Great Breweries Marathon

When you're starting to have a marathon for breakfast, it means that you're running a lot. After the Malta 52K Ultra trail, this was ment to be just a relax marathon. No ambitions. It ended with a PB, some beers and a great experience!

7.15 am. Rise and shine and getting ready for the Great Breweries Marathon. I also participated in this in 2016 - although walking. So a track record wouldn't be a problem. Start at the Duvel Brewery at 9.15, I was well on time. And even before the start already, you see that this would again be an excellently organised event. Parking was indicated very clearly, stewards were guiding you the way. Given the goal to just see where the legs would bring me after the exhausting previous weekend, I did put myself at the pacer of 4:30:00 which is around my personal record on the Marathon (Great Bruges Marathon 2018).

Start... I wanted to find a pace in the beginning that was quite comfortable, and that was a bit faster than the 6:26/km of the pacing group. So slowly I got to the 4:15:00 pacers. With a refreshment stop every 2,5k, I didn't bring my camelbag - which is new for me in long runs as I need to drink a lot, but here you truly see the quality of this marathon. Very well organised and lots of places to hydrate! Thanks to the organisation - you did a tremendous job! So not to worry about the carbs and H²O. That gives time and place to enjoy the scenery. And also for this, this is truly a unique marathon. You cross 3 breweries, lots of animation, quite some supporters all along the track and a nice and healthy passage along 'Buggenhout Bos'.

Cornet. Love the beer and taking a selfie with the knight

Still, the pacing was holding up above 10km/h, and not the feeling that after 30K the 'Man with the hammer' would pass me. Where the main goal was to get some feeling with the track of 'de dodentocht' again, it started to feel like a new PB would be possible! It became harder to run on the sign of 38K, but at that point you know that you will finish your 3rd marathon in again 20 min faster then the previous one. Sunshine keeping me company while crossing the finish. In a (for me) astonishing 4h08min40sec (according to the official timing of the event).

Looking at the first results on Strava, I think for the first time in a long race, I managed to have a negative split (even if it is only a small one...) but that gives me a really great feeling - being able to keep up the starting pace in the second half! Time for the well deserved Karmeliet and Cornet. I did skip the Duvel, but no worries as the organisation is always so kind to send you off with a very nice beer bag (including 6 more!). And not to forget the nice medal. The hardest part of today was certainly getting up from the table after the beer and getting to the car again.

For me truly one of the best organised and nicest running (and walking) events in Belgium.