Grzegorz Kazaniecki was in action at this year’s Berlin Marathon
After his last marathon attempt ended in a painful DNF, Grzegorz Kazaniecki was looking to set the record straight at the Berlin Marathon and was determined to get to the finish line this time. It was the Kraków Marathon back in the Spring that he was forced to abandon after sustaining an injury only 9km in. He tried to battle on for the next few kilometres but it had to accept his fate in the end and limp off the course.
It was a tough one to take for Grzeg but he took some time out to recover on the advice of the doctor and then set about trying to get back into his training. The Berlin Marathon would offer him a chance for redemption if he could get himself right and get back to full training again.
The Berlin Marathon is purported to be one of the fastest course in the world and it was the one that Eliud Kipchoge set the world record in last year, until Kelvin Kiptum recently beat it in Chicago.
The Berlin Marathon has seen its fair share of successes from a Bournemouth AC perspective down the years. Graeme Moxham ran a 2:27:39 there back in 1989 which puts him 24th on the all-time BAC marathon bests list. In 2011, Stu Fox ran 2:26:13 there which puts him 20th on the list.
More recently, Pete Thompson ran a 2:29:33 there finishing 60th out of 22,209 finishers. That was in 2014 and Billy McGreevy did it that year as well, getting round in 2:53:56.
In 2015, Simon Way, Graeme Miller and Tom Paskins did it, with Simon finishing in 2:43:58, Graeme in 2:44:30 despite sustaining an injury in the first mile and Tom getting round in 2:55:17. Caroline Rowley did it in 2016, completing the course in 3:48:05.
It was actually Craig Palmer who produced the standout performance there though back in 2019, where he romped round in 2:24:52. That time puts him 14th on the all-time marathon greats list, with Rob McTaggart just recently eclipsing it at London in the Spring.
Grzeg’s best marathon time to date was 2 hours 59 minutes so he was hoping to improve on that at Berlin. The problem was though that he just couldn’t shake the injury. It soon reached the time he was supposed to start training for Berlin and he was still having issues. It was not an ideal scenario.
He knew he had to train though for the marathon. He couldn’t just turn up and wing it, so he had to try to build up his mileage and do what he could. There were times when he would turn up at training on a Tuesday night and would then be seen limping off afterwards. But he wasn’t prepared to give up on his Berlin dreams though and was determined to work through it and make it to the start line.
Grzeg prepares to get his Berlin Marathon race underway
Sure enough, he made it over there and although his training block had been far from ideal, he was prepared to give it his best shot and see what happened.
Making it to the half way stage with very even paced 5k splits, it was so far so good for Grzeg. He’d done each 5k in just over 20:30, giving him a half marathon time of 1 hour 27 minutes.
He was about 10 seconds slower for the next 5k before posting a 21:47 to take him up to the 30km mark. It was beginning to get tough but he hung in there well, completing the next 5k in 22:27. That put his time at just under 2 hours 28 minutes at the 35km point, leaving him with 7km to go.
Registering a 22:53 for his final 5k, he was almost home and hosed. He was now at just under 2 hours 51 minutes so it was going to be touch and go as to whether he could get in for a sub three. He did manage to crank the pace up slightly for the last couple of kilometres but it wasn’t quite enough.
It was a proud moment for Grzegorz to have earned his Berlin Marathon medal after a top performance
Reaching the finish line in a time of 3 hours and 28 seconds, he was ranked 3,005th out of 28,598 and was 410th in the M45 age bracket. Considering his injury woes, that was a fantastic achievement for Grzeg and whilst it was a shame to just miss out on a sub three, he had to be pleased with that, all things considered.
What it does show is that there is definitely scope for Gzeg to go much quicker than the 2:59 he currently has down as his PB, if he can get a full, uninterrupted block of training behind him. No doubt he’ll give it a go again in the near future.
Greg with his friend Krzysztof Baginski who went on to run a 2:47
Grzeg’s Polish mate Krzysztof Baginski had a good run, finishing in 2:47:21 which put him in 1,238th position and 137th in the M45 bracket.
The race was of course dominated by the top African runners and Eliud Kipchoge won it again in a time of 2:02:42.
There were plenty of sights to see including The Victory Column – one of Berlin’s most famous landmarks
Egdon Heath Harriers star Georgina Povall ran it as well and she produced an incredible time of 2:54:23 which put her in 150th female out of 14,401.
There were also some Poole Runners ladies there, with Helen Draper finishing in 3:31:37, Penny Jarvis getting round in 3:45:45 and Amy Cull posting a 3:58:32. Penny’s time put her 3rd in the W70 bracket, which was a marvellous achievement.
Paul Wilding of Lytchett Manor Striders competed as well and he completed the course in 3:14:25 which put him in 4,947th place and 51st in the M60 category out of 1,521.