Berlin Marathon 2026 - Chasing sub 2:40
It’s a funny old sport, isn’t it? The minute you cross a marathon finish line, finally catch your breath, and let the sheer relief wash over you, a familiar, slightly ridiculous question almost always creeps in: What’s next?
When I finished the London Marathon back in April with a 2:41:10, I was absolutely over the moon. It felt like all the winter grinding and consistency had clicked as I took 3 minutes off my best from 2024. But, runners being runners, it wasn't long before I caught myself looking at the clock and wondering if I could find another minute or two. The new "big hairy goal" became breaking 2:40. Maybe this year?
Fast forward to the weekend I turned 46. I lined up at the Berlin Marathon hoping to sneak under that barrier. I ultimately walked away with a 2:40:25. While I missed the 2:39 by a handful of seconds, I honestly couldn’t be much happier with that outcome. It’s a brand new personal best, my fourth time under 2:50, 3rd under 2:45 and my eighth sub-3 since 2018. To put that into perspective, the very first marathon I properly trained for was Edinburgh back in 2017. I was 37 and got myself over the line in 3:41:28. A time I was and still am proud of for a first proper crack If you had told me then that nearly ten years later, at 46, I’d be over hour faster, I would have laughed you out of the room, especially as a runner entering fairly late the game.
It’s a nice reminder that our best running days don't necessarily have to be left behind in our thirties. Here's a brief look back at the more recent summer journey to get here, the training, and how a slightly chaotic but great race unfolded for me on the streets of Berlin.
The Build-Up: Heat, Health, and Trying to be Smart
To find those marginal gains over the last few years, I’ve had to admit that I just don't bounce back the way I used to. I used to stubbornly race two to four marathons a year. Recently, I’ve shifted mostly to a "one race a year" strategy (aside from helping out with pacing duties in Belfast Marathon these last 3 years). Honestly, this change of prioritising consistency, actually enjoying the process, and letting my body recover, has made a world of difference in handling heavier training blocks I feel.
This year though I decided to try and maximise on some cumulative gains from 2024, that come in the form of a couple of minutes or seconds each time, due to the paces I'm running and my age profile.
So, for Berlin, I committed to a 14-week block, mainly as I needed some periodisation after London in April and an international half in Swansea representing NI Masters at the start of June to pick up for, and recover from. I averaged around 74 miles per week, with three peak weeks hitting 89 to 91 miles, and smaller deloads for half marathon racing and of course the taper weeks.
Life doesn’t always stick to perfect training though - and for us regular non-elites, neither should it. A big chunk of this block involved trying to maintain mileage and consistency while on a two-week family holiday in Rhodes. Sweating buckets in 30 to 42 degree heat I actually really enjoyed to be fair, despite it being other's worst nightmare, but I did have to control the paces and intensities a lot more than back home, but I do think that heat period paid off eventually, when I got back to the cooler UK weather, though we had a hell of a warm summer at home mostly.
We also had 5 days in Birmingham for the European Athletics Championships over the summer, but training was relatively easy to fit in most mornings before we got on with our busy schedule. Even managed a nice run with local runner and top fella, Andrew Carson, also there for the same reason with his fiance.
I managed to get four really solid long-run workouts done in the five weeks before my taper, gradually building up the marathon pace (MP) segments until I was hitting 16 miles at MP in the final two sessions. My only race during this build, was the Antrim Coast Half Marathon. I ran a 76:30, which is my second-fastest half ever, by only a few seconds and I am sure if that was an A race it would have been a touch quicker.
With Berlin on my mind I ran a controlled race, rather that a full empty the tank effort. It was a nice little confidence boost that things were moving in the right direction and I was probably at least in the shape I was for London. Other highlights of training involved being able to stack double days most weeks, to build mileage, but without taxing the legs each day with 12 -13 miles in a row. Breaking some days into 2 x 6 mile or 7 mile and 5 mile I feel helped with recovery and adaptations. My plan also had plenty of longer steady and loner broken tempo efforts that progressed every 12-14 days, and a sprinkling of faster interval work, which for me and my makeup seems to keep me between the hedges in terms of keeping injury free and building robustness, as a priority, over raw speed and power.
On thing I'm also grateful for, though, is having no injuries or niggles this cycle. I didn't miss a single session through that (from memory). Worst thing I had was some sinus issues for a few days and ear pain. I’m touching wood as I type this, but I think getting my sleep and stress under more control, and stubbornly sticking to my "little and often" strength and mobility routine at home, kept me in one piece okay. Even if my fitness hasn't skyrocketed since London, just holding back the ageing process and keeping that consistency feels like a win in my book. The real win for me with a marathon build is the training itself. If the race doesn't pan out, you can go again and use the build as the catalyst for a better one the next time.
Birthday Treats, PARKRUN & Carb-Loading
Usually, travelling for a marathon abroad is a full-on family operation with my daughter, Georgia, in tow. This time, it was just my wife Beth and me from Friday to Monday. It brought a different dynamic to the weekend. Navigating a bustling foreign city on race day is stressful enough for supporters, so it was definitely a bit easier on Beth as she navigated the crowds to cheer me on and be there with some hydration.
Another nice part of the weekend, and something that heled me relax a little was the Tempelhof Feld Parkrun, which I ran with Beth as a shakeout and as an added bonus she got a new 5K personal best, after taking up running as a beginner only a couple of months ago. I am super proud of her!!
