Moscow Marathon 2019

My first and only time in Moscow was in 2004 when I had a transfer to Armenia from Moscow and I spend 10 hours at the airport because I didn’t have a visa to go outside the airport. So I can say I always wanted to check out the city and its beauties. When I saw that there is a marathon in the capital of Russia I didn’t hesitate for a moment and thanks to Asics I got the chance to participate.

The unfortunate thing was that before the marathon I couldn’t get a lot of practice because of my injured knee, but from the other side I was resting a lot and my legs were getting some of their energy back. 

  So on the 20^th of September 2019 I was on a flight from Sofia to Moscow. The weather in Sofia was very nice but when we landed in Moscow it wasn’t the same. Top temperature was 10C and it was raining there for the past week followed by cold wind. As usual I was traveling together with my girlfriend who became a huge fan of running and marathon travelling with me and I will not be surprised if one day she will run a marathon herself. It was very easy to get to the hotel from the airport. We used the Aeroexpress train and then the MCC (Moscow Central Circle metro). We got there around 19h and just checked in, dropped our bags and went out to the famous Red Square. I can say it is one of the most amazing places i`ve ever visited.

Next day it was time to register for the marathon so we headed out for the Crocus Expo area, where the marathon expo held place. Very well organized, without any long lines of waiting to pick up your BIP number… Actually the longest wait there was to find your name on the name board  and take the picture of course.


The day continued with some more tourism and exploring and borsh (the famous Russian soup).

In the evening I had trouble deciding what to wear during the marathon. The weather was going to be around 6 7C in the morning with some rain and wind. So I put my running gear together, well prepared for the Soviet cold weather. 

Like for the last few marathons I had the Asics gel nimbus 21 on my feet, I love these shoes and I feel bad that soon their bottom will be completely flat and used off.

And the day came …. Short but good breakfast and I was out the hotel walking towards Luzhnyki Stadium, the start and finish area of the marathon. Again , well organized , good information and directions to locker rooms and baggage drop off points.
The runners started to get in the starting areas and 10min before the start we heard the Russian national anthem. At this moment I got goosebumps. Good thing I had the right clothing for the weather, it was so cold!!! 

More than 10 000 runners where there to cover the 42 195kms of the marathon distance and they weren’t afraid of the not so welcoming weather.

10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1 … gooooo
The run started very good for me. Not a single sing from my injury in the left knee. I was running very good with my usual half marathon pace which is much faster than the marathon pace. I wasn’t going for personal best or something but I felt good and fresh so I decided to let my legs do the running and just enjoy the course. We were running right next to the Moscow river and its beautiful sights. Monuments, huge soviet building were changing with big modern skyscrapers. As kilometers were passing by weather was changing very fast… Around every corner there was different weather. It even snowed 3 times for a few minutes. I passed the half marathon marker with a surprising time for me and still was feeling very fresh.

Actually I like running in cold weather so I can say I was enjoying it. The energy at the water stations from volunteers was amazing. The girls there were screaming and cheering for us runners a lot.
After km 24 or 26 I’m not sure a few uphills appeared , and then one more … and one more… and so came km 32 when my body just stopped responding. It was my 7^th full marathon and for the first time I wasn’t dealing with cramps on my feet. It was something new. I recognized the feeling with the ones I had after long tennis matches back in the days. I was getting tired. My body was spent. My energy tank was empty and my legs refused to run. I had to start walking and I had troubles doing even this. People started to pass me by, I tried to keep up with them by running slow or walking fast. Started to change the pace for the next couple kms, changed the way of running but no results. I was completely exhausted.

Usually during a marathon I don’t eat during the race. I mean, at the aid stations I drink lots of water and isotonic but rarely take food. This time after my breakdown I was stopping and eating fruit like crazy, I even drank pepsi which I don’t like.
It started to rain again and I just for one moment noticed that I am walking with my face up towards the sky and somehow I got some energy to keep up with some of the pacers.

The last 6 kms were by the river where was very windy and rainy. Perfect weather for me to keep me going and awake. And finally I got to the marker 40km , just 2 km 195m to go. NO MORE WALKING I said to myself and started to target people infront of me and trying to pass them by. That kept my focus away from the exhaustion and kept me going until I saw Luzhniky Stadium again after nearly 4 hours running around Moscow. Last 500m until the finish arc. I honestly started to cry of joy. I crossed the finish line with time 3:58:31 which is almost the time of my first marathon but I was very pleased that I finished and without any pain in my knee. At that moment I forgot about the cold, the tiredness and just stopped and enjoyed the moment at the finish area. And when I saw my girlfriend waiting for me among the crowd with her big smile I was very proud that I made it to the finish. I felt that this run made me stronger and tougher than before.

If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit!

Thank you Moscow, until next time!
Спосибо Москва, до новьих встреч!