Race report: Tallinn Half Marathon 2024

Home races are best, and the Tallinn Marathon weekend has a special place in my heart.

Running on home ground is always different. You know every street and every corner. You know the people. And you meet so many friends and colleagues along the course.

I have been looking forward to this race all season. Due to my injury, at the beginning of the year I never thought I'd be at the start line this weekend.

But there I was. Ready, confident and full of joy.

Because I haven't been able to do any speed training for a while, my speed isn't where I want it to be. So I wasn't expecting a super fast race. The only goal was to stay under 2 hours and enjoy the race from start to finish.

When I stood on the start line I felt excitement mixed with a bit of nervousness. When the gun went off, the adrenaline hit me.

I felt good from the start. And yes, I admit I went a little faster than I had planned. But it felt right because I had the legs for it that day. And I also had a more risky plan at hand as well.

I managed to keep a very consistent pace throughout the race. My legs supported me well. I quickly found a good rhythm and got into the flow. From km 12 on, my body went completely on autopilot (which is the best feeling).

The sun was out that day and it was quite warm. Before the race I thought about bringing my own water bottle. But I decided not to because I thought the temperature wouldn't be too high. That was a mistake. It was very warm and it got warmer the longer we ran.

I felt it at about 15km. Even though I used every aid station to refill my water tank, I could feel that I needed more. And I started to feel a little dizzy. The temperature was just a bit too warm for me.

But at km 18 I turned into a hunter. My whole body went on autopilot and my legs just worked automatically. My strides were smooth and got longer and longer. I was a bit surprised how well it was going, but at the same time I thought "I don't want to do this anymore!

On the last km I had to mentally prepare myself for the last 100m, which are uphill (seriously, who came up with that idea?!). Those last 100m take the last bit out of you.

I love a good final sprint, but uphill it's a different story. I gave it everything I had. I was optimistic for the first 50m and pushed hard. But I couldn't keep it up for the last 50m. But I thought, OK, fair enough. That's all you can give today and that's OK.

Anyway, I crossed the finish line in under 2 hours, exhausted (and almost fainting) but full of happiness. Mission accomplished.

In short, it was a great race! The oblique muscle is doing well. After my injury and a season of working on my comeback, this was my final goal and the reward for all the work I had put in. It gave me that last bit of confidence that everything is fine now. And that's the most important thing.

Katharina at Tallinn Marathon, September 2024.