Shanghai International Marathon - 12/04/2011

This was my first race in Asia and my third race overseas - twice I have run marathons in Europe. It was a fantastic experience! Because this was a last-minute race entry for me, I chose to run the half marathon. I ran a perfectly even paced 1:32 (7:02/mi avg), to finish 129th out of over 8,000+ runners from all over the world.

When I quit my job as Global Operations and Logistics Director at my last company, I thought my international travel days were behind me. Not quite! Two months after I started my new job as VP Operations for an Ohio Manufacturing company, I found out I needed to go to China for a few things. My current Chinese visa expired at 12:00am on 12/02/2011 - so I had to hurry! Then I found out this race was going on during the weekend I was there - but it was already filled and closed! :( I told my friend in Shanghai about it... and he managed to get me in!

Race morning was nice as far as weather goes... clear, sunny and about 50F at the start. We started right on the Bund! Me, and 25000+ of my closest running friends from all over the world! See how tightly packed together we are? I had to stand, jammed in like this for about 45 minutes!

Before the race, there were drumlines, dancers and a "warm-up leader". It was quite something - not quite like the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics - but you get the idea.

Then it was 7:30am and time to start!

The crowded start made it impossible for me to find my friend or for him to find me. The amazing thing is that since I was running with my camera, and taking photos along the way - I accidentially got a picture with him in it!!

About 5k (3.1miles) into the race, we ran up and over the NanPu bridge. I've driven across it scores of times, usually in heavy traffic... it was amazing to cross it by foot with zero vehicles on it!

First 5K was about 21:50... as it turns out, my next three 5K splits would all be the same! I ran quite the even pace for this race!

After about the 10k mark, I finally had room to run. I was surprised and impressed at the number of good runners in the race. I guess I shouldn't have been. This is one of the biggest races in China, and much of Asia. Runners from Japan and Korea were everywhere... as well as some "ex-pats" like myself from Europe and USA. The Chinese runners are solid as well. The fastest marathon for a Chinese was 2:12. Not too shabby! (the top 3 were 2:10-2:11... Kenya, Ethopia and South Africa).

My legs felt good, and since I carried my own nutrition, I was OK in that regard. I wasn't ready to experiment with the local energy drinks, tea or water on the course...

I kept taking pictures and video along the race course. There were a lot of people lining the race course - yelling "Jiao Ye" or something to that effect... Not sure what it meant, but it sounded encouraging to everyone!

In the last 5K of the race, we doubled-back along an earlier section of the race course, where I could see the bulk of the 25,000 runners... man - there were a LOT!

As I came to the finish (1K to go), I let my legs run hard, and had to pound up a bridge with a decent incline and decline. It felt good to have strong legs that far into the race. With no one behind me and no one to catch, I just pushed myself to the last 100 meters - which was packed with people. I turned on my video camera and recorded those last 100m. It was pretty cool!

Once I finished, I learned that I won a pair of socks for my finishing position. (top 50 won shoes, next 100 won socks).


I gathered my post-race food and drinks and my finisher's medal, then found my friend and his wife outside. We made our way back to the finish line to watch the professional men finish the marathon... and cheered in the first place man at 2:10:XX (from Kenya) and second (South Africa) place only :07 seconds behind! Third place (from Ethopia) made it to the finish, and then I was right by him when I staggered around, totally out of it. He had put himself into the hurt locker big-time... it was kinda cool to see a world class athelte hurting so much right after a race!

"I've been everywhere, man..."

I have literally circled the globe many times in my world travels the past 3 years. It has been exciting and a learning experience for sure. I've seen amazing sights and met interesting people along the way. Been exposed to extremes of poverty and of riches... eaten some downright weird and wonder foods and seen some of the most beautiful and remarkable places in the world.

Recently, the travel has also started to become a chore... missing the family, routine, and consistent training. Luckily for me, I've accepted a new position as the Vice President of Operations for a new company in Cleveland, and my high volume international travel days will be behind me for a while!

From a culture standpoint, I have learned a lot about how other people think and behave and a little insight into why. I've enjoyed having to add German and Chinese language skills to my Spanish. I'm lucky enough to now know people on all seven continents (I have an old friend on Antartica!). While I am not fluent, the people with whom I work overseas genuinely appreciate the effort of trying to learn their language and experience their culture. I am around plent of "ex-pats" who don't make the effort, and the connection with the local people just isn't there.

Famous DOM Cathedral in Koln, Germany

Ending my world travels caused me to reflect back on some of the many sights, sounds and tastes I've experienced along the way.

I have taken 14 major international trips (usually 2 weeks long each)... and visited (and been running in) 13 countries: China (8), Germany(7), Japan(4), Austria(3), India (2), Switzerland(2), Spain(1), Netherlands(1), Belgium(1), Korea(1), Brazil(1)
, Wales(1), England(1).

Sao Paolo, BRAZIL




I have enjoyed running in each of these places. I often go running with my camera and capturing some memorable things along the way. I have even been lucky enough to compete in two marathons in Europe during my travels - including the "Dreis Landeren Marathon" (3 countries marathon) which started in Germany, and went through Austria and Switzerland in the foothills of the Alps. Incredible! I've even been running along the Great Wall of China - where the hold the Great Wall Marathon! Now that is some seriously difficult terrain!

Food has been an exciting part of each country and culture. From dog and scorpions in China to amazing and unique sushi in Japan to tapas in Spain to chocolate covered waffles in Grand Platz in Belgium to Schnitzel in Germany to weiner art on a mountain top in Austria. Often, food defines the local culture. I go out of my way to always try the local fare. I avoid the "Chains" like the plague. I can't stand to travel with people who insist on eating "safe". I feel bad for them. How often do you get a chance to sample some of these foods, gross as they might seem (pig lung soup, for example). You can always get a hamburger or pizza again in the USA...

OKTOBERFEST in Germany - with high school friend John Holmes, who was stationed there at the time.



I have many travel photo albums posted to my Facebook account (www.Facebook.com/kenhagan)... I couldn't possible post them all here!

So, I have been able to see the world on the company's dime... an incredible experience! But the time away from the boys and Amy has become increasingly difficult... The boys (now 6 and 10) are definitely missing me when I'm gone, and while they enjoy the pictures, stories and gifts when I return... they are going to be glad to consistenly have me at home. So am I!

My triathlon training suffered, too. It's really difficult to deal with jet lag, dangerous roads and an incredibly busy schedule to stay on track. Of course, I don't bring my bike (sometimes borrow them overseas) and don't normally swim overseas either. So I get a lot of running in when I can, but not much else. I have on occasion stayed in hotels with exercise bikes in them. I put myself through some of the spin classes I have taught, while alone on the bike. Let's just say that I've wrecked those fitness centers... :) When I return home, I can't just pick up my training either, I need to make time with the family and catch up on sleep and jet lag. So it is really disruptive, but I've adapted as much as I can.


Time to move on to another phase of life and career... let's hope I don't feel to "cooped up" now that I'm not traveling every 8 weeks or so!

I think I'll be just fine! Next time I get the urge to fly overseas, it will be with Amy and the boys - to go explore together!

India and Germany - Two extremes - one trip - June 2011

This was my second trip to India, and I have to say that it was so much better than my first trip! Perhaps it was getting over the huge shock that is India on the first trip... or the fact that I didn't get sick this time... or maybe the fact that unlike last time when I was in the massive cities like Mumbai and Chennai (10-15million people each)... we were in "smaller" towns (of only 3-4 million people each).

This trip was my first to India that included train travel. The train stations and train accomodations are a unique experience all to its own... but the view out the window is like being in a time machine! Villiages of people living in grass huts, plowing fields using only water buffalo or ox... and riding the occasional camel or elephant for transportation. It's just so hard to imagine that a large portion of the world's population still live like this - but the fact is that they do.

(Full photo gallery at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2103689108399.132380.1130619233&l=14ee2d31e3 )

The cities (Ranchi, Rajgangpur, Rourkela) we visited were still very densely populated, chaotic and dirty... but no where nearly as "difficult" as Mumbai - where there are millions of poverty-stricken people packed into the slums- and where traffic makes a simple 10 mile commute take upwards of 3 hours. These cities had a bit of green in them... and a more suburban feel.


Jamshedpur, the city where our Indian office is, and where Tata Steel has a massive steel plant(one of the world's largest), is "run" by Tata, and actually clean and green! There were actually trash cans and dumpsters in the city! No joke - this is not something you see anywhere else in India! It was quite a nice thing to see!

The food was fantastic, and on this trip my colleague from India was with us every step of the way, to recommend the hottest and the tastiest foods to try. This was great!! On a dare, I ate the hottest pepper there... striaght... you can't fully see the REDNESS and SWEAT that broke out on my face for the rest of the evening...



The scariest part of the trip was the 3 hour car ride from Jamshedpur to Ranchi. It was on a winding mountainous road (kind of like the one in the "Ice Road Truckers - India - World's Most Dangerous" - but not quite as mountainous)... this was a view into rural India, traveling on dangerous, horrible sorta-one-lane roads with big trucks passing on all sides. We passed 3 fatal car accidents! Plus, this stretch of road is notorious after dark, and the locals won't even drive it in the dark because of the risk of hijackings and other bad stuff.


We did pass villages of grass huts... and people RIDING CAMELS for transportation... among other weird sights along the way!


All in all, while India is a crowded, dirty place which has more poverty than any other place in the world I've been to... this trip was so much more enjoyable and comfortable for me. Again, partly due to the smaller cities where we went, and in part to the fact that I was fully prepared for what to expect this time around.

After my week in India - I hopped a flight from New Delhi, India to Frankfurt, Germany. Man - that was like getting into a space ship and going to a new planet...

Germany is so clean, so orderly, so meticulously organized and cared for... with food that is rather bland and brown (but very tastey) in comparison to the bright, spicy foods of India. Such a contrast!!

My week in Germany was busy and comfortable. I know the area... I can drive (I have a 6 speed diesel VW over there - which is so much fun to take out on the autobahn)... the language is more familiar to me as are the accomodations, food and climate.

I met up with colleagues there from Spain, UK, France and Germany for a productive week - and lots of good dinners and beers at night.

Flight back home to Cleveland was wonderful - First class again, and very comfortable and relaxing.

The homecoming from Amy and the boys was so wonderful that Thursday night! Ahhhh... so good to be home again! Wonder where my next trip will be?

China and Japan I suspect...

Japan and China - March 2011

I made my 4th trip to Japan, just two weeks after the major 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated the north-east region of the country. The Fukushima Dai'ichi nuclear power plant was still out of control and in partial melt-down - to me that was the most dangerous part of making the trip there. That was, until I landed. I was in a 6.5 magnitude aftershock on one of the elevated highways in a bus... things were swaying. In all of my visits to Kobe (where the massive 1995 earthquake destroyed everything), it was alwyas the elevated highway that freaked me out the most. I didn't like that.

I was in Japan for 3 full days (on the tail end of my 2 week trip to Asia). Each morning, I ran along the ocean in Akashi. Each time I hear a siren, I could only think "tsunami warning - where to go?!?!?"... even though the area where I was, was pretty protected from large tsunami - or so I had hoped.

In general, it was business as usual there. The only significat difference you could see - was the reduction in electricity use. They are conserving to avoid rolling black-outs and keep sending power to the badly damaged northeast. The people were quite calm about things - even the nuclear situation. Were the Japanese too sheltered by the media? Was the West too "hyped up" by the media coverage? Probably the reality lies somewhere in between - now having been in both "worlds" during this disaster.

The food was fantastic as always in Japan. I made a point of having sushi each day, as well as trying something new for dinner each night. Work was quite challenging. There is so much to be done, and I'm short on manpower in Asia - so all roads seeme to lead to me for the time being. Good news is that our business in Japan has quadrupled in a short time! It was overwhelming at times... so many thing to get sorted out.

