It looks like it has no sense, but it actually does. A marathon doesn’t have two even halves, to place it most correctly into the context. As following Bloomberg’s motto, “context changes everything!” 🙂 And so did I made a short cut in the title, to capture your attention. But what is this all about? As I was writing in some other posts, the core idea here came from the Prague Marathon, and I feel it is so good to expose, that I could write a book with this title, especially since four more years passed from that moment. Four years full of enhanced lessons, and a lot of experience aggregated.

I have waited two years for the Prague Marathon

But since we are long past the age of books, especially that in this century all nobodies started to write crap – not like this didn’t also happened historically, but some decades ago there were more excuses – I will contract this in a comprehensible web post, to be both easy to read, but mostly to be facile for understanding. What happened there? In May 2022, after a postponement of 24 months, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, I finally made it to Prague, for the marathon, initially scheduled for 2020. I was in a decent shape, and was aiming the best performance possible at a marathon.

Easy to think, harder to achieve

I didn’t know exactly which would that be, but at kilometer 10 I stuck with the 3:15 pacemaker. It looks like I was heading for that. Thought to be easy: “I need to split the marathon in two halves, and I know I can run a half marathon in 1:35 – 1:37 without too much effort!” My thoughts were ignited by the fact that, at the end of 2021, in December, I did set up a half personal best of 1:31:06 on a quite hilly terrain. I was bit cocky, maybe. And superficial, of course. It is true, the first half was indeed as planned (1:37:00), with an even pace, and a strong mindset to continue.

Oh, the may weather…

But the mindset is not always enough, especially when you realize that Prague in May can be very different from Bucharest in December, in terms of temperature. 🙂 And, as bad habit, the sun climbs and temperature rises always in the second part of a marathon, not the other way around, to comfort one’s struggle. Then the heat became a big adversary. Some paved rock slowed me down here and there, and also the need for water, and my poor management of drinking it back then, made me lose one minute after another.

Hard thoughts before understanding that a marathon doesn’t have two halves

I was upset, but didn’t give up. I knew it will be a personal best, not the one I dreamt of, though. This second half will remain, I think, the most full of lessons forever. I just realized, before even hitting the finish line, that you purely cannot divide a marathon in two halves, at most in two parts, and deal with them accordingly. The best way is to aim a negative split. Not necessary because you need to break your best time each time, but because you want to enjoy the most possible each such cruel race.

3:23:04 a time which is everything but not bad, however…

Final time: 3:23:04. It is not bad. Not only did I break for the first time the 3:30 mark, but I did manage to do it by a margin, so no complaints. The only problem was the state I was into it at the end, that you can best see from the image. Highly thirsty – even if I drank, I think, 3-4 liters on the second parts, slowing me down even more, of course – and livid, not necessary in color, but in the way I felt. More like a figure of speech for my inner morale color. 🙂 I can’t recall any other race in which I did sit on the ground immediately after finishing. Maybe at the Cluj-Napoca half-marathon, in 2019. Yes, that would be the other one!

Felt like taking a short break

I don’t like circus, to show off. So when I finish a race, I just finish a race. I don’t crawl, hit the ground etc. It is too extreme, and I am pretty sure 90% of the ones doing that are making it to be as a spectacle nobody is really interested in, anyway. This time, though, I felt the need to sit and sip. I really did realize that I can’t deal with a marathon like two half separate marathons. And from that point on, in my mind, that was a bedrock when dealing with preparation and running a marathon. Serious training and negative split set in my mind, as key bedrock should never be moved.

The split gap which served as raw data for my future plans

In Prague, the difference between the two “splits” was around nine minutes. So quite a lot. Of course, not something disastrous, but which, for my standards, should not happen again. It can, but I will try to do my best in avoiding this, because not only it affects your performance, but mainly it damages one’s body. Running too fast on the first half can not only push yourself then, but also push your body even more to cope with a very difficult second part, when your energy reserves are highly depleted.

Two marathons in two weeks, not something you should do!

From this moment on, my concentration grew on how to deal with this kind of races efficiently, and 2022 ended in style. Unfortunately, not in the style it should, because I was still pushing, from other angles, to add good results. And did tun two asphalt marathons in a span of two weeks, which, of course, is a heavy mistake. I did go for the Athens authentic in mid-November, and then for the 1 Decembrie Marathon, the same event where, at the half, I’ve set a competitive PB in 2021, also standing to 2026.

