BMW Berlin Marathon 2025

Race recap, more like a Sunday morning long run recap.

Been many many days again since I came here to write something. I ran the Berlin Marathon yesterday in 05:00:53. It is mind boggling to me that I can run for 5 hours straight. Humans are insane and marathons are extremely beautiful representations to bring out the best in people. It is people of all ages, all races, all genders signing up to run the same distance. There is no competition. Or there could be. But mostly there isn’t. Everyone is trying to do their best to get the same distance clocked. It is beautiful. Beautiful to see the struggle and sometimes lack thereof.

But marathons are not just about the runners. It is also about everyone else. Everyone else on the side of the course. Infants, kids, moms, dads, husbands, wives, grandparents, some in strollers, some in wheelchairs, the lovers, the ones who became lovers, the volunteers, and the people trying to cross the road where the marathoners are pacing for their life. It is a city’s true display of character and beauty in how it shows up for a marathon. And Berlin showed up very well. Surprisingly well.

While it is surprising to me that I can run for 5 hours straight. It is also baffling to me that I have previously run the same distance in 50 minutes lesser time, I ran London Marathon in 04:09:21. This marathon was definitely harder than the last one I trained for and ran. Well, for one, I barely had put in any training for this one. It was at best 4 long runs and some smaller runs sprinkled here and there without any real discipline.

And the expectations were set accordingly. I did not expect a cakewalk when I started yesterday. In fact, far from it. I knew that it wouldn’t be pretty. And it wasn’t. But I tried to have fun. As much fun I could have - I sang, danced, smiled, cheered back for the people cheering in the crowds, highfived and lifted other runners on the course, and finally gave it my all to spurt towards the finish line to glory. I also did not have any or many goals this time apart from feeling good and not caring about the number.

But I did keep an eye on the clock throughout the the race and was unintentionally keeping close to the 4:45 pacers, who were one too many. Every time I would see them, I would get optimistic. Can I do this in under 04:45? Maybe. As soon as I would build a lil bit of confidence, I would see the pacer and the flag drift away along with their little bus of people. Some of the pacers even had a speaker and a pump up playlist to make their bus, a party bus. It was a vibe, innit.

So, I didn’t care about a time. Mostly did not. But when it came to the last few KMs and finishing, I tried very hard to shave those extra 53 seconds I finally ended up accumulating and finish under 04:59:59. Those 53 seconds are courtesy, thanks to 3 pee breaks, 2 of which I had to take to course diversion and find a spot in nature to answer the nature’s call. This year’s Berlin Marathon was the hottest it has ever been, something like 8°C hotter than the average. My body that is used to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco wasn’t prepared for this heat and it drained me. I had to pour water on my body every 30 minutes and hydrate like it was a full-time job for those 5 hours.

So as a result, I had to stop 10+ time for water, bananas, electrolytes, gel mix and refilling my bottle. Unlike my last marathon where water stops weren’t stops but rather it was a grab and go, all while running, this one was different. Each stop was a stop, halt, drink, eat, walk a little. It only feels good until you start realizing how much everything hurts. And in a true ambitious avoidant fashion, I would ignore the pain, put on a smile, and again start the tap dance of one foot in front of the other.

I will talk about everything but talk about how I was feeling, what I was thinking while running. You see, it’s hard. The thoughts are not in isolation. It is five hours of optical imagery delivered to the brain, thousands of runners crossed paths with on the same pilgrimage, music on the course, in my case, music also in my ears and the musings of a mind and body in pain, excitement, fear, love, gratefulness and a lot more.

I started extremely cautious, especially knowing that my shins and legs hurt a lot for the first 5-10k of a run. Like clockwork. And I was cautiously optimistic in my head too. I kept thinking about death. I know it is weird. I kept thinking about it all throughout the morning of the marathon. The thing is, the year I ran the London marathon in 2022, a fellow runner had died on the course due to a cardiac arrest. There are of course, many ways to die but a positively optimistic and life altering sport like the marathon - it is not a way anyone is supposed to go. So, I kept thinking about the guy who died the morning of the race, as I was getting ready. And I keep thinking to myself, “Do not die.” Or as the tech bros say it “Never kill yourself.”

It is stupid I know. But it is a good reminder, to listen to the body and do what feels right. Intrusive thoughts like this for me are almost always paired with “Mummy kya kahegi?,” or what will my mom say? what will she think of me if I die.

So I started cautiously optimistic. I also knew that post 32k in this race, the entire course looks no different than a zombie land or a living graveyard. Given I had run the distance before, even if it was 3 years ago, I clearly remembered a ton of runners, especially the elite-looking, slender, fit and in top-notch physical shape, struggling to get their bodies to respond, sitting on the side of the road. Some of them using their open fist and knuckles to hit their calves. It is not a pretty sight.

I had decided at the start of this run that I would treat the 1st leg of the race till 32k and the next 10k with grace, giving it the utmost importance.

That was my “racing” strategy. It was barely a racing strategy but more like a Sunday morning long run strategy. And given the abysmal training I had clocked, I was happy to have “survival” as my strategy. And thankfully, I did survive.

At the start line of the race, I also started to think how much I have changed from 3 years ago. My body is not exactly that of a runner anymore. It is not exactly slender and lean like it was when I ran the London Marathon in 2022. I have bulked up and I have also put on weight too. I look like someone who hits the gym. I look like someone who lifts or has lifted in the past. And looking at the other runners all around me, I felt like I do not belong. But in a good way!

It also led to some overconfidence post 10k where I was feeling okay and the flat course was showing its beauty. I thought to myself, “I could be stronger than the runners and faster than the lifters”, or let me push and PR here. It was foolish, now that I look back on that thought. But thank god, this thought was short lived.

On this run, like most long runs I thought a lot and remembered my parents and family, sobbed a little. The music was doing its thing you know. I feel incredibly privileged and grateful to have parents who are kind, supportive, and who provided me with a continued routine oriented childhood that made me most of who I am today. It is because of them and their upbringing that I am able to take on challenges like the marathons and beyond in life.

I also thought of love, love I feel, love I felt, love lost and love that I am hopeful for, from people, pets, places I love. Love is a beautiful drug. I don’t know if it is a drug but it is beautiful. And I am grateful for all of it.

Anyway, this meatsack that is my body and this mind that is mostly beautiful kept saying “Keep on going on” and had fun along the way to finish this marathon.

Fun was had. Keep on going on.

Love,

Divyansh Saini

Berlin. 22nd September 2025.