Since it was my birthday weekend, the trip felt extra special. We flew via Amsterdam, and I have to give a massive shoutout to the KLM crew. They surprised me with some lovely birthday treats on the 2 inbound flights, which happily doubled up as impromptu carb-load support!
Speaking of the carb load, I decided to enlist a bit of tech help this time around, like at London Marathon. I used Google Gemini to help map out my meals, ensuring I hit approximately 650g of carbs on both Friday and Saturday, It worked an absolute treat and took all the guesswork out of the final 48 hours of prep. Breakfast as always light and simple,; toast, jam banana, coffee, carb drink for around 120 grams.
Race Day: Start Line Chaos & KEEPING CALM
Race morning conditions were pretty decent. It was around 13 degrees at the start, though it did warm up to a slightly testing 18 degrees by the time I finished. My fuelling strategy during the race was a copy-and-paste job from London: 80/85g of carbs an hour for the first two hours, taking gels roughly at miles 4, 8, 12, 16, and saving a caffeinated one for mile 20. I also decided to carry a soft flask for the first five miles. Having read up on Berlin, I knew those early water stations could be an absolute free-for-all. Bypassing the first scrum entirely kept me out of trouble and hydrated early on. What didn't go to plan was the start corral.
I was in Corral B, but because of the sheer volume of people, I only managed to squeeze in about 15 minutes before the gun. I ended up pinned pretty far back in a corral that had a huge mix of paces, from folks aiming for 2:45 to others pacing for 3:15. When we started, it meant a lot of weaving, braking, and surging just to find some clear road, as I was moving quicker than those ahead of me.
It didn't ruin my overall split paces early on, but the packed crowds caught up with me at a fuel station around mile 5. I got clipped and stumbled, losing maybe 5 or 6 seconds as I gathered myself, then a few more to settle back in and make sure the adrenaline wasn't masking anything sinister injury wise. When you're chasing a tight time goal, it’s frustrating, but you just have to take a breath and move on.
The Silver Lining
There was actually a strange benefit to starting further back, which became obvious once the congestion finally cleared a little and I could rhythm around 10k. Because I was locked into my target pace, I was constantly catching up to runners who had started two or three minutes ahead of me. For most of the race, I was slowly and steadily working my way through the field. Along with running a small negative split, it gave me a really nice psychological lift. It's always a much better feeling to be passing people rather than being passed as the miles tick on.
The Wobble
I did feel mostly in control right up to the point where it usually stops being so, no matter what level of marathoner you are; around mile 22/23. I did have a bit of a wobble earlier on, though, between miles 12 and 16. The pace held okay, but my stomach just wasn't loving my third and fourth gels. I had asked Beth to hand me a 500ml drink mix with 30g of carbs just after halfway.
As soon as I took a sip, I knew taking the whole lot would end badly. I took about 200ml to be safe, made a quick judgement call, and tossed the rest. Thankfully, by mile 17, that heavy feeling lifted. There was less nausea. I felt good and started trying to ease the pace down to a flat 6:00/mile to try and grab that 2:39. In hindsight, it was just a bit too tight though, I didn't want to get greedy, blow up, and lose a PB altogether, and I couldn't quite find a safe way to make up the 30 seconds time I lost early on with the stumble without doing something silly. The new plan became simple: get to mile 23 steady, and see what’s left in the tank.
The Final Push
Inevitably, the tank wasn't exactly overflowing for a much faster finish. I'd have needed to hit half marathon pace roughly to crack it. I held steady at around 6:02 to 6:04 pace, doing the mental maths and realising the 2:39 was probably going to slip away.
Mile 25 ended up being a little slower, I think due to my first mental negative thoughts of the day really, but I was just happy to still feel in control. When I hit the start of mile 26, I felt more positive again.
This was a smashing run for me. I got to this point faster than even before and I fell back on the promise I always make to myself at the end to finish as well as possible. I managed to dig out my only sub-6-minute mile of the race right at the end, kicking hard and then covering the final 400 to 500 meters at a 5:43 pace. I crossed the line in 2:40:25.
The Power of the Running Community
Before wrapping up, I have to mention something that really struck me this weekend. We are obviously all massively invested in ourselves when it comes to running. It is, at its core, an individual sport. But goal races like this really seem to bring out the very best in the friends and runners who know you. I have to give a special mention to my club, Mallusk Harriers. On the Saturday before the race, they put out an incredibly kind, supportive social media post wishing me luck. Reading that meant an absolute hell of a lot to me as the pre-race nerves were building.
There is an overwhelming support network in this sport. I was genuinely blown away by the interest and the sheer volume of messages I received too before the race, from friends, coaching clients, and all the people who took the time to track my little dot on the app, and all the nice comments on Strava. No matter what times or races, or even personal milestones any of us are running, the community is always there to support everyone’s big goals. It means the world, and I am so grateful for it.
Looking Ahead TO valencia
On reflection I am really happy with this race. To run a PB on my birthday weekend, put together a smart, race despite a chaotic start and a grumpy stomach at times, on a new course, feels like a good achievement. Stepping back with pride in chopping more than 1 hour off that 3:41 in Edinburgh, 9 years ago.
That big hairy goal of 2:39 is still out there, though. And the good news is that I've been greedy this year, and I’ve got a start at Valencia Marathon this December. If I can make it to the start line fit and healthy, have had time to build some more decent marathon specific work for 6/7 weeks, once fully recovered from Berlin - I have absolutely nothing to lose by having a swing at it. I’m just grateful to still be out here, learning lessons, and moving forward at this game.
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