Athens Marathon, first good reality check after Prague, same 2022

The Athens Marathon, is not that relevant when it comes to negative split, because the shape helps a bit. It is historically regarded as a difficult road marathon, with a decent amount of ascent, and most of that is covered in the first part, with a steady descent that loosens your feet for the end of the competition. Now, my half time here was 1:40:35, still pretty decent, while my final official chip time, was 3:23:33. Only half minute more than in Prague, but on a race significantly perceived more difficult. I can’t state this is necessary true, especially for a guy with big running volume and scent as I am.

November sounds good, but do you know how is the sun in Greece?

If you do some mountain trails, then the ascent on roads, mainly false ascent, is not that bad. Of course, November looks better than May, that is true, but you can’t imagine how much sun can it be in Athens and Greece in general at any time of the year. My main savior from having a problematic race was my white cap, one I should have considered to wear at all point. Now I do, because another terrible lesson thought me I must.

Second place in a PB, two weeks apart!

After finishing string the Athens Authentic, in a far better state than I was in Prague – only at the end, not for long, because even in the capital city of the Czech Republic I regained my strength in maybe 10 minutes; this is a thing of finesse I am telling, it is not the diary of an unprepared marathon runner 🙂 – I was sure I need to run also the Marathon 1 Decembrie. Don’t know why I thought it would be good, but I did it. And actually came in 2nd in my age group, and 9th all together. In 3:18:38! My personal best back then, and for another year, and still my third.

A race with 10 loops and many stairs, but with great morale at the end

The good part is that this race is in December, and it is held in a park, the bad thing is that it has a 4.2 kilometer loop, with some steep stair climb, 10 times, and that is a bit bothering. The weather can play a good part, but it can also back fire if it rains heavily, or if the wind blows from the front. In the end, even if I didn’t enjoy the first part of the race too much, I picked up some morale on the go, and finished in a decent manner. I am not sure about the splits here, as I don’t see any official breakdown. What I do know is that I felt highly motivated in the last.. 12 kilometers, maybe? 🙂

Valencia Marathon, next big(gest) target

Now, from this point on I have shaped carefully my approach, because I realized it can be good for one’s body to run so much, and so intense. Because two marathons at that speed, in two weeks, is just a “DON’T!”. Then I subscribed for the might Valencia Marathon. In December 2023! So more than a year to tackle this famous one in a proper manner. Of course, I’ve continued with my mountain long races, but the effort there, even as big – or even bigger – is differently shape, and that helps in dealing with it. To remain on point, I did made another decision: to request from the organizers a sub-3 hour marathon training plan.

Preparing the marathon like I can run in under three hours

Of course I wasn’t prepared back then to run that fast, neither am I today, and I am not sure if I will ever be, but wanted to give it a go, and see what that means. I tried to stick with the plan as much as possible, followed the instructions at the level I was able to, and in the end, that meant a decent training cycle. Too hard for my capabilities, though, and that is something I highly advice against, because it is not wise to force your body in any way, and at any time. Of course I pushed it, but I pushed that having an educated – even extreme – knowledge of what my body is capable of.

This is is: 3:13:37! If I only had a cap… 🙁

And it paid of. In the race day, the final output was 3:13:37, my standing personal best in a marathon, and that could be cut off even more if I would take a different decision: putting the white cap on, like I did one year back in Athens! I thought it was too cool for that, in December. The problem is, in Spain, like in Greece, especially in this part of Spain, all year round, the sun can shine so heavily, that it affects you. It wasn’t necessary warm, but on the second part of the race, the direct exposure on my head, slowed me down more than I wanted.

Start wave, another problem

In the first half, I felt so good, and the 1:32:55 mark was quite easy to achieve. So, in theory, I was well positioned for at least a sub 3:10, which I am pretty sure I am capable of at some point in life. Now, I am saying this was quite easy because another event that played against me: the start wave. I was placed int he 3:25 wave, instead of the 3:15, because my 1 Decembrie Marathon result was not good enough for me to prove I am able to run that fast. Of course I was ready to run as close as possible to 3 hours.

The race where I could run a half in under 1:30!

The fact that I started from behind, made me meander, in 2-3 moments major groups, while losing maybe 30 seconds – 1 minutes, especially because gathering some more meters in the process: my final distance was closer to 43 kilometers, than to 42. 🙂 Even in these circumstances, the first half felt very good, and I did have in mind to go for a personal best, at all costs. Because I felt I could run it under 1:31, at least, if not under 1:30! Looking back, it might have been better to risk, but at that moment I leveraged, in many ways, the lesson from Prague.

