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Traveling Runner
Coping With the Copenhagen Marathon 2009
By Jerry Lewis with photos by Ann Belkov
September/October 2009
For the Washington Running Report
I lived in Egypt for three years and joined the Cairo Maadi Runners Club, an enthusiastic group of Egyptians and expatriates that runs a spring marathon in Europe each year. I left Cairo in 2004 but still rendezvous with other club members for an annual marathon. Spring in Europe is a time for me to visit a new city, see old friends, meet new club members, and race a challenging international marathon.
Since leaving Cairo, I have run marathons with the Maadi Runners in Vienna, Rome, and Prague. Copenhagen, a compact, cosmopolitan, historical, user-friendly, and mostly flat course city, was a popular choice for this year's race, which was run on May 24, 2009.
Mohsen Alashmoni led a group of ten runners from Cairo-four Egyptians, three Canadians, an Algerian, a Frenchman, and a Sri Lankan. Others came from Holland, Germany, England, Jordan, Syria, and I came from Reston, Virginia. Seventeen runners came to Copenhagen for the annual reunion marathon, our "spring fling," along with a support group of eight-spouses, children, injured runners, and friends who came to cheer for us.
At the Expo packet pickup, next to the porta-johns, we encountered a triple pissoir! These stand alone structures are in public view and can accommodate three men at a time - a European innovation first used to avoid long lines in football stadiums.
More than 10,000 runners lined up in a narrow street near picturesque Town Hall Square on a cool, sunny May morning. As I stood waiting, I mentally reviewed my training strategy. I had followed a conservative four-month program-running only four days a week, one interval day per month instead of weekly, three 20-mile training runs instead of five. But I interspersed training with races-half marathons, 10 milers, and 10Ks-in the weeks leading up to the marathon. Those races proved to be wonderful tune-ups.
On race morning I felt strong, rested, and fit. I had trained smart and easy and was at my lowest weight in years. I thought to myself, "Was a sub-four hour marathon possible for me in Copenhagen at age 75?" That is a goal I had not achieved since 2006 in Vienna. I thought I had a chance.
Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik made a short speech of welcome and then fired the starting gun at 9:30 am. We were off on a beautiful flat course that would loop twice through the center of the city and cross to the other side of the lakes in Osterbro and would circle once around the western suburb of Vesterbro.
Great news was that the course and the frequent lake bridges we would cross back and forth were all flat. The only hills were gradual climbs of only 15 or 18 feet. Best of all we would pass many historical sights in "Wonderful Copenhagen."
Just after the start, we went by the National Museum, the art deco Palace Hotel, and Town Hall Square dominated by the Town Hall building, with its 370-foot high bell tower, inspired by the town hall in Siena, Italy.
Town Hall Square
On one side of the Square was the classic more than 100-year-old landmark amusement park, Tivoli Gardens. On the other side was the Strøget, Europe's first pedestrian mall, an extensive street with hundreds of shops, restaurants, mimes, artists, and entertainers.
Turning right, we ran on a divided highway alongside Orsteds Park, three square blocks of enclosed park that surround a beautiful lake. A jewel of a park, it is an oasis in the heart of Copenhagen. We were heading in the direction of the 17th Century Rosenborg Castle with its fairytale turrets, botanic gardens, and expansive lawns. In the Castle's basement is the impressive collection of crown jewels. But just before reaching the castle, we made a sharp left turn to return on the other side of the divided road along the park.
Running along the other side of the park, we approached the beautiful wide rectangular lakes that formed a firebreak/moat in medieval days. We crossed a short flat bridge. (We would cross two of the four lake bridges twice.) Today, beautiful homes line the shore offering their owners peaceful lake vistas, swans and ducks galore, with popular runner paths along the length of the lakes. We ran farther and crossed the second bridge over the lake to return to the city side.
We headed to Faelled Park, Copenhagen's largest open space, where the national stadium and the Race Expo are located. In Osterbro suburb, we came to the 10 kilometer signpost. My watch showed 55 minutes. My 10K time was a little behind pace for a four-hour marathon so I picked up speed.
The sunny weather turned cloudy and cooler which made for easy running. I ran strong and felt good. The course headed toward the harbor area and around the Kastellet, a pentagon-shaped 17th century fortress built to protect against the Swedes. As we rounded the citadel and came alongside the harbor, we passed one of the most popular (but overrated) sights of Copenhagen-the statue of the Little (very little) Mermaid, sitting on a rock staring out to sea, inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale.
New Opera House
We passed the Amalianberg Royal Palace, home of the royal family since the 18th century. Directly across the water I could see the gigantic four-year old, 1,700-seat glass modern Opera House.
At about the 15 kilometer mark, we ran through Nyhavn, a colorful canal that leads to the Inner Harbor. Jammed with fishing boats on this fishermen's day off, the landing was lined with cheering tourists. Built in the Dutch style, the canals are referred to as "Little Amsterdam." Eighteenth century pastel-colored buildings, once owned by merchants, flanked the shore and are now restaurants and popular outdoor cafes. Almost all runners felt this was the most memorable portion of the marathon course. We would pass there again on our second loop.
I ran fast and erect maintaining a steady proud pace to show off to the tourists. I easily maneuvered the turns and short bridge crossing in the Nyhavn harbor section. The crowds were exhilarating and their presence made running easy.
Nyhavn Harbor
The course veered from the main street to pass the Christiansborg Palace and Parliament. We also ran by the impressive former stock market building, the Bourse. Its tall spire is formed from the intertwined tails of four dragons. A straightaway of several kilometers along the harbor front led us to the western Vesterbro neighborhood. We entered a long cobblestone section that considerate marathon organizers covered with a green carpet to soften our running.
