The WA Hall of Champions is a very prestigious place to be, as you must have excelled in your chosen sport.

The Hall of Champions was originally put forward by the Sportwriters Association of WA in 1983. The criteria to be accepted into the Hall are as follows:  Outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level, the athlete must be accepted as a product of the WA sporting system or have established their reputation while resident in WA. The athlete must also have retired from the highest level of competition for five years.

The current members of the selection committee are: Mr David Hatt (Chairman), Mr Ken Casellas, Mrs Liz Chetkovich, Mr Alan East, Mr Ray Wilson, Mr Glenn Mitchell and Ms Pam O’Connell.

We were privileged to witness on Friday night the latest three inductees, Cyclist Darryn Hill, Golfer Maxine Bishop and Australian Rules Footballer Sammy Clarke.

On the night we were given a run down on the achievements of these athletes that warranted their elevation to the Hall of Champions, and those of Darryn Hill and Maxine Bishop appeared thoroughly deserved. Hill having been the 1995 World Sprint Champion, having also won silver in 1994, and bronze in 1996 and 1997. He also won bronze as part of the team sprint combination at the Sydney Olympics and won another World title in 1996.

Ms Bishop was the first Western Australian golfer male or female to win an Australian amateur championship, in 1951. And was the first to win an overseas tournament, the New Zealand Open also in 1951. She was state women’s champion 11 times and won the Victorian title three times, the only three times she entered.

Then came the induction of Sammy Clarke, and we have to say that this one just did not have the same feeling of merit. He won the Sandover medal in 1933 in his first season of Australian Rules football for Claremont-Cottesloe. He won it again the following year, and represented WA 8 times. All impressive, but does it really warrant induction into the Hall of Champions? We cannot believe that there are not people from other sports with more impressive credentials.

Louise Sauvage is one to spring to mind who won 9 Paralympic gold medals and three silver in four Paralympic appearances. She also won gold in the 800m demonstration event at the Olympic games in Atlanta(96) and Sydney (00). She also won the Boston, Los Angeles, Berlin and Honolulu Marathons. She was voted Australian Paralympian of the Year in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998 has been awarded numerous other awards including the 1998 Young Australian of the Year in a sports category, the 1999 Australian Female Athlete of the Year, and also an Order of Australia Medal. Yet she is overlooked for the Hall of Champions?

Louise is an exceptional example, but if you are going to honour the likes of Sammy Clarke then you must compare his achievement with others in other sports. In state football, Theo Papp won, what is now the McInerney Ford Gold Medal four times in 1964, ’67, ’68 and ’70. The only man to have done so. Norrie Sutton won the same award twice, in 1982 and fourteen years later in 1996. Both also represented Western Australia.

If we look at Rugby Union, I have been unable to obtain a list of the PG Hampshire Award winners, however surely John Cecil `Jock’ Steggall deserves to be in the Hall of Champions. “Jock” was born in Geraldton in 1909, the son of a watchmaker and played 10 tests for Australia between 1931-33 at fullback. He sadly passed away in 1985. Although born in Geraldton he was schooled in Toowoomba and spent time in Brisbane before his Wallaby call up. as in those days the only chance you hade of a call up was if you came from Queensland or new South Wales. Now according to the criteria he may well be excluded even though he is in fact a product of Western Australia, and someone that Rugby in WA recognises as a Western Australian. Yet because he headed over East to further his aspirations at a time when WA was not on the Rugby map he is excluded. Is this right?

Another example from rugby is  NZ born Bob Thompson who was picked to play for Australia whilst playing for Wests in 1971. Probably the first player to picked to represent Australia while playing in Western Australia, in the days before the Western Force, and recognition that Western Australia could match the east coast.

There are bound to be others in other sports but hopefully the point is proven.

Now the reason that “Not The Footy Show” was launched in September 2006 was because we felt that there were athletes and sports that deserved recognition that were being overlooked by a media that seems obsessed with Australian Rules. It would appear that the most prestigious awards in the state have also been hijacked, as without wanting to offend Mr Clarke’s family, his place in the Hall of Champions is premature when there are in other sports others who appear certainly equally if not more worthy.

We have gone through the past Inductees to see if there is a fair representation of the athletes that Western Australia has produced, and we will let you be the judge, but there does appear to be a very strong bias to what were traditionally the “Australian” sports, Australian Rules in winter, and cricket in summer.

