I arrived in Berlin Germany 10 days before my race and stayed with a wonderful home stay family, Tobi and Birgit, just on the outskirts of Berlin. I then moved into the athlete hotel – Hotel Berlin on the Thursday, 3 days out from the race. I got to meet the rest of the NZ team, receive my uniform and get a room to myself. Security was high, no accreditation no entry, athletes everywhere and all the food you could eat throughout the day. It was amazing seeing all the different shapes, sizes and nationalities of the athletes and even got a glimpse of the Bolt!My prep and taper for the race had gone well and I felt confident as the race drew closer. My coach, Steve was so supportive, each day swinging by the hotel to give me pep talks and just to hang and hassle me. One day I was in such desperate need of a good coffee that he went to Starbucks and then taxied around to give it to me. What a good coach!
Another thing that really touched me was the amount of wonderful supporting messages I received from all my dear friends and family. That was so appreciated and really meant a lot to me.
Race morning (Sunday), I woke at a decent hour as the race did not start until 11:15. I had plenty of time to do my usual morning prep before the race, then meet the other NZ team member’s and management at 10am. We were then bussed to the race start where we were escorted into the first cooling tent. I had my usual good warm up, then stripped off into my race uniform and moved to the second tent 30 mins before race start. Once there, it was a waiting game until called to the start line. The weather was hot and the atmosphere was pumping, what an experience just at the start line!
The course consisted of 4 laps with the last lap having an extra 2km. I had my nutrition all planned and stationed at the refreshment stops. As it was very hot, my main aim was to be conservative throughout the race, take on as much fluids as possible and keep myself cooled, which I managed well. I had planned a pace that I would try to stick to and not get caught up in the hype. If I could PR, I would.
When the gun went off, most of the field took off. I sat towards the back. I felt good and strong, passing through the half marathon in 1.18 slightly over the 1.17.38, which was my ideal. The atmosphere was amazing, with cheering crowds lining the streets, helicopters buzzing overhead and I was feeling great. I made sure I was on top of my hydration and grabbed all my special needs fluids, I was lucky enough to have Valerie Villie - the world and Olympic gold medallist in shot put, handing me my bottles, as all three of us girls were assigned someone.
I ran most of the way with teammate Shireen Crumpton until I picked up the pace in the last 4km. She kept me honest the whole way, even though we didn’t say a word to each other it was good to have her there. The last 2km I went head to head with a Mexican who ended up getting me right on the line! The NZ team placed 8th in the team’s race.
I remember back to the women’s marathon in Athens and being totally inspired to run marathons at the highest level. I am so happy and proud of my achievements with this, my first year of marathon running and to PR (PB) by 2 minutes at the world champs is such a bonus. What a great experience and I know I have a lot more room for improvement. I have so many people to thank but none more so than my coach Steve Jones, friend/sponsor Jim Moriarty and Team BX 2.0.
I am now enjoying a couple of weeks off and may even fit a couple of hikes, biking and dare I say swimming in there to keep active. Then will sit down with the coach and plan out the next series of races and goals.
mzungo.org says: Awesome race Fee, congratulations!
We are a little bit disappointed about one thing though: since when is a Starfucks coffee "good"? Well, what to expect from a tea-drinking Brit, right? However, we are certain he did the best he could do. And that's what it's all about.
Looking forward to your next races!
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