The race today was extremely hard! I started with a very high pace. Unfortunately, the pacers didn’t run evenly. Then starting at KM 15 I also had bad stomach problems. In spite of all that, I kept up with the leading group at the Haspa Hamburg Marathon until KM 30. I was even able to beat my previous best half marathon time by hitting 1:02:33 today! But starting at KM 30 I had to slow down and unfortunately with my final time of 2:09:40 I missed the Olympic standard.
Nevertheless I am happy. I know now that I can run a very fast pace over long distances and I am sure that I can do it over the full distance next time. I still see a lot of potential for improvement and, together with my team, will analyze what we can do better and differently. I learned a lot today.
Congratulations to Richard Ringer and Fabienne Königstein, who broke the Olympic standard with outstanding performances today, but also to Tabea Themann for her new personal best time! And of course to the winners and placers!
Many thanks to my family, my team, the organizer, my sponsors and everyone who cheered and supported me along the course today! I am looking forward to the next challenge. I will continue to work and may goal is still Paris 2024!