The following sports have the following number of athletes in the Hall of Champions (sports such as Hockey include male and female athletes) :
Australian Rules – 23
Hockey – 21
Cricket – 13*
Athletics – 9
Swimming – 9
Netball – 4
Water Polo – 3
Harness Racing – 3
Horse Racing – 3
Tennis – 3*
Squash – 2
Surf Lifesaving – 2
Golf – 2
Billiards – 2
Lacrosse – 2
Surf Riding – 2
Cycling – 2
Bowls – 1
Speedway – 1
Basketball – 1
Yachting – 1
Association Football – 1
*Ernest Parker was inducted for both Tennis and Cricket.

There would appear to be an imbalance. After all this is not even an international sport. Hockey is an Olympic sport and deserves to be where it is, but there are many other athletes and sports that are not being given the recognition that they deserve, and this needs to be righted. It seems a little strange that some Western Australian athletes are in their chosen sport’s national Hall of Fame before their home state acknowledges them.

There would also appear to be an imbalance on the selection committee with Messrs, Casellas, Mitchell, East and Wilson all having strong Australian Rules ties, or are we being unfair?

One thing that these judges must be careful of is devaluing the honour of the Hall of Champions by pushing an agenda for their favoured sport. It would be a very sad day if that were to happen.

Tying a city break in with a great sporting event – whether a cycle race, marathon or football match – has its pros and cons. On the one hand, you’ll always remember that time when your team, your partner, your friend accomplished a monumental feat. It can be emotional. It can be the making of a trip.

But is it always worth the planning ahead you have to do in order to secure flights and accommodation at a time everyone else is trying to get to the same place – not to mention the extra cost you end up paying for a popular flight?

And does the sporting event, in fact, detract from the place you’re trying to visit? Is it really right that your overriding memory of South Africa is of the 2010 World Cup instead of Table Mountain and whale watching? That you went to Aubenas at the time of the Tour de France and didn’t even take in its medieval castle? That you went to Berlin, as I did, to support some friends running the Berlin marathon, and spent so much time preparing and resting with the runners that you didn’t get to see as much of the city as you’d have liked to.

There are many solutions of course – breaking away from the group and prioritising what you want to see and do can seem a little selfish but sometimes it’s necessary.

Another option is to spend more time there (wherever there may be), so you can enjoy the event and the scenery. That brings more money in to the hosting city, which is a good thing, but that means you ultimately have to spend more money. It also means you have to turn what could be a city break into a week-long holiday, and sacrificing more of your annual leave to visit a place chosen initially because of a sporting event.

I’ve turned the issue over in my mind many times, and the answer really is simple.

I would not have visited Berlin this autumn and seen any of its sights if it had not been for the invitation friends issued when they signed up to run the marathon. And as well as seeing the Berlin Wall, St Hedwig’s Cathedral, the blue church, the Reichstag, I got to see people I knew crossing the finish line after a gruelling body-wrecking endeavour. Trips are not just about the scenes you see, but the memories you make.

What counts, as always when it comes to travel, is the attitude you take with you.

Temarejser / Sportsoplevelser / Berlin halvmarathon

Søndag den 28. marts 2010 afvikles det traditionsrige Berlin halvmaraton for 30. gang. Løbet, der er et af de største i Europa havde i 2009 mere end 25.000 deltagere. Selve løbet er perfekt for såvel øvede som debutanter. Ruten går forbi mange af de største seværdigheder i Berlin og er samtidig en rute uden voldsomme stigninger. Traditionen tro har løbet deltagelse af mange danskere, som vender tilbage år efter år.

Bellevue Tours A/S giver nu dig muligheden for deltagelse i løbet. Vi har sammensat en pakke som sikrer dig optimal forberedelse til løbet. Det eneste du skal gøre, er at træne, samt huske dine sko ☺

Park Inn Berlin Alexanderplatz: Hotellet ligger tæt på start og målområde og er i det hele taget et ideelt udgangspunkt for udflugter i Berlin. Det 4* hotel er med sine 1012 værelse fordelt på 37 etager det største i Berlin. Hotellet tilbyder også wellness område med Sauna, Massage og Fittness rum. http://www.parkinn-berlin.de/

Vi arrangerer afgange fra både Jylland og Sjælland.
[Se detaljeret program og indhold for turen]

For bestilling kontakt Bellevue Tours A/S på 9824 9820, eller send os en mail på: grupper@bellevuetours.dk
Endeligt program for turen fremsendes efter tilmelding.