This was one where I really remember that a marathon doesn’t have two halves

I acknowledged, personally, for myself, that I am there for a good marathon, not for a personal best on the half, and I better stick on the plan for which I have worked, because the second part won’t be as enjoyable as the initial stage, and how write I was! Then I kept it comfortable, not to risk a meltdown, and to ruin the marathon for which I have trained the most. And once the sun started shining, this decision paid off, but also the bad decision of not wearing a cap cost me. I was in between, but still moving ahead. It was not comfortable.

3:10 was something very easy to achieve, but so could it be far worse

As a matter of fact, while checking my official marathon, in Valencia I’ve registered the slowest kilometer (!!!): 5:38!!! At least 50 seconds lost, at km 35, because needed to replenish my flask – at this moment I realized how important was to have it with me, though! – and also needed a moment. Round, around 1.5 minutes were lost because of the start wave allocation, and because this idle. And, considering the struggle, I would say at least 1.5 minute more because I didn’t have a cap, so effectively 3:10 was a time I should have achieve.

It was a big positive split, but at least I felt very good

In the end, still, I can say I am grateful, because it could ended much worse. And those of you who run marathons know very well how easy it can be to slip 20-30 minutes even from a well prepared race, so only three, are not that bad. And this is because my decision not to push on the first part. Of course, the difference between the splits was closer to Prague, than the one in Athens (3 minutes here): 8+ minutes. This showed the tiredness induced by the sun, quite similar like in Prague, but way better dealt with. Experience and being cold reasonable helped me.

Five minutes worth of PB, tho!

The marathon in Valencia, in spite of being a PB by five minutes, felt good at the end. I didn’t have much trouble in recovering, but I knew also I have pushed way too hard against my real potential, and I concluded I should not do that again for an asphalt marathon, which, I didn’t until 2026. What did I do, then? Focused on a decent performance and, again, more and more, on negative split management. Exactly the idea which grow more and more from the axioma that a “marathon doesn’t have two halves!”

Oslo Marathon, a race for the soul

If you read this until here, then you find a piece of my thoughts in your feelings, approaches, or at least your are curious to learn from ones experience before tying yourself to running a marathon. Now… after Valencia, and nine months of pause from asphalt marathons – I did run a handful of mountain ones, topping with the most difficult, 2X2, but that is a separate story! – I didn’t chose a fast one anymore, but decided to go ahead for feeding my heart: Oslo Marathon, the main running event of my favorite country.

Thinking of my worst yet marathon: Cluj-Napoca in 2018

Not only it has more gain elevation than Athens – almost 400 meters! – but it is also a looped marathon, meaning you run twice a half marathon course. A thing I generally don’t like. Back track to 2018, when I ran my second marathon, it was a disaster, and it was my poorest result up to day for such a race: 4:07:36. Hated so much the second loop, that I swore I won’t do it again. And I didn’t, until six years and a half later, in Oslo. Because I sensed this will be very different. And so it was. Mainly because of the very cool September weather in Oslo. Also, no pressure, but a solid preparation under my feet.

Almost in line with the projection

In a year I would be running 4,000 kilometers, it could have been no different. I was thinking of a sub 3:20 marathon, and in the end it came thru in 3:21:08. Pretty close, and also very rewarding because, as I mentioned a couple of times in other posts, the last 12 kilometers where dealt with in an (almost) beast mode, in the sense that I have surpassed many locals, and Norwegians really know a thing or two about sport, and being found in this position, cannot make me be otherwise than proud. This also opened another window, a new section of my appetite to try again and run a good marathon.

Fueled for Amsterdam with a clear mindset: no marathon has two halves

I knew which one: Amsterdam! In December 2024 I have registered for the October 2025 run, and the approach was different, in the sense that I prepared my own style-training, to not overwhelm my organism again. It was a far easier training than in Valencia, but the scenario I was looking to is to clock a very similar, if not better time! I have already discussed about the negative split in three three hour 33 kilometer training, that boosted my morale, and helped me in a race where there was only a two minutes positive split which, from an amateur perspective, it was outstanding.

In fact, this is how it looked in my last two international marathons:

• Oslo – half: 1:39:30 –> 3:21:08 full.
• Amsterdam – half: 1:37:30 –> 3:17:03 full.