I was able to get solid training in during this trip as well. Logged over 100 miles of running! During my first week (all in China), I ran 70 miles in 6 days (one day lost for travel to China). During my second week (mostly in Japan), I managed 32 miles + time on the bike trainer. I had 4 "speed" workouts - during these two weeks. Two were threshold workouts: 3x15 min @ T, 8x5min @ T, and two were MP runs of at least 5 miles of MP running. In addition, my last "long" run of 23 miles was done in Shanghai. I leveraged the jetlag to my benefit - running in Shanghai is easy at 4am!

In China, I was interviewing candidates for my new Purchasing Coordinator, and looking for people for the China and Japan warehouses. I found "my guy" for the Purchasing Coordinator role during this trip. Let's hope he works out as well as I think he will!

Much of my time in China, however, was sorting out a major quality problem. The supplier I inherited from my predecessor made an out of compliant shipment, and is now refusing to replace it without more money. Without going into details, we are over a barrel, and I'm finding other options - quickly! I was jumping from city to city to city, visiting suppliers around China. Shanghai to ZhengZhou to Tianjin to Beijing back to Shanghai. Whew!

I was able to have some time to see Beijing. Very interesting! From Tiananmen Square to the Fobidden City to the 2008 Olympic Village - there is a lot to experience in Beijing. While Shanghai is a huge, modern city, Beijing has the history in it. Forbidden city was just amazing to see. Took you back to the early 800AD times when it was used as a fortress and seat of power. Quite interesting!

The Olympic village was special for me as an athlete. To see the "Water Cube" aquatics center where Michael Phelps broke so many world records, and became the most decorated Olympic athlete... and to see the "Birds Nest" stadium where the track and field events took place (which I watched from Oregon before and after running the 197 mile "Hood To Coast" race).

Tiananmen Square was quite a sight to see as well. The first night in Beijing, we were in front of the Square, starting to take pictures, when suddenly, a group of soldiers and poilce came out and forced everyone off the square, and to stop taking photos. It was a little unreal. The Square had been packed with people, and with all of the protests and unrest in the Middle East, I wondered if we found ourselves in the middle of something. We never found out for sure, but we think some high ranking officials were coming to the Square. Next morning, things were back to normal. I love "Peking Duck", and found a fantastic restaurant right next to T-Square to enjoy it for dinner. It was perfect! (Peking is the old name for Beijing)

I found a beautiful 11 mile course to run in Beijing that included Tiananmen Square, passing the Forbidden City to a gorgeous lake area, which was a perfect place to run, away from the hustle and bustle of this great city.

6 wonderful days in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Six days in perfect Florida weather was just enough! Amy, Andy, Tommy and I had a wonderful vacation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with my brother Paul and his girlfriend Rachel.

We hit the weather lottery! Sunny, breezy and 80-84 each day - could not have been nicer! Beaches, the pool and lots to see every day around Miami and the Keys.

The boys and I were in the pool every morning at least once, and on the beaches most days too!

I was able to experience some world class reef diving - just a few hundred yards off the beach by Paul's house. Normally, you have to pay to charter a boat out to the reefs! Instead, we just went to the beach, and swam out through the breakers, over the sandy ocean floor, until BOOM - the reef!

This was my first ocean snorkeling experience. Paul said the conditions could not have been more perfect! He was right! Bright sun, super-clear, warm water (at the surface). We saw everything! Dozens of kinds of tropical fish, stingrays and I swam a while with a couple of sea turtles!



The reef was only in about 15 feet of water, so even with a snorkel, I could get right down with the creatures! (Ears might have popped just a little, since I'm not used to that). It was such a different world!

At first, it was a little freaky being around so much fish life, in the "wide open ocean"... But I relaxed right away knowing there were no sharks or other creatures that would cause problems there.

Paul was a great companion and teacher for me. We also brought in Amy who was ready to tackle the reef! She swam all the way out, but unfortunately, got a bit seasick in the swells, once she "locked onto" looking at things on the bottom. So she saw some old cannons and the edge of the reef, then had to turn back. Poor girl did all the hard work, and missed out on the payoff! :( Next time, babe!



It was so "perfect", it almost seemed fake! Like swimming in a zoo aquarium or something! Swimming and diving down into the cold waters around the reef was so cool! The schools of brightly colored fish, darting among the swaying plants, coral and other features was so cool! And seeing the little day-to-day struggle of the food chain was so neat to see first-hand!

We went to "Monkey Jungle"... Where the humans are caged and the monkeys run free. WOW! That was so fun! We spent the day feeding all of these monkeys by hand! It was so AWESOME! Their little hands reaching out for snacks! We could touch them, and they were so cute and so SMART!

They also had a big gorilla (KING), and an orangutan (MAY) on display. They were both rescued from crappy situations, and were beautiful to see up close.

Oh, on the way home from Monkey Jungle, we decided to take a detour through the EVERGLADES! We went onto route 41, which pretty much is "Alligator Alley!". As soon as we turned onto 41, we started seeing gators! Drove back into the park a bit... Pulled off in a couple different places to walk around and see stuff.

In one spot, we noticed a gator out in the canal and decided to pull over and check it out. After watching him float around for a while (which we thought was cool), a HUGH gator came out of no where, and chased this one off. Then he noticed us... And became VERY interested!

This big gator came right up to us, did a couple of slow passes just a few feet from shore where we were (at the time too caught up in the "cool factor" to realize we were in a pretty risky situation - especially with the smaller kids (5 & 9)). Suddenly, it stopped in front of the bank, and just hung there, motionless... I realized it was now laying in wait to ambush whichever got too close or careless. It was time to send the kids to the car! We shot some more photos and video of this "dinosaur", soaked in the experience, then headed off. Afterwards, we realized we probably weren't too far from being someone featured on "When Vacations Attack!". Just the right balance of adventure, risk and safety! :)

We really enjoyed the time with Paul and Rachel. They are such a great couple! So happy together! They dated in high school, went their separate way for like 15 years, the found each other again on Facebook! Paul was living in Traverse City, Michigan and Rachel was in southern Florida. They reunited and fell back in love together! This summer, Paul transferred to U of Miami to finish his studies. They found a great waterfront condo! Their two dogs (Morgan and Sophie) get along very well too! I am soooooo happy to see them happy together! :)

Friday, we took a trip down to the Keys while Paul had school nd Rachel was working. What a fun day that was! Gorgeous, easy drive down... Lunch at the Key Largo Conch House... And the afternoon at the John Pennekamp State Park. There were mangrove swamp and tropical hammock (forrest) trails to hike, and 3 different beaches to explore. There were things to see in the water (cannons from a 1715 shipwreck, sea life, etc) and this "abyss" nearby that plunged straight down to a black depth... Freaked me out a little! Amy and the kids found hermit crabs and all kinds of fish right by shore, too!



We also went to "Flamingo Gardens" to see a beautiful botanical and wildlife park. Funny little highlight was feeding I his and Flamingos right from my MOUTH! It was a lot of fun! Acres of beautiful grounds, groves, swamps and other stuff to see.

I'm told I went there as a child one of the times we went to visit my Grandparents when they lived in Ft. Lauderdale. I'm not sure if I remember that or not, but it was cool for my boys to go! We have about 10,000 photos, so I don't think they will be able to forget it! :)

This trip had a lot of great food experiences as well! From kick-butt Cuban food, to Pompano Pizza to Key Lime Pie on the Florida Keys! Plus some unique / fun places to enjoy that food! It was great!!

This trip was the very first time flying for my boys. They did GREAT! I flew with Tommy on all flights, and Amy had Andy. The boys loved flying! The whole "process" from checking luggage to security, to watching take-off and landings to the flight itself. They were perfect little men during the flights! Didn't care about turbulence or anything!


Plus, andy and Tommy got along SO well! They slept in bed together, rode in the back seat together, kept each other company in restaurants while the grown-ups ate and talked! Couldn't ask for better behavior! Thanks boys!!

We were able to do the flights for our family of 4 with miles from my work travels, with plenty left over for Amy and I to fly to Boston in April for the marathon. Thanks Fosbel!

It was another wonderful and memorable family trip for us!

China and Japan - January 2011 (and some of the most weird foods yet!)

I had my 4th trip to China and my 3rd to Japan during this insane 12 day journey. I had 10 flights in 12 days... I was only in the same city (Shanghai) for 3 days in a row - the rest had me going all over China and Japan. Leaving the hotel a 4-5am, flying and driving for hours... visiting plants / having meetings... and back to the hotel at 10pm-midnight. Ugh... Never again will I schedule a trip like that! But I did get a lot done! I was in Shanghai, ZhengZhou, Xinyi, Zibo, Qindao, China... and Kobe and Akashi, Japan.

I had a few objectives in this trip. Visit 4 manufacturing facilities, spend 2 weeks focused and with my "guy" (Cao Xiu) in China to keep his training, mentoring and development going, and determine the strategy to better support Japana, India, Malaysia with the resources in place, and what additional resources are needed.
For the most part, mission accomplished! Like many of these trips, I left with more actions and work to be done than I went to the region with!

I had some incredible and new experiences on this trip!

- my first meal of DOG - which was actually quite delicious - till I realized what it was - then it was hard to go on...
- A delicious platter of stir-fried SCORPIONS, CICADAS and BUBMLEBEES...

- Ate raw SEA CUCUMBER...
- Had an amazing seafood dinner at a 'single-table restaurant' in Japan where we had fresh conch, fish cheeks, perfect miso soup, sashimi and lots of sake!

- Went shopping at local grocery stores in both Japan and China and got some cool stuff for Amy

- Ate my weight in sushi - it's always good - but this was super-fresh, perfectly done sushi!


- Drove through the mountains in China - beautiful and rugged territory.

- Experienced a mega-polluted town in China (Zibo). Whoa... it was like being in a stinky forrest fire smoke cloud all day. Quite depressing. Thankfully, they have cleaned up a lot of the big, coastal cities in China - more work to be done.



- I did manage to get a lot of run training in, despite the crazy schedule. I did have one free day, and I got in a 20 miler. Rest of the days, I was up super early and did 8 - 12 mile runs in China and Japan. I refused to run in Zibo due to the pollution - I figured the little bit of fitness gain, wasn't worth the risk to my lungs!


- I was able to go to the "EXPO" (World's Fair) in Shanghai. It was pretty cool! The most interesting part of the China Pavilion was the exhibit about the incredible changes in lifestyle of the Chinese over the past 30 years. In general, we know there has been a lot of progress - but to see the full size displays of the home 30 years ago, 20, 10 and now was amazing. The dwelling sizes, the lack of modern appliances, etc. was pretty incredible to see... compared to today (which is still quite restricted compared to the USA for example).



My Chinese is improving, but still limited. I tried and tried to work on it while there. Progress... I need to spend more time on my Japanese before I go back in March.



My next trip is scheduled in March... USA to Germany (3 days) to India (3-5 days) to Japan (3 days). Should be interesting! I just hope I can keep my run training on track for the Boston Marathon - in April. Luckily it is relatively easy to run while I'm traveling. That should help.

Above is one of my Japanese colleagues... and below is the man who cooked our "single table" dinner in Japan. That was such a cool experience!

Around the world (a few times) in the last 12 months

Germany, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Wales, England, India, China, Japan, Korea, Brazil... all in the past 12 months! Twice this year, I literally circled the globe in the same two week trips - USA to Europe to Asia to USA again (which is a continuous circle heading east...).

My job as the Global Director of Logistics and Purchasing, has given me the opportunity to see the world! I have teams that work for me in Germany, China and the USA... and we support work all over the world.

I work my butt off on these trips. Seriously - I do. Long days at the office (or supplier visits) usually followed by evening group dinners that last 2-4 hours... then I have to find time to call (video skype) the family back home... and get some sleep!

But I also make opportunities to see and experience the different sights, sounds, tastes and cultures around me while I travel. Sometimes, I have to stay weekends overseas - I make sure I don't waste a minute... figure out where to go and see the local sights. In Europe I have my own car - so I can really get out and around the region. I have no problem driving 8 hours on a Friday evening to get someplace different for the weekend. It's a long day, but it's worth it when I get to experience something new!

I usually combine training (almost always running) while I travel, as a way to keep me sane, in shape, and counteract all of the incredible food and drink I get to experience along the way. I try to carry a camera when I run to capture some of the sprit of what I'm experiencing along the way. This has given me some great photo opportunities.

I ALWAYS make sure I go for the "local" food options. I really enjoy the local foods where I go. Whether it is eating a Century Egg in China, the hottest curry in India, carne in Brazil, pigeon hot pot in Korea, and countless other "weird foods"... I sometimes travel with people who prefer what they know (McDonald's, Outback Steakhouse, etc). I would rather go it alone and find myself in a completely unknown restaurant - fumbling through an order, then to go to one of those places. I had to FIGHT for my one night in Korea to not be taken to Burger King by the locals, who I think were just trying to help me out. I held out, and had a magical dinner at a little local family restaurant.

My "sight running" has taken me to some beautiful and amazing places:
1) The Pacific coast of South Korea - amazing beaches and cliffs
2) Along the river in Bilbao, Spain past the Guggenheim and Casco Viejo
3) Morning in Shanghai, China with people doing their Tai Chi in the park
4) Running in the Alps on Pfänder Mountain - which overlooks Germany, Austria, Switzerland
5) Run on the Great Wall of China (Huang Yu Gang where the host the Great Wall Marathon)
6) Enjoying the tropical springtime of Sao Paolo
7) Run in two marathon races in Europe - including the Dreilanderick Marathon (3 Countries Marathon) - Germany, Austria, Switzerland
8) Made friends with a running club in Mumbai, India and joined them for a 25k run. (and subsequently got deathly sick from "local" water handed to me during the run)
8) Represented my racing team "SnakeBite Racing" - in 10 countries on 4 continents!
9) Experience the German "Christmas Market" (Weihnachtsmarkt am Koln Dom) at the amazing Dom cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

3 Countries Marathon - Germany / Austria / Switzerland - October 3, 2010

(Click "Follow-me" to get notifications of new posts... or go to www.facebook.com/kenhagan)

What a beautiful and unique marathon course! The 3 Countries Marathon (Sparkasse Dreiländerick Marathon) runs along the pristine Lake Constance with the backdrop of the Austrian and Swiss Alps nearby... It starts on the picturesque Isle of Lindau, Germany, crosses the bridge to the mainland, follows the shore of the Lake to Bregenz, Austria, and then weaves inland through forrest, farms and neighborhoods toward Switzerland. The race turns around in Switzerland, to return us to Bregenz, Austria for the finish in the local Fußball Stadium. It was sunny, calm, and REALLY HOT (80-85F)... in Europe many of the marathons start late... 11:11am for this one.

This race was "for fun" for me... I had completed the Rev3 Full Ironman Triathlon just 22 days before and the HFP Olympic Triathlon Series Championship just 15 days before... my mind and body were not up for another big effort. I decided to take my camera along and record the experience in photo and video and really soak in the full international experience. My full photo album can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95349&id=1130619233&l=8f310f72ef and videos will follow soon, I hope.

I stayed the weekened in Bregenz, Austria. spent all of Saturday exploring the area. The city of Bregenz is fairly typical European city with good food, shopping and outdoor cafes everywhere. Pfänder Mountain is just outside of town, and I spent a few hours on the beutiful mountaintop area. It was breathtaking! I had a great Italian dinner at an outdoor cafe in the Grandplatz area of Bregenz.

Race morning had some real logistics to it. I chose to stay by the finish line, to avoid parking issues before the race, and not being able to get back to my car after the race. Bregenz is across the lake from the Isle of Lindau... so we needed to take the ferry across the lake. That alone was a beautiful experience! About 30 minutes to cross the lake in the calm, cool, sunny morning... Lake and Alps all around!







