Friday, May 20, 2016

Running with Mikkeller Running Club in Berlin and Copenhagen

A few Fridays ago we took a long flight to Berlin to start our vacation. Upon landing early Saturday morning, we got to the hotel and then headed to meet up with the Berlin Chapter of MRC. We met at the famous Alexanderplatz square- with the iconic TV tower and clock.



We ran a few miles with the group through a park which contained a huge hill- it was amazing.



We chatted the entire time during the run as if we had been friends for a long time- I mean we kinda were. We had been stalking each other's Instagram for a while before actually meeting in real life. We ended the run at Bierlieb bottle shop and met Richard, the brewer of Berliner Berg beer who sponsored our run. His pale ale and Irish stout hit the spot post run. It was a great way to kick off our vacation. Thank you Theresa and Daniel for being amazing hosts!


On Monday we flew to Copenhagen. Tuesday evening was the 2nd Mikkeller Beer Run 5k. I was the defending champ from last year's run- but had no intention of pushing too hard since I had just ran a marathon a few weeks prior and hadn't run much in between.



We got our game faces on, all ready to run.


There was a 10k happening at the same time as the 5k- they were going to do 2 laps of the course, and I was thankful I only had to do one.



Pre race, they announced that I was running the race again as the defending champ- which made me smile. Soon the gun went off and I found myself right behind Mikkel and Søren dropping 6:20 pace like NBD. Ruh roh. After 800m, I backed off on the pace like a sensible smart person. I was having a blast running through the streets of Copenhagen. I stopped at the 4km "aid station" which was fully stocked only with beer. My mouth was so dry and the beer was much needed at that moment in time. After 50 seconds, I picked up the pace and continued on to the finish.



I came in 4th woman overall and had a blast during this race. I think I PR'd at having fun during a 5k.



Post race we rehydrated with beer and enjoyed hanging with friends.



We got to see friends we made last year as well as meet some awesome folks who we had been following online for quite some time.


Despite not "racing" this race, I feel I gave a solid effort- 5k pain face as proof.


We also got to run with the MRC Copenhagen crowd again on Saturday for a special edition of their monthly runs.


It was awesome getting to meet so many people from MRC chapters all over the world.



It's wonderful to be able to have running and drinking buddies in 100 cities around the world now. We are all about the #mrcTourism


MRC Prague, Chicago, Liverpool and London.


Running with people in a new place is a great experience- you see places you wouldn't normally visit and get to connect with some amazing people.


Thank you Mikkeller Running Club for for all the amazing memories from this trip.

Can't wait to return next year.

Skål! Cheers!







9 comments:

  1. Wow, what a trip! Did you drink any beer while you were there?!! Are you guys going to charter a plane for our MRC chapter to run there next year? The last pic with the guy with the sausage is hilarious. Looks like he is holding the absolute best wurst! I like how you have the 1/2 mile splits listed. Is that a selection in Sporttracks? I wish Garmin Connect would allow me to break my splits into 1/4 mile and 1/2 miles. Just another reason for me to move over to Sporttracks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did I drink beer? what kind of question is that? Lol of course we drank beer! :) lots and lots of delicious beer :) (that's part of the reason I only ran 3 times...)

      We should charter a plane for next year- that would be awesome!! MRCChicago takes over Copenhagen!

      Oh man, that seriously is the best of the wurst there is. I'll post about food and beers later on- but the hotdog + condiments is the best on earth hands down. I ate at least 4 of them. And now miss them a lot.

      Yep- it's Sporttracks. They do the 1/4 mile splits too- which is super helpful to see especially for a 5k.

      Delete
    2. When it the "Land of Beer and Sausage", you must drink and eat lots of it - that leaves little time for running! I also like the picture of you guys in front of the bar in Berlin. In Europe you can walk outside a bar with an actual glass of beer or a glass bottle without anyone freaking out. How civilized! I'm looking forward to your food post. I will want to see the 1/4 mile splits from my mile race tomorrow, but will have to adjust my watch to auto-lap accordingly.

      Delete
    3. It was crazy to see people walking around in public spaces and the transit with open beers. And of course- we had to drink all the beer and eat all the wurst we could handle since it's just not the same here ;) if you forget to change your watch setting, I can upload your garmin file to my Sporttracks and screen shot the 1/4 miles and send it to you. Good luck tomorrow!!

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pete took my comment about the sausage - that cracked me up. And made me hungry.

    Congrats on PRing in FUN! Not just in the race, but that whole trip looked amazing! How cool to have met so many great people, and all because of beer (and maybe running? mostly beer?).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Buahaha great minds..... I just had lunch but the more we talk about this hotdog, I want to go eat another lunch.

      MRC is truly amazing- so many like minded cool folks. It definitely brings people together though the beer and running ;) it was just so nice to have an instant squad to run and drink with in another country!

      Delete
  4. Sounds like an awesome time, and your face looks like a race face to me, hehe! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is so cool! What cities are you going to visit next to run with MRC?! :) I might run with some peeps in AK - not as part of a club - but I am excited to connect with locals! It's such a great way to explore a city and/or learn about it.

    ReplyDelete