Berlin marathon has been one of the first ‘world major marathons’, it is known for being flat, fast and cool. As a result, hundreds of thousands of applicants apply for it, and only a few tens of thousands get lucky enough to run it. Then a runner friend told me there is a way to get in; to qualify for it, which means one has to reach Berlin marathon’s ‘standard’ and be deemed worthy to run there. Quietly, I worked on it. That became a reality in 2022 after Zurich marathon, which was a meaningful milestone for me as I had only started running a full marathon a few weeks before I turned 50!

Berlin 2022, I missed running a personal best time (PB or PR, for personal record) by exactly 10 seconds. In 2024, after a solid 6 months of training, another 100 seconds were shaved off. Not bad, I thought, but I identified a few training mistakes and a bit more work was put in to fine-tune the process for 2025. A few injuries destroyed the first part of 2025, so I was pouring my heart into Berlin in September 2025. Everything went well until 3 weeks before the race day. A persistent cough showed up, and the energy level was way down… all signs pointed to a viral infection. 2 days before the race, I had a nice dinner with friends, we chatted and laughed so much, my cough stopped, but the bad news was that the Berlin weather forecast on race day was 20-25 °C, an unusually high temperature by over 15 °C!

Once again, this time, flew 10,000km, training and preparation beyond a cumulative of 2,500km, ate a different diet from most ‘normal’ folks; all for the sake of celebrating and running a 42.195km marathon. It could not be done without an understanding spouse and a supportive family.

Did I get lucky on my third time in Berlin? To cut the story short, at the 2025 Berlin marathon, I ran a PR (worst Personal Record) 4’21. Was it a write-off? A resounding NOPE!!

Runners tend to spend a lot of time chatting and running shoulder to shoulder. Throughout the running journey, numerous friends of various backgrounds were met. New acquaintances became friends, friends became confidants. A few friends (German, Swedish, Americans) we met in meetings and races in Omaha (2017-2025) were also running the 2025 Berlin marathon. Our dinner in Berlin was far more than merely a pre-marathon carboloading session! At a folksy Turkish restaurant, we had nutritious, good food while we; without judgment, chitchat over training, family values, kids, cultures, $, geopolitics, big and smaller wars spanned over the last 100 years (AND what our grandparents were up to during that time) and what we may see in our future at different places on this planet! I never would have dreamed it would turn out to be such a friendly learning occasion. Priceless!!

Historically, Berlin marathons finish approximately 400m past the Brandenburg Gate. On the other hand, I have been a model builder since I was 6. Through the years, I had built many Tiger tank models (yes, there are old armoured fighting vehicles with big cat names). German Tigers were arguably the most feared tanks back then. I was speechless when I saw the old Brandenburg Gate photos. I never managed to connect one with the other before. It said a lot about our history (and my mental disconnection).

Running, life, a hobby & a few Omaha trips could lead to such lovely experiences. Grateful!

2026 will be my fourth time in Berlin.

Would it be fourth time lucky?