“This is your day.”

What shall I say – the marketing slogan for the Frankfurt Marathon is true. I SURVIVED! It kind of was my day. It was painful, yes. It was endless, yes. But I was happy as I crossed the finish line. My legs hurt like hell, hips, knees, feet, shoulders, everything was on fire – or rather made of cement or something in between. Cement on fire, maybe that’s it.

The marathon was yesterday, and I trained for it for months. Of course, nothing can prepare you for the point when the glycogen is gone and your body needs to take all energy from fat. For me, this moment came around km 25, when suddenly my energy was gone and I got kind of dizzy, my legs suddenly wobbly and my stomach on rebellion. I think this was the moment.

I tried to use a mantra I had come across the day before in the marathon mall:

It – somewhat – worked.

Before, I was soooo happy and fine, the kilometers flew by like nothing. Actually, my half marathon time was better than in any other race before, i.e. I killed my personal best in the half marathon while running the marathon..! I think this is brilliant. For my personal record – of course I am far from being “fast” in absolute terms, but I was faster than ever before on relative terms, and this is what counts for me.

Here comes a fast forward of my own race:

The start:

And the finish:

But now let’s get to the subject of this post. When running a marathon, you have lot’s of time to look around and see who is running with you. There are slim and fat, old and young, colorful and dull, high-tech and shabby, serious and funny runners all around you. Some have a message to convey (“Our software runs faster.”), others suffer, some seem to be happy from the first till the last meter. Some fight, some take it easy. Some chat, some make sounds which make you think whether you should call 112 to get them some oxygen.

And then there are those you wonder about. For me, this time, it was the shoes.

You must understand: I am VERY, VERY conscious and cautious if it comes to shoes. There is nothing worse than blisters, nothing. So when I read the wether forecast for this Sunday, I went from panic to despair: There was rain, rain, and then some rain forecasted. And this was after weeks of good, golden October wether. On THE day, there was rain to be expected. This meant panic, anxiety, more panic for me. What if it rains for 4,5 hours and I’m soaked during my entire run…? I had some rain before during training, and this mostly happened when I was at the farthest point form home, so there was no way to shortcut the run, I had to run home anyway. So I knew how it felt – but just for one hour or so, not for 4,5 hours. I had a bad night’s sleep, because I kept mulling over my strategy with regards to clothes and shoes and socks. But there was not so much to choose from – my shoes were set.

When I woke up on Sunday at 6 am, it was… raining. Woaahhh, as forecasted… But to make a long story short: The rain was gone at 10 am, and just came back at km 37/38 with a slight drizzle. Apart from that we had a sunny – golden – October day. What a blessing!

So, what foot wear do people run a marathon in? Here come five ways:

# 1: The warm and cosy boy.

Yes, it is true, some people run a marathon in hand-knitted socks. My brain screams “Blisters!!! Blisters all over!!!” when I see that, but it seems to be possible for other people.

# 2: The dynamic lady.

Do you know the Vibram Five Finger shoes? My sister is also a fan of them, because they simulate running barefooted, without actually running barefooted. But my brain screams “Blisters!!! Blisters between the toes!!!”. One very attractive lady with a grey-white curly mane wore shoes similar to those:

(photo from Vibram)

# 3: The purist.

There are really some people who run a marathon barefooted. In my surroundings, it was a man in a clown’s costume, with orange hair and a green-white-yellow jumpsuit / coverall with advertising for discount running gear printed on it. And he had no shoes… none at all. My brain screams “Broken glass!!! Injection needles!!! Banana vomit!!!” and all sorts of other unwanted things I would like to avoid setting my feet into. Oh-my-god, how could you…?

# 4: The pragmatic.

Well, this one really surprised me. You know the Crocs shoes? I don’t even know how they are called in English, maybe mules? They are slippers with a strap around your heel to keep them in place. I have a pair – see photo – which I wear when going into the basement or on the balcony, I’d call them garden-wear. But you can actually run a marathon in them, as one guy proved in a pair of bright yellow, sun-colored Crocs happily running at km 24 or so.

# 5: Jane and Joe Doe:

Yes, there are the 99,95 % of runners who are plain average, with regard to their footwear. They  pay their 120 bucks for a pair of running shoes and get a high-tech machine in exchange. Well, this is what the industry promises, but in the end, it is your legs who do the work, your precious feet, your poor knees, and, most of all, your brain. I really think that running is a brain exercise in the first place.

But, here they are, my running machines:

P.S.: I love you!

You can have a look at the course in this video: