Well… I DID IT!!!!! 
It was a day of perfect weather, absolutely gorgeous. I started off slowly, and kept going slowly, drinking in the pleasant atmosphere (as well as lots of water and isotonic drinks kindly provided along the way by the organisers). By 13km I was still feeling on top of the world, when I realised I was already close to a third of the way there.
I guess I never had any intention of giving up at all.
At 20km we had our first hill, from Woluwe to Tervuren. Here my daily bike ride to the train station came in very handy, due to the added strength they have given my calfs – and I went up this longish hill without any trouble, passing the halfway mark at 1h50m, going on towards Tervuren park. I was now approaching the second third – 28km. In fact I missed this, only noticing the 29km marker. My legs were getting sore, but now I had started the final third I knew I would aim to reach the finish. OK, it was only long-run training pace, but I was still running.
I was now passing fellow participants who had slowed down to a walk. Others were passing me, but I was only interested in covering more distance. 32km. 10km to go. Would I last that far? Of course I would! In my running career I’ve run 10km at 5min+ per km for thousands of times. I would do another one now.
There was a second long uphill at 35km. No trouble at all, and from now on it was 6km flat or downhill. After Rond Point Schuman, where I go to work everyday, it was just a matter of jogging for another 2km. Now I was really tired, but at the same time exhilarated, because I knew I was going to make it to the finish. They were certainly the hardest 2km of the marathon, but I was, amazingly, still overtaking other runners, and suddenly I stepped on the red carpet placed at the last few dozen metres before the finish at the Grand Place.
I was there! I raised both hands in the air, as if I’d actually won the race. In a way, I had. I had just placed an 8th feather, tagged with the word “marathon”, in my cap. Because of the way it’s turned out, and my sheer determination to actually manage to do it, I think it’s the one I’ll treasure most, even though at 3h47m it’s the slowest by far.
Leave a Reply