We passed between the Royal Library and its eye-catching modern addition, the Black Diamond, an unusual shaped, ultra modern, shiny black granite building that leans over the harbor. This would be the eventual finish line after the final loop.
Black Diamond Library on the Marathon Route
During our single loop through the Vesterbro neighborhood, I crossed the midway mark at 1:56:00. That was a great time for me. I was ecstatic. A four-hour marathon might be achievable if I could maintain the same pace. I was running strong as we ran back along the shore.
Just before I reached the marathon start point, at about 27K, where the course began the second loop, I suddenly felt a sharp stab of pain in my left calf. Oh no! My dream of a fast marathon ended in a flash. I have had calf cramps in several past marathons. When they occurred, I usually stopped, stretched against a tree or wall, walked, and gradually resumed slow running, testing gingerly to ensure the pain was gone.
This time, I decided to just slow down until the pain went away. I rationalized that I would save time just by not stopping. "Just run slower," the inner coach in my head said. "Pick up speed gradually and reduce it as soon as pain resumes. Run smart."
I slowed to the point where pain disappeared so I could keep running steadily. Thanks coach! The plan for my five-plus minutes pace per kilometer ended. I now ran six-plus minutes per kilometer and carefully nursed and favored my calf to avoid future cramp pain.
Now starting on the second loop, I heard the Town Hall tower clock strike noon. I had been running two and a half hours and was dejected. All hopes for a fast marathon were gone.
Heading next to the Norreport Metro stop, we resumed our second loop and repeated the out-and-back circuit around the beautiful Orsted Park. We crossed the flat bridge over the lake for the second time.
The thought of a return calf cramp kept me running slow and relaxed in the cool steady rain, just below my pain threshold. I ran easy for a couple of kilometers along the lake before crossing back over the bridge to again run around Faelled Park.
I saw a sign that said 40 KM. I did a double take. Could I only have two kilometers to the finish? That uplifting notion vanished in a flash when a light bulb lit up in my mind. It was only a 40 KM traffic speed limit sign.
We ran through the Osterbro neighborhood again. Danish crowds in Copenhagen seem to clap more than they cheer. Once more we ran around the picturesque Nyhavn harbor, up one side and down the other, over a short bridge, and headed to the Parliament.
Crossing the Bridge at Nyhavn
At 40 kilometers, when I again reached the cobblestone section, the green carpet was soaked from the rain and pounded flat and paper thin from thousands of runners passing over it twice. The now thin wet carpet adhered to and formed the shape of cobblestones and provided no cushioning. My feet felt every stone. I was drenched but the cool rain had finally stopped. We reached the waterside for the long straight run to the finish line, just past the Black Diamond Library.
I got another look at the old stock market building. Wow, the 17th century Dutch Renaissance building with its copper roofs and interlocking dragon tails spire were truly stunning.
Former Stock Market Building
I had coped with sharp calf pain, heat and rain, and the loops of the Copenhagen Marathon course, and finished in 4:15:38. Not the four-hour race I hoped for, but good enough for first place in my age division. Second place was a Russian and third was a Dane.
Even though Copenhagen is a running city with lots of major racing events on its well-groomed trails, the city has quantity but desires more quality in its runners. Two elite Japanese runners were brought to Copenhagen to set an example and motivate Denmark's street runners to train more competitively.
As hoped, those male and female sponsored runners from the Land of the Rising Sun won the 2009 Copenhagen Marathon-Toyokazu Yoshimura (35) in 2:18:04 and Chihiro Tanaka (40) in 2:41:00.
Yoshimura wins in 2:18:04
Yoshimura, a father of two, said he did not have the luxury to recover from his heavy workload. With a full time job, he runs to and from work each day, trains alone, and is the envy of Japan's corporate professional running teams. Yoshimura previously won Australia's prestigious Gold Coast Marathon in 2007 and this year recorded a personal best of 2:16:58 at the Lake Biwa Marathon, which was won by the legendary Paul Tergat.
With a personal best of 2:12:34 compared to Yoshimura's 2:16:58, Jonah Kemboi of Kenya went into the race a hot favorite. However, he seemed unprepared to go with the designated pace, faded to finish third in a time of 2:21:40 after being passed by Italian Luigi La Bella who ran a canny race to bring himself into contention with 10 kilometers to go. La Bella crossed the line in 2:19:02 despite a fall earlier in the event.
Chihiro Tanaka, mother of two, still juggles her daily routine with an appetite for training and racing. She achieved a 2:38:08 in March at Nagoya International Women's Marathon. Tanaka faced a lonely journey, as she was not accompanied much on her quest for a sub 2:36 finishing time. The tiny Kobe-based athlete was on target for much of the race but began to fade as the weather changed to a cold downpour and chilly winds that are not conducive to a fast pace in the latter part of the marathon. She finished soaking wet and shivering uncontrollably.
Host club Sparta's Anne-Sofie Pade Hansen ran a controlled pace to finish second in 2:44:30 with fellow Danish compatriot Lene Hjelmsø third in 2:56:04.
Besides the Marathon, Copenhagen has another amazing running event. A three-day Women's 5K and 10K with 15,000 registered women.
Copenhagen is a runner's dream with its flat streets and trails, beautiful architecture, lakes, parks, and long days. It is an expensive city but bargains can be found.
I Was a Happy Finisher