A beautiful marathon- with a smile on my face, but thoughtful now..

First of all: Stockholm Marathon is a beautiful race. The surroundings are fantastic, and Stockholm in summer is like no other city.

With injuries during spring and only around 250 km of running the last three months before the race, running for a good time was out of the question.

Before the race, I had no time goal. I simply wanted to make it without my knees saying no. And I wanted to run across the bridge Västerbron (which we pass at 9 and 34 km) with a smile on my face, and I wanted to cross the finishline with a smile, not hurting too much. I succeeded with that!

I also managed to keep a very even pace throughout the race, not hitting any wall. The split-times for each 5-km part was like this:

0-5 km: 26:28
5-10 km: 26:58
10-15 km: 26:11
15-20 km: 26:13
20-25 km: 27:09
25-30 km: 26:03
30-35 km: 27:01
35-40 km: 26:41

and the last 2.2 km in 11:16. The fastest 5 km between 25 and 30 km, which means the last part of Djurgården and Gamla Stan.

Back to the start. 45 min before start, the gates to the start were opened. Together with some 15000 runners, I sat down on the wide street, waiting for the start to come. Runners from over 70 countries.

When the start came, nothing happened. At least not for half a minute or so. So many people getting started at the same time, and the first few km was pretty slow. But not terribly crowded, since the road was so wide.

Running through the city, with huge crowds on the sides. But. There were not so many applause, not so much cheering and not so many smiles. Neverheless, I enjoyed the run, running through my home city, seeing it from a different angle.

But running in a crowd like that, with so many spectators, is running with everyone watching, but noone seeing. A strange feeling..

Ida waving and shouting just before Västerbron, giving me some extra energy to cross the 30 meter high bridge with a light stride.

Just at the start of the second lap, my friend Benny and Stephen shouts! Good, starting to feel a tiny bit tired, I got some more energy. Soon after, there are several km of fantastic running through a green area in Stockholm, Djurgården. Not many spectators, but soo beautiful.

Feeling a bit tired now, but getting closer to the city and the crowds again gives me energy. I increase the speed slightly, passing a lot of runners that start to get tired. Passing Gamla Stan on the second lap after 30 km, feeling tired, knees hurting now.

Thinking about where I would be after 30 km in Panama City Marathon, right at the start of Amador, the worst part of that race, with sun blazing down with no protection. This is much better..

Reaching the bridge a second time, Västerbron, and still with energy in my legs, slowing just a tiny bit to maybe 5:25 min/km, starting to feel the smell of the goal.

Tired now, but when I pass Odenplan with only 2 km left, I increase the speed. Why not try to run the last part a little faster..?

Passing runner after runner, and finally entering the Olympic Stadion from 1912 for my first time is a fantastic feeling. Running like crazy the last part, crossing the finishline with a big smile on my face!

Beep beep. Looking at my watch "Do you want to update the max pulse to 186?" it says. Ok, maybe I was pushing myself a tiny bit towards the end, but I couldnt help it..

Walking to the medics tent, asking for ice to put on my knees. Hurting a bit, tired, but overall feeling good.

So, to conclude. A very beautiful race, and a great way to experience Stockholm. But will I run it again? I am not sure.

So many spectators, and so many runners. But so few smiles. On a few places, I got a lot of energy from the crowd.

At the start of Västerbron.

Across Västerbron.

When there was a speaker cheering and making the crowd cheer.

At S:t Eriksplan, with 3-4 km left, a bunch of people singing "Alla ni som skall till Stadion klappar nu" ("All who are going/running to Stadion clap your hands").

But all other places? A lot of people, very little sound.

Before the race. So many people, so little talking. Yes, if you talk to someone, they talk back. Thats actually true..

Same after the race.

I think I am spoiled with the races in Panama.

So social. So much talking and chatting before the race. When I ran the marathon in Panama City last year, at least 20 runners greeted me (or vice versa) during the race. Not much of a crowd, but the few people watching were cheering and shouting.
After the races in Panama, more chatting and talking which made me stay at least an hour after every race. Just to talk.

So, right now. I am not sure about next year in Stockholm. Actually, I am not even sure about Midnattsloppet in August. My dear brother doesnt know yet, but maybe I will focus on supporting him in his preparation of the race, and during the race.

One race I am certain of at least, is Bellmanstafetten in September. 5x5 km, and with only runners from our department at Ericsson, I will most likely be the slowest runner in our team. And I hope to do around 20 min. There we will rock!