On one of those beautiful days before the pandemic, I had my first marathon experience by running the 2019 Berlin Marathon. Basically, I will try to share my experiences under 3 main headings.

1) Marathon Expo
2) Pre-Marathon Breakfast Run
3) Marathon Day

1) Berlin Marathon Expo

First of all, I would like to start by talking about the marathon expo. It was a regular and crowded expo, befitting one of the few marathons in the world. They give people a pleasant pre-marathon moment. At first, you think about how to get my number and time-chip in this crowd, but believe me, the queue moves very fast. Finally, you can show your passport and get your number and timing-chip. If you do not have a chip, you pay a rental fee. They give you a chip for rent. You have to return it after the end of the run. Just like they wanted the chip back in the races in Istanbul. The only difference is that if you do not return it, you are deemed to have purchased it and your card will be charged. They give you wristbands at the entrance to the expo center. This bracelet should be on your wrist until race day. There are people who have never removed their bracelets for many months or years. The other bracelet on my arm belongs to Adidas Runners. Since I joined Adidas Runners Istanbul, we had the opportunity to benefit from many opportunities. Be sure to keep these wristbands after your run.
In the expo center, you can find many different brands of products that you cannot find in Turkey. You can shop from these brands according to your needs. For example “Maurten“. Their products are really high quality and it is impossible to find them in Turkey. Many brands already have their products tested for free. Be careful, do not over-inflate your stomach. Apart from these products, other running events are also promoted in the expo center. You can get information by visiting the race stands that interest you. Do not forget to take photos in various areas of the fair. By the way, different stickers etc. in various places. is happening. You can make souvenirs with these stickers according to your marathon running time. Probably something similar happens every year. Therefore, do not quickly take your number and leave the expo. Come a little early and have fun. You can also drink a little beer without exaggeration

2) Breakfast Run

Now it's time for the Breakfast Run, which will help you breathe a little of its air before the marathon. A Breakfast Run is held for all runners on the Saturday morning before the marathon. It's purely for fun and motivation. Quite colorful and entertaining images can emerge. The average distance is 5-6 KM. You can run or walk at a pace that will not tire you out. Most importantly, the finish takes place at the Olympic Stadium. After finishing, there are light breakfast treats. Afterwards, you can continue to explore the city without tiring yourself or switch to rest mode for the big day. By the way, the day before us runners is a Skating race. You can watch it too. By the way, a little note. Marathon, really creates a great interest in the city. Most stores are putting out marathon specials. Especially Nike and Adidas. After all, we can't run in the Berlin Marathon every year. You can buy yourself a lot of souvenirs. Be sure to set aside your budget for this. But best of all, if you actively use Adidas or Nike's application, you can benefit from marathon-specific events. Here I will talk about examples for Nike and Adidas. I was participating in many events by taking part in the Adidas Runners Istanbul group. And I had reached a certain level in the Mobile application. (If you are active, you can come to this level very easily) Here, Adidas Runners Berlin has had very nice surprises for us. They hosted us at their own location before and after the run. The environment was really great. Everyone was motivating each other. After the run (beer, etc.) and before the treats were provided. They had cloakrooms for us without worrying about leaving your belongings somewhere. We all warmed up before the run and went to the start areas. By the way, another nice thing is that if you're running in the Adidas Runners t-shirt, their special photographer takes pictures of you. (Of course, the photographers of the event will have taken many of your photos, but there is a beautiful side to this too) For example, they took my last photo at the last finish, here it is. Another opportunity you can take advantage of is at Nike stores. Here you just need to download Nike's running app and get a little active. Nike, on the other hand, has various opportunities for you to prepare before the run. Cold therapy they call cyropoint (I don't know the name exactly) massage tools etc. You can choose 1 of them and apply them. I tried the cold therapy thing because I've always seen it somewhere before and wondered about it. Don't look at me grinning, it was really cold.

3) Marathon Day

Here we come to the most important part. Marathon day. I got up early in the morning and went down to the lobby to have a nice and light breakfast. Before going to the jogging area, I visited a restroom again. Let's not have any problems later. I made sure all my equipment was complete. Equipment/gels I used during the race: I used SIS brand gel. I think I used 4 gels. One was caffeinated and the other was normal. The reason I prefer the SIS brand is that it is water-based. So you don't need to consume extra water while using it. As shoes, I preferred Nike Pegasus, which I love and get used to. Apart from that, the MP Magnets I bought during the expo helped me a lot. You can stick it on your t-shirt very easily with 4 magnets without having to deal with needles or anything else. For watch I used Suunto 9 Baro. From here I went directly to the Adidas Runners Berlin team. Everyone was overly motivated. I talked to friends from Turkey. We put sticker tattoos all over our body, warmed up, took our last souvenir photos and slowly went to the jogging area. Since it was my first marathon, my goal was Sub 4-hour. Everything was going very well and as planned. We were waiting for our turn in the marathon area. And that's how that perfect moment started. It was truly unbelievable. If I had been told that I would run a Marathon exactly one year ago, and that it would be Berlin, which has a very difficult chance of coming out in the lottery, I would not have believed it in my life. But that moment was totally real and I was running the Berlin Marathon This situation broke my motivation a little because rain was not in the account. Despite the rain, which I called one of the issues that affected me, people came to support you with their children. Would you believe there is no empty street. There were people everywhere and they were all supporting you like crazy. You high-five with the little kids while running, and then their family says Go Beycan Go! (our name is written in front of us, read from there ) Here at 27KM, I thought of giving up. Crazy questions started swirling in my head. The rain got drenched and a slight psychological exhaustion began. I had ideas about things like what will happen, worst thing I can finish in 6 hours by walking. That's when this event happened. How can one not be in good spirits here? Again, at that very moment, I saw a cardboard and it said exactly this. “You Are No Longer A Runner, You Are A Marathoner” Yes, I am not an ordinary runner anymore, I said to myself, I am a MARATHONER now. This motivated me tremendously. Right after that, there was a mushrooms cardboard like classic mario games. He had cardboard. Click on the cork for extra energy. While I was running, I touched the mushroom. All the way back, an energy charge came to me. From that moment on, I kept running without stopping. There was live music at regular intervals. These were really good too. Apart from the reinforcement stands, the people were serving you treats. Thanks to an old uncle, he offered saltine crackers towards the end, it was very good. My goal was under 4 hours, but I couldn't quite hit it. I finished it in 4 hours and 5 minutes. All because of that rain. And that's when that tough marathon is over. When I finished the marathon, I felt like I was going to faint for a while. You don't feel that tiredness at all while running, but the body releases itself as soon as it's over. I sat down for a while and rested. I even wondered if I should ask the infirmary for help. But it passed when I sat down. The only problem was that the weather was incredibly cold and it was blowing a lot. And I was in a sweaty T-shirt. One of the mistakes I made was choosing the poncho instead of buying a bag. I immediately proceeded to the poncho line. But it wasn't protecting it enough. I took a few photos and immediately went to the Adidas Runners Center and got dressed. I walk straight to the hotel. When I was running a marathon, I thought I would never run a marathon again. But now my goal is to run 6 major marathons.