Berlin Marathon 2021 (26th Sept)

The last time Eddie Newman ran the Berlin Marathon was in 2009 when he finished just 31 seconds outside the 3 hour mark. He completed 16 marathons since then, each in under 3 hours, the last 6 in under 2 hours 50 minutes, so he was fully justified to target another sub-2 hours 50 minutes finish in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday morning 26th September where he lined up with nearly 23,000 others.

Running very consistently up to the halfway mark he was on target for a 2 hour 46 minute finish but the combination of high temperatures of 24degC and high humidity took its toll and he was forced to ease back a bit. Admitting that he had to dig very deep and required great mental resolve to finish, he did so in 2 hours 50 minutes 13 seconds, to place 557th overall and 6th in his master age category.

If it’s any consolation to Eddie, even the elite athletes in the race were affected by the conditions and all the pre-race commentary that it would be won in a time very close to a World best came to nothing.