Trained for 8 month (also do Triathlons up to 70.3 distance)
First marathon and wanted to check off a bucket list item. Famous Berlin Marathon.
Contracted COVID on Thursday.
Weekend was rough. Feeling much better now but obviously not recovered.
Coming from North America, so flying 10 hours is not conducive to recovery obviously.
Do you think I am nuts that I continue to have hope to run the Berlin Marathon next Sunday September 24th?
I already gave up on making it sub 4 hours as that was my goal.
I did hear a story about an AG triathlete that went 1 week after Covid to IM World Champs in Nice and it went well.
I got COVID a little over four weeks ago. I couldn’t run 2.62 miles right now if my life depended on it, let alone 26.2. I still have congestion, shortness of breath, and an on/off hacking cough. I suspect I had/have pneumonia as well. I took a walk on the beach this past weekend and nearly passed out. It wore me out.
Everyone’s mileage with COVID is going to vary. Sam Laidlow had it three weeks before Kona and he won the damn race. I also suspect he wasn’t super sick and it didn’t completely kick his ass.
Thank you, this was me the first time I had COVID.
Could not do anything for weeks.
This time it feels a bit different.
Just tested and still showing slight positive on the test.
This is my third time getting it.
All three times was about equal as far as the initial illness. Feeling like shit for about a week but this time I’ve had the longest lingering symptoms.
I had some long COVID symptoms from the first time that took a long time to shake but I didn’t feel ill. This time I still feel kind of sick a month later.
Yeah, I think that’s probably a bridge way too far. See how your HR responds to a very easy effort – if it climbs up high right out of the gate, then you’re still not in a good place and should shelve it.
I’m two weeks out from coming down with COVID part III, and HR is just now getting around to where it should be for base level activity.
Well good news is you wont catch covid on the plane over, but you will probably give it to a bunch of your flight mates. But really, you are still sick and probably will be for a few more days at best, so now its just a few days before the race? You should go read the long covid thread here, that will give you some insight as to what can happen to you long term if you treat this like a cold.
And of course there is a story about someone who raced at Nice a week after, some people get it and dont even know they have it. You are obviously not one of those people. And even the winner had a 3 week gap from getting it, and no doubt he is in the hardly affects you category. It would be a big roll of the dice for sure, but if you decide to do it, then shoot for sub 5 hours and just enjoy the day at the lowest HR you can manage and keep jogging. Still not recommended, but you will improve your odds of not being the next one to post in the long covid thread…
How did you come by it anyway this close to your race??
Trained for 8 month (also do Triathlons up to 70.3 distance)
First marathon and wanted to check off a bucket list item. Famous Berlin Marathon.
Contracted COVID on Thursday.
Weekend was rough. Feeling much better now but obviously not recovered.
Coming from North America, so flying 10 hours is not conducive to recovery obviously.
Do you think I am nuts that I continue to have hope to run the Berlin Marathon next Sunday September 24th?
I already gave up on making it sub 4 hours as that was my goal.
I did hear a story about an AG triathlete that went 1 week after Covid to IM World Champs in Nice and it went well.
Is everything paid for and non refundable? I know the entry fee isn’t but if you can cancel hotel and flight without too much loss I’d bail. Otherwise make the trip and take it easy peesy.
Non refundable flights and train tickets.
Would need a doctors notice to even use my travel insurance and the next available doc appointment is like 3 weeks from now.
Total trip is 19 days.
Anyhow, will see how the next day goes.
I got cold before half marathon and felt ok on the race day. I think I got it 7-10 days prior to the race. Guess what? I broke down half way. You feel ok in the beginning but your body just can’t take the beating. Maybe you are different and could do well but most likely, you are going to suffer. You can run easy and enjoy the experience though. There’s nothing wrong with that.
There’s a whole other world at the far back of the pack … embrace it, and enjoy it; try to see how SLOW you can go, for a change! Make new friends! Take lots of selfies! Who knows, it could be the ONE marathon you talk about more than any other
Non refundable flights and train tickets.
Would need a doctors notice to even use my travel insurance and the next available doc appointment is like 3 weeks from now.
Total trip is 19 days.
Anyhow, will see how the next day goes.
Appreciate everyone’s feedback!
Are your tickets changeable?
Just go to urgent care if you need a doctor’s note.
If you are all going on holiday, just go with that, go down to the race, take a few photos. No point racing.
Enjoy your holiday. You could be shit faced from the marathon, could ruin the rest of your holiday. What is more important? Doing a mara or having a nice holiday and looking after your body?
Shame you miss out on the event but if I am honest with you schag if you run a mara just after getting a flu you are just self harming . Be back bigger and better at some other event next year.
Everybody is different - you may think I am just some dick head on ST but yes I do think you are nuts if you want to do that
Non refundable flights and train tickets. Would need a doctors notice to even use my travel insurance and the next available doc appointment is like 3 weeks from now.
Total trip is 19 days.
Anyhow, will see how the next day goes.
Appreciate everyone’s feedback!
Urgent care doctor’s note should work as well. We used that for trip cancellation insurance last year.
Otherwise, Berlin is a wonderful city to visit, so much to see. I could have spent a week plus there without needing to exercise (beyond walking 5 kms/day).
Laidlow won Nice 20 days after covid.
Wurf raced Kona while he had covid.
I’m sure there are more stories like this.
You decide, don’t let others decide for you.
If you race, just rest the next week, eat plenty of healthy food and get lots of rest with minimal training activity. Take vitamin d daily if you aren’t. If you feel up for it, a few light spins on the bike trainer, not pushing hard. Just moving the legs. I always like to very lightly swim a bit when sick. Others might feel differently. I have my own pool though.
A week out, add in a few more light activities to see how you feel. The rest might actually do you good.
Many of us had covid with little affect. Others got hammered. It’s a shame there’s been little serious attention to the why’s.
You need to monitor how you are. I had covid a few weeks ago and the next week was pretty good to go (50 year old).
I believe Wout Van Aert had it one week and came in 2nd in Paris Roubaix the next week. Now 2nd isn’t what he was hoping for but it’s still alright.
That being said, some people take more time to recover and even two weeks later may have some weakness.
FWIW, from a fitness standpoint, you should be fine. I ran Berlin in 2019, had a great build, but got a stress reaction in my foot 2 weeks before the race. Cross trained hard for 2 weeks & raced. Ended up with a PB at the time. I was fit for something a little better but you’ve already made the fitness gains in the training block. The only consideration is how your body is dealing with COVID. Scrap it if your heart rate is elevated & your symptoms are lingering. If you feel ok & can get in a few easy runs before the race then I think you can go for it & aim for something close to your initial goal. I would dial back the first 5k/10k & aim for a front half on the easier end of what you were going for.
I had Covid 2 weeks before a planned IM last year. Exactly 48h of symptoms (fever and headache), then nothing apart fatigue.
Even though I had a clear ECG and blood results, I still was advised against doing IM Cozumel.
If my life depended on it, I’d have finished that IM. But fatigue left me after roughly 3-4 weeks only.
Not a medical advice, because I’m not a doctor, but to avoid long lasting heart damage, I’d recommending putting an artificial max HR you wouldn’t exceed in that marathon. Provided you’d be able to even achieve it, considering the expected fatigue.
