Stockholm Marathon 2009

The day before the race, I headed into Stockholm via the train to go pick up my registration packet and then I went back to Uppsala. I then headed out of the city to Gamla Uppsala, which is where there are massive grave mounds throughout prairies and trees and just beautiful nature to walk around in, as well as a church/graveyard. I also spent the entire day carbo-loading…my favorite holiday. I use the day before a race as an excuse to eat everything I normally don’t; this included ice cream, a massive falafel wrap, McDonald’s fries, and cookies, among other things. After wandering around Gamla Uppsala for a few hours, I met up with Krister and some of his buddies for a BBQ before heading to bed since I wanted to be well rested for the race I was painfully unprepared for!

The race was on the 30th of May with a starting time of 2 pm. I had plenty of time to get ready. I left Krister’s at about ten so I could be on the 11 am train into Stockholm. I saw a few other runners, but the mentality is really odd; even in countries where little English is spoken, when you see someone else with a bib or racing bag, you acknowledge each other. Here, no one gives a damn; after a number of people cold-shouldered my warm smile, I gave up. Anyway, I made my way to the 1912 Olympic Stadium, consuming two double espresso shots along the way, making sure I was good and hyped up for the race.

They were giving out bananas and energy drinks, as well as water in the starting area. I dropped off my bags, chugged my Red Bull and went to the bathroom three times before it was time to move onto the course. I met a man from PA that now lives in Germany and we chatted for a while; he was the only US citizen I saw (each bib had a flag with the runner’s country on it and the majority were Swedes). The temperature was a steamy 28 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) at the start, so I was sweating in the shade waiting to begin. The course was a two loop path around Stockholm, starting and ending at the stadium and passing through parks, over a beautiful (yet steep) bridge, past the Royal Palace, Museums, beautiful buildings and along the water. The city is gorgeous and so was the weather, so it wasn’t too difficult to be entertained. Luckily, there was a lot of shade and plenty of sprinklers to run through, so the heat wasn’t too bad. There were also lots of water/sports drink stands (about every 2.5k or 1.8 miles) so I got my fill of re-hydration. They were also giving out candy, power bars, bananas and pickles, of all things. I understand the point is to get sodium back into your body, but the smell was repulsive, so I stayed on the other side of the course trying not to slip on the abandoned gherkins.

I saw Krister and his buddies cheering for me at Kilometer 34; they’d been drinking in the park all day (jealous). I told him that I would be supremely unhappy if I saw him before k35 and, luckily, he listened. He ran with me for a few minutes trying to pump me up because I was definitely starting to feel the burn. At 2 hours and eight minutes I had been lapped by the Kenyan winner (four minutes from the end of my first lap) My finish time was four hours 57 minutes and 53 seconds, which is my third worst time ever, but exactly where I thought I’d be. I literally only had two weeks of training where I never ran more than 9 miles, I was on a treadmill, and each time I incorporated walking breaks, so I was pretty pleased with the finish. I just made a play list of pumped up tunes and pretended like it was a five hour dance party where I was trolling for hotties ☺.

I laid in the grass for a while, then met up with Krister and we went to his friend, Christopher’s, apartment where they cooked spaghetti for dinner and we watched some mindless TV/YouTube before heading off to the bars. I was struggling to walk, but we went to a few places and then took the metro out to Stockholm University where there was some sort of music festival going on. We sat around drinking/chatting/watching until four am and then headed back to the metro. While waiting, this massive group of 13 year olds came in; apparently, there was a party going on which we weren’t invited to. I feel so old saying this, but I cannot BELIEVE what those girls were wearing (or rather, weren’t wearing)!! One girl had shorts on so small you could see her butt cheeks, a t-shirt tied under her non-existent chest, and F-me pumps , strutting up and down the platform sucking on a lollipop…disgusting. We got back to Christopher’s (he was kind enough to let us crash in his living room) when it was light out, of course, and we all passed out until noon.

Krister went back home and I moved to a hostel for a few days (yeah, the one where I had to pay for sheets, so weak). I didn’t do too much since I could hardly move, so I wondered around Gamla Stans eating everything in sight. I was sitting outside of an ice cream shop contemplating if 6:30 was too early to go to bed when I met Bahast and Christine; two 22 year-old Swedes. Both were very nice and very chatty, having done some traveling themselves (generally, the Swedes are pretty cold towards strangers and don’t just strike up a conversation on the street or randomly say hello, like I do). I ended up going w/ Bahast to his place and helping him cook his roommate dinner, then going to see Angels and Demons with him and his friend, Jakob. Now, a lot of the men here are pretty metro and it's difficult to distinguish those with good (or at least, some type) of fashion sense and those who prefer the male anatomy. I'm pretty sure he was gay, his desire for anything pink and fuchsia was more intense than a five year old girl, but then again, I have no idea.

The next day I walked, slowly, for about eight hours. I wanted to rent a bike and wonder around town but it was 30 dollars for the day! That’s insane and painfully out of my budget at this point. I took myself to Djurgarden and to the Vasa Ship Museum. Then, I walked around the park for a while and went to Skanska, which is this recreation of old-time Stockholm. People play the parts of the townspeople; I wondered into a farmhouse and a girl was just knitting in a rocking chair—what a job! I shouldn’t talk, though, because who knows what type of employment I’ll be finding once I come back to the states! After all this, I took a nap and then met up with Bahast for a few drinks and people watching until I decided I was still way too tired and exhausted and went home. The next few days were rainy ; I spent one more night in Stockholm in hopes of better weather in order to take a boat trip around the Archipelago, but no luck, so I headed back to Uppsala so I wouldn’t break the bank anymore. Plus, Stockholm looks a lot like Boston, so it just made me homesick since I looked like home but I had no friends and no funds.