My sister Roshini and I started the Berlin marathon, excited, all smiles, and even FaceTimed the family. The sky shone a clear blue. Today was going to be a good day.
Amongst these thousands of people, we were mere dots in the sea of runners flanked by the beautiful Tiergarten, our back to the Brandenburg, facing the Siegessäule. In this sea of dreams, we shared in a common purpose. Here we were all one.
From Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru, to us amateurs, everyone is here to live the marathon dream. Whether it’s your first or your thirty-fifth Berlin – we passed a runner whose official T -shirt proclaimed this – everyone here is to run and cross the finish line.
Sawe wanted to break the Berlin record set by Kipchoge. Roshini was here to complete her first marathon. I was here living the privilege to run with my sister.
I’d like to think of the key moment as when we turned to face the Brandenburg Gate and the finish line beyond, I saw my sister’s eyes light up with tears. She was finally home. She was going to join the marathon community.
The race wasn’t easy for her especially in the second half. The marathon is always humbling and in a way, I am glad that she had some of these difficulties in this first run. It’s makes you cherish the distance even more. To respect the process of training and to do it all over again.
That said, I was surprised by the form and rhythm she held throughout the run. Even as we took a few walking breaks, when we began again, her form was the same, if not better, than the earlier part of the marathon.
It felt in so many places that we were part of one huge hive, one big train, running straights, curving around bends and street corners. As if the cumulative rhythm of the group pushed everyone forward a step at a time, like cogs in a wheel, all together as one team. Surely, if I think about it, there are a host of life lessons here.
When we crossed the finish line, it was all suddenly over. Some hours spent on feet and one big step forward for both of us. Perhaps in similar and divergent ways. In that, a race to remember and uphold forever.
From yesterday’s expo to having cocktails at the hotel bar post marathon, trading stories with other runners, a weekend of love and laughter, and of course marathon running.
Writing about Running 