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On a warm, sunny autumn morning of September, 28th, 10 runners coached by RunUrban took part in the 41. Berlin Marathon.

The runners consisted of a group of MBA students from the Quadriga University in Berlin and runners from London.

Back in December 2013, a number of students decided to run the Berlin marathon. One of the students, Axel Wiedenmann met running coach Urban a couple of weeks earlier at the 2013 New York City marathon. Axel was looking for a running coach who was able to prepare his fellow students for the marathon. Coach Urban developed a training programme, which catered for first-timers and veteran marathoners alike.

Over a period Of 9 months Urban initially introduced a run/walk programme for those new to running. 2 months later the group progressed to a 3 months 5k/10k running program enabling runners to take part in a 5k and 10k to gain vital first race experience. From June onwards the group was ready to embark on a 16 week marathon training cycle. In order keep the group engaged over a 9 month period, training conversations were shared using Social Media.

As an extra portion of motivation, the MBA students wanted to give their marathon training more propose and decided to raise funds for the Shoe4Africa charity. Throughout the training period the group raised $1850 towards the Shoe4Africa children’s hospital.

While coach urban was coaching the students remotely he coached runners in London at Battersea Park. In order to get accustomed to the specific demands of the marathon Coach Urban facilitated training runs at planned marathon pace. Those training units really helped the coachees to develop the stamina required for the marathon.

For like most of the 41,000 finishers running through the German capital was a unique experience. A couple of coachees shared their impressions:

“Hello Urban, still being a bit sore in my feet, but I want to thank you about the valuable advice and training program that you provided for me and the other runners. I had the most enjoyable and memorable run of my life! It seems that I’ll try to get in for the next race in Berlin.” says Timo Seppälä (4:06:55)

“Thanks a lot for all your great advice that kept me motivated. You were a big part of the experience”, says Leif Osmark (3:33:25)

“Thanks again on behalf of everyone for all the coaching and advice”, says Axel Wiedenmann (3:51:49).

“The marathon can be a very unforgiving event, with many obstacles during preparation. I am very happy that everyone in the group managed to finish and enjoyed the Berlin marathon. It’s a great event, well organised, fantastic support, great volunteers. This is now my 3rd Berlin Marathon and every time I come here the world record is broken!”, says coach Urban.

If you would think you could benefit from a running coach for your next marathon, then please get in touch with Coach Urban info@runurban.com.