Bettina's PB is 3:45 hrs. Regarding the hard route of the NYC marathon I recommended to aim for 4:15 and that was the pace I tried to set off from Verrazano bridge. The first mile was too slow due to the mass start, but from then on we were on time and I constantly had to fight to hold back Bettina who every now and then tried to increase the speed.These are the impressive 5K-Splits: 31:47 - 29:33 - 29:54 - 29:34 - 29:43 - 28:35 - 29:03 - 28:24. The fastest 5K we ran between 35 and 40, and the second half was more than 5 minutes faster than the first half.
It was not easy to stay alongside Bettina. Her motto was: "Whenever I see a big buttock in front of me I have to overtake it." And there were hundreds of them! For 25K I tried to slow her down. Then I gradually noticed how strong she was and let her go her pace. Once this acuminated to her question: "Are you still there?" Several times I had to sprint a short slalom to catch up with her.
We had great fun especially when cheered by the crowds who easily spotted the big name signs we were wearing at the front of our t-shirts. This was the scene at mile 25 in Central Park:
It was my 16th maraton but the first one with a faster 2nd half. Therefore I would call it the most successful one and it was certainly the most beautiful one.
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