B2Run Munich

BMW HQ and museum

On a previous training course, a work colleague had told me about a running event when I was next in Munich and I must have responded enthusiastically because an email dropped into my inbox saying that there had been a cancellation and he had managed to get me entry. The only problem was that the Munich trip was coming off the back of an all-inclusive family holiday in Ibiza so I was unlikely to be in peak condition – or to be more exact just less peak condition than normal.

Firstly a disclaimer. Some of the following was I picked up from my German host, some that I managed to pick up fom the internet and some via the notoriously inaccurate Google Translate. Imagine not providing everything in English !

The B2Run is a corporate running series which seems to have started to encourage fitness in the workplace. In that sense maybe similar to parkrun but I was told it is much more commercial and certainly not free, although the companies rather than entrants seem to foot the bill. It is a team event and everyone has t shirts with company logos. It now seems to operate in 10 or so countries across Europe, with events around the 5km or 6km distance depending on course.

We travelled the short trip across Munich to the amazing setting of the Olympic Park. The history and events of the 1972 Olympics is worth a read.

Munich Olympic Stadium

The event claims to have 30,000 runners tackle the 6km course around the perimeter of the Park site and finishes on the home straight inside the Olympic Stadium. The intention is that each group of companies are given a start time at 20 minute intervals over a 2 hour period. Within that starting slot there is supposed to be a further set of pens based on your predicted time.

The first runners were off at 6pm and as our start time was at 7pm we could see runners already finishing when we had a look into the stadium on our arrival. As we got down to the start area I realised that nobody was paying attention to any time pens and that it was just a free for all. German efficiency was obviously having a day off because at our start time of 7pm the colour group before us were just lining up. As we had to return to the company training event that evening my colleague suggested we just join the earlier group – turning out to be a very lucky decision. We queued for about 30 minutes in blazing sunshine with temperatures of 27 degrees, jostling and edging forward in a mass of people, the DJ guy building the atmosphere. It was probably like many other mass participation runs but maybe slightly less controlled! If you think the Great Scottish Run has this number of people of 2 days or running, while at this event its squeezed into 2 hours. As time moved on there was thankfully some cloud cover but the predicted thunder seemed likely with dark clouds appearing on the horizon. The sights of all the different teams in their t shirts with company logos was amazing. There probably wasn’t a technology brand that wasn’t represented, plus the car manufacturers, business community and education sectors. It felt like every business in Munich was in attendance.

Olympic Park

We edged nearer the start and I realised that a good time was never going to be on the cards as there was everything from joggers to large work groups all around me.  I was separated from my colleague so had no idea what instructions were being given over the PA. Then we were off. There was no gun just a quickening of shuffling, moving to a fast walk and then a jog. There was a lot of zig zagging and squeezing between people before I realised that it would be quicker to run on the grass verge. At places the path was no wider than Strathclyde Park so the whole thing was quite chaotic. I was surprised to go through the first km in 4:20 as I thought all of the bobbing and weaving would have killed any time. However that was to be the story of the run as at no stage was there  a clear section of path. The problem with the format is that you catch the slow runners from the earlier groups, and as this is really an event about participation rather than pace then there are significant numbers of people jog / walking. It was undulating rather than flat through the first half, with a couple of short sharp climbs up onto foot bridges. 3km brought us back into the main area of the park, passing the amazing BMW World and sights of the Olympic swimming centre. The course then flattened out but the clouds had gathered and the humidity sharply increased. The first crack of lighting was followed a few seconds later by the roar of thunder (anybody else count the seconds to work out how far away it is? – it wasn’t.) At 4km the heavens opened. I’ve never seen it go so quickly from rain to monsoon. Over the last 2km it was interesting to say the least. The fun runners had now slowed right down, the rain was blinding, the paths and cobbles slippy. I tried to lift the pace but even as we entered the famous tunnel into the stadium there was more congestion. The 1972 marathon athletes didn’t have to contend with 4 people dressed as a train (although there was a bit of “fancy dress” in the 72 marathon). However it was great to run down the short section of the Olympic track and over the line. Officially 6.1km (although Garmin had it shorter) I couldn’t really complain about my time of 25:23, although a sub 25 would have been good.

Storm brewing above the Olympic Tower

Our company was a major sponsor so we had a tent near the finish. I wandered around in the rain as everyone took shelter. It was only when I caught up with my colleague who told the PA announcements were telling people the race had been suspended due to the lightning. We went down for a non alcoholic beer only to find they weren’t allowed to use the fork lift truck in the lightning therefore all the beer was stuck in the truck. I suggested they just opened the back doors ! By now we were right in the middle of the storm and they evacuated everyone from the pitch to the  cover of the stands. The suspension of the race turned into an abandonment so we were really lucky that we went in the earlier group.

Drookit

Of the 250 runners from our company only around 150 got to run. I was 7th in the company, around 2 minutes slower than our fastest runner.  It was only later that I found out there was a special group allowed to go out first on a clear course if they had previously run sub 25. I’ve no idea how I was overall as I couldn’t make head nor tail of the search function on the results page.

It was a fun event and an amazing experience getting to run in such an iconic setting. I’ve already dropped hints about getting to go back next year !
Stephen