Once at the starting line, with the 6,000+ other athletes, we were greeted by the Mayor of Marathon, Greece! He was there to mark the 2,500 year anniversary of the historic run in 490BC by Pheidippides the Greek messenger who delivered news of the battle of Marathon. The Olympic torch was brought to the race and lit a flame at the Start and Finish lines. Very cool to pass under the same fire from the Olympics! Our race medals also had a commerative side for this amazing 2,500 year anniversary.

The race itself was again, not a big push by me. It was my second race overseas... and there are definitely things to get used to when racing abroad - mainly related to nutrition. I have realized that traveling in Europe is not condusive to staying hydrated like it is in the USA. I have to make a real effort to drink enough water! Coffee, beer and wine seem to be about all I get at restaurants. A 750ml bottle of water costs about $10! Beer is like $3-5... Coffee + beer + me = DEHYDRATED! I realize this now... looking back! It hasn't bothered me in training runs in the past (up to 24 miles in Germany) - but race conditions are different, and this is something for me to work on for future trips and races.


I started running about 7:30/mi pace for the first 8 miles per my plan. I did this with no trouble, all the while taking pictures and videos along the way. When I wanted to step my pace up for the next 1/3 of the marathon, I wasn't quite feeling it. 7:10/mi pace felt harder than it should have for me... but again, it was 85F and I was not getting nutrition I was used to on the course (I need to see what is in Peeloton Isotonic Solution).... I carried and quickly emptied my Fuel Belt filled with Cera Sport.



OK - how awesome is the name "HARD" for a town on the route of a marathon?!?!? My half-marathon split was 1H 37M.

Once we hit Switzerland (about 30k) I was starting to feel the heat, the sun, and the lack of proper nutrition... and the lack of marathon specific training in the past few months. Training for the marathon in an Ironman triathlon is definitely different than training for a straight Marathon, like I did to run my 3:14 in Boston this spring.




I didn't have the drive to put myself in the Hurt Locker for this race, so I backed off, kept the pace comfortable and enjoyed the atmosphere, sights and sounds... and take a lot of pictures. In the last 5K, I was actually overcome with cramps. I hardly ever get cramps, but with the combination of the heat and the lack of sports nutrition available to me, I got them quite bad. Not just my legs, but in my arms too! I was walking a bit to get some salt capsules into me and walk through the cramps when another runner came upon me, grabbed me by the arm, in broken english kept telling me it was only 3K to the finish and "Ve must run now". I picked it up again and chatted with him. My broken German and his broken English made for an interesting conversation. Turns out we were both Ironman triathletes who just recently competed, and were doing the race for fun. Very cool!


Once we circled back into Austria and passed back through the town of Hard, Austria again, I knew the finish line was coming soon... and my cramps had passed. I thoroughly enjoyed my run through the tunnel of screaming spectators into the stadium and to the finish line. A 3:40 marathon was one of my slowest (3:13 is my PR), but the experience of running through quaint little European towns and a couple big cities, while passing through 3 counties in such beautiful (but hot) weather, along a gorgeous lake and surrounded by mountains... was just incredible!


The crowds were fantastic along the course as well! The Isle of Lindau was simply PACKED with spectators! Very cool. The Bregenz, Austria area was a continuous tunnel of German speaking fans yelling to us "Hopp Hopp Hopp"... "Zuper"... and a bunch of stuff I had no idea about... :) In Switzerland, there were kids handing out food and drink at the aid stations and randomly along the course. It was so cute!

Post-Race was pretty great too! The entire stadium infield was filled with food, drink and massage tents. Oh - and did I mention Weißbier? That is a GREAT post-race recovery drink! :)

After I recovered, showered and changed back to my street clothes... I found a great outdoor restaurant in Bregenz, right on the lake, and enjoyed a delicious serving of proper Austrian wienerschnitzel. It was fantastic! Then I had to jump in my car, and make the 7 hour drive back to my little inn, in Swisttal, Germany and get ready for work the next morning.

This was a great weekend!