Oslo and Amsterdam, very similar in approaching the splits

As you can see, in one case, the split was + 2 minutes and eight seconds, while in the second there was + 2 minutes and ONLY three seconds. I think I will aim to have less than two minutes for the upcoming, even if that is hard. Especially considering the muscle problem I’ve developed after running the Amsterdam Marathon, my first such problem from my competitive participation, which might indicate I get a bit too old. 🙂 In the end, a second best, and a very good race for me. My only upset was that I couldn’t run faster at the beginning, around 4:25 – 4:30, but only 4:35 – 4:40, because of the packed groups.

Couldn’t speed as I wanted at the beginning, so failed to go below 3:15 again

In case I could have done that, the point is that I think I could have cut at least 100 more seconds, if not even 2 minutes, but then again, two minutes faster in the first part, might have triggered a more abrupt meltdown for the second. Who knows? It was a marathon prepared to potentially go below 3:15 or something like that, and 3:17 really is something like that, if I am pragmatic enough to admit, again the challenges this type of run gives to each human body.

Budapest, the previous memory before Prague 2022

Many lines about all these events were written, but what was before the Prague Marathon? How many marathons happened? I have mentioned already the partially failed Cluj-Napoca one, but that was not even the beginning, nor the end of the story, prior to “a marathon doesn’t have two halves”. Initially, my strategy was to just run it, and see what it takes me to. I am sure many think the same, which is kind of – not fully! – understandable at some point in time. Before Prague, there was Budapest, in 2020! The pandemic didn’t stop these running events in Hungary.

Slow conservative start, but really not sure why

Living there in that specific period, made this a must. The thing is that I was a bit afraid of it – don’t know why, especially considering I had several marathons already under my belts – and started it quite slow. A 1:49:11 for the first half was not something necessary too fast, so in the end I have decided to push a bit the pedal, and finish in a decent, but not quite fulfilling 3:40:45. It was then, I think, when I genuinely realized that it should be no problem at all to run a marathon in under 3:30.

Narrow positive split out of… fear!

Looking back to that result, I realize my splits were almost even again (+ 2 minutes and 23 seconds only), without me even knowing about splits at that point. Well, I knew in theory, but never find it relevant to apply them in a race. I was running marathons to finish them, not to get an X time, it was, maybe funnier, but for sure not very good for me… I did all the big city runs in Romania: twice Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu once, and then I felt just a need for something bigger. And that came in a very surprising way.

Wanted to start my marathon journey, by chance in… Berlin!

It was September 2017, and I was yet to run my first marathon, for which I was registered in October, in Bucharest, but I was travelling for work in Berlin, and realized THE MARATHON was about to take place in that exact period. I didn’t know back then that this was A MARATHON, like a festival. I thought it was similar to Bucharest, and I can just subscribe with a few days before. I found a number and I called: “I would like to join, where can I subscribe, where can I see?” The lady from the other end of the line explained me that it is not possible even to subscribe that easy for the next edition, let alone this one.

3:39 at Berlin Marathon in 2019

I was confused back then, but I guess I was “saved” from the prospects of destroying my morale in style. 🙂 I’ve learned what is all about, and prepared carefully my experience in 2019. Yes, I did run the Berlin Marathon in 2019, and I did it in 3:39 which is a good time, especially at the beginning of ones “career”. It was a decent result, and a reason for accomplishment and happiness, but nothing the sort of getting a clear objective. Seven years back, finishing a marathon was enough. And then, Prague came a long. I was thinking: “How hard it can be?” And the answer came in clear: “A marathon doesn’t have two halves for sure!”

“The marathon doesn’t have two halves”, an utopic statement that acts like a reminder

It is a statement that currently guides my strategy, my preparation, my approach. It is, of course, utopic, but it is a heads up for my actions. Of course, a marathon can be divided in two, the point is they are not even, and they can’t be dealt with the same. Having this phrase in mind this helps me always remember how a marathon should be properly prepared, and especially how it should be dealt with in the first… half. Because a brainless approach, not only can mess up your morale, but it can completely ruin your race.

Learn the lesson too, or pick your own lesson, but just follow common sense

Prague thought me that in 2022. My race was not completely ruined, but only I know how challenging was to clock at the end that 3:23:04, after feeling I can go even for 3:10! in the first half of the race. Never underestimate how wrong you can be, when you register for a marathon, and be careful to do your homework properly. Don’t leave anything by chance, because you might as well not participate, and you spare yourself from a lot of potential misery.