isotron, banana and coke and additional water every 2.5k. Plenty of room for all runners to grab and go. This made all the difference to me as I was able to get enough water into my system to keep me well hydrated in the heat.
Ronan who travelled with me to spectate, first met me at mile 10, it was great to have the support on the side line. We were still in the city and the heat was intense. At 17k we started running around the lake Assenalster, the largest lake in Hamburg. It offered a very welcomed breeze and from this point on, I start to really enjoy the race, I felt strong, and the kilometres just seemed to tick by quickly.
From about 38k, we were running through a park and again the lake was beside us. At this point Ronan was again on the side-line and commented after that I looked strong, while others seemed to be failing. I was on a roll, enjoying the park and the lake and again the breeze the lake offered us.
From about 40k we were back in on the city streets, but right then I lost the will to run another step. It seemed like I went from feeling great to losing the will to live, very fast. It was lucky for me I only had just over 2k to go, and I was in no way going to walk after running 40k. At this point everything starts to become annoying as only marathon runners can relate to so close to the finish: two kilometres suddenly becomes a major obstacle to overcome.
The finish line came in sight as it always eventually does, and I pushed on. After crossing the line, you had to keep moving and was brought into a recover area.
I missed the other Athenry members at this point as this was my first marathon abroad without my running club buddies. But the adrenaline kicked in and I was on a high. My time in the end was 4 hour 9 mins 19 seconds. Far from my PB time but I was delighted as to get to 40k still feeling strong. It was unbelievable, I couldn't recommend Hamburg enough, it’s a flat course, extremely well organized and run.
I enjoy travelling aboard for marathons, it’s a great way to see a city and collect medals from overseas. I’m currently looking at Prague early next May, it would be great to have some club members join me…