Runtastic Success Story: From Zero to Finishing a Marathon

When I started running in February of last year, I never imagined I’d come this far. Back then, my goal was to get some fresh air and do some good for my body and soul. Music in my ears & Runtastic on my phone, I set off to run my first few miles. I actually walked rather than ran… but I didn’t care. I just wanted do something outdoors and leave my sofa behind. I made 3.7 miles in 50 minutes.

After some time I noticed that I was able to run increasingly longer and farther. Day after day, I was curious to find out whether I’d be able to step up my game a bit more. I got addicted to running. Runtastic helped me monitor my progress – a great motivation!

At some point, I wondered whether I had what it took to run a half marathon. That’s quite a challenge, after all. I ended up on the Cologne Marathon website.

Since the half marathon was scheduled for 8 a.m. and I lived a 50 minute train ride away, I simply signed up for the entire Marathon which was scheduled to start on October 14th, 2013 at 11.30 a.m. in Cologne, Germany. At that point, I hadn’t participated in any competition, nor had I ever run more than 12 miles. I started training like crazy, and my family and friends actually thought I was.

Then, a friend of mine who had been running for years convinced me to do a 17.5 mile mountain run (Monte Sophia) with her. If I finished THIS run, I’d pull off the marathon with ease, she said. Completely nervous and full of hope I ran the Monte Sophia run with another 250 participants. After about 4 miles I was left behind by the pack, but kept on fighting until the end. I kept thinking “What the hell are you doing?!”. After 3:29:06 hours I finally crossed the finish line (and I wasn’t even the last one). The next day, my muscles were completely sore and killing me, but it was totally worth the feeling I experienced when crossing the finish line!

On October 14th, I traveled to Cologne with some supporters. I can hardly describe this whole experience – IT WAS JUST SO AWESOME!!! The people watching us helped me get rid of the tension I felt and I just ran and ran and ran. The time flew by! I would have never, EVER thought I’d get to that point.

I really didn’t care about my time, I just wanted to finish. And then I did it! After 5:17:23 I crossed the finish line, DANCING, beaming with joy!

Only downside: My phone’s battery died and I wasn’t able to track the last 2.5 miles. But, I finished the marathon – CHALLENGE COMPLETE!

2 days later, when the pain had subsided, I signed up for this year’s Cologne Marathon. Next goal: Finish & improve my time 😉

Thanks, Runtastic and I hope you enjoyed reading my Runtastic success story!!

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