So how does Berlin marathon compare to the London marathon? Well they are different and I like them both.
Berlin is a fantastic city and it was nice to be able to treat it as a weekend away, the expo before the marathon was brilliant, much better then the London Expo which was a bit on the small side and disorganised.
As I mentioned before the Berlin marathon course is much better and faster, no hills to speak of and only asphalt to run on, The London course has a few hills and often very uneven surface like cobbler stones and potholes or in some places very hard concrete.

But for the atmosphere London wins hands down, the Londoners and the rest of the tourists cheer you on like mad, they are everywhere and they cheer for everyone. In London it is a street party and full of people along the whole course during the whole day. In Berlin it seemd like as soon as the elite had run past they went home, yes there were a few bands and DJs playing and a few onlookers that stayed a long time but nothing in comparison to London. Also the Londoners behaved better in the places where the course was not fenced of whilst the Berliners just crossed the course as they felt walking or on bicycles. I saw quite a few running into careless Berliners crossing the course just in front of them, shame on you.

Then the water stations, sorry to say but Berlin here you where really rubbish. London handed out tiny Vittel bottles with the screw cap of, these fitted nicely into your hand and you could easily run and drink at the same time. The for the energy London had teamed up with Lucozade who also handed out small bottles that you could run and drink through at the same time. Also London had water stations on both sides of the track, but more importantly the London marathon had instructions on how to throw your bottle to not inconvinience any of the other runners. Londons organising from the dropping of your personal belongings, the water stations to the after finishing services are superb, although they could have more portable loos at the start.

Here Berlin had brittle plastic glasses that you had to stop to be able to drink from and they were thrown everywhere, so difficult to drink from and then a hazzard when running as you either got one chucked on you or slipped whilst stepping on them. You can actually hear in the videos around the water stations the sond from peoples feet crushing the plastic cups. The energy drink was no better the were served in paper cups, here a stop to drink was also necessary and they didn’t break but instead desintegrated into slipper paper mush on the ground. Most of the drinking stations were only on one side as well. Berlins clothes drop were a bit awkward, too few loos at the clothes drop, badly sign posted with to small markers and the layout after the finish line felt a bit chaotic. Also really annoyed that I had to have an F in front of my number because I’m a girl.

So 2-2 you think it is even but no there is one point that is sooo much more important that it tips the scale….Atmosphere! London wins soley because of their fantastic atmosphere. Don’t get me wrong Berlin marathon was great and I am actually thinking of doing it again next year but when you are really, really tired you need people to support you.

In Swedish
Både Berlin och London är riktigt bra maraton ställen men London är strået vassare, Berlin har en snabbare bana med jämn asfalt och inte några backar att tala om och bättre Expo med mer försäljare. Men London är bättre på organisationen runt maratonet och det viktigaste stämningen i London är så enormt mycket bättre. Berlins vattenstationer var riktigt dåliga, så dåliga att man var tvungen att stanna upp för att dricka och riktigt akta sig för att inte halka på alla trasiga plastglas. De flesta åskådarna gick hem när eliten hade sprunigt förbi och både cyklister och gångare gick rakt ut framför oss vanliga löpare. Gillade inte heller att få ett F framför mitt nummer bara för att jag är en tjej.

Berlin Marathon day!

We went up early to be able to digest the breakfast properly, and the hotel served breakfast 30 minutes earlier then normal for all us runners. After we had eaten we had a little half hour snooze and then we got ready. My maraton outfit is not the most stylish but it is damn practical, although I do really like the turqouise black top I bought

We got to the start well in time but even though I went to the toilet before we left the hotel the nervousity made me need them again. Unfortunately there were to few portable loos and the queue were enormous and people pushed past (I thought Germans were good at orderly queues) so I was 15 minutes late to the start. However the time does not start until you and the chip in your shoe pass the start line and with that amount of people I would not have been able to get to the start line quicker anyway.

Talked to a nice Dane called Jette whilst waiting in the loo queue and then in the queue to pass the start line, checked her number up and saw that she finished, so happy she managed to finish her first marathon.

And then of we went. The Berlin marathon really is a fast track, I have heard that a lot of people break their personal best including Haile Gebrselassie’s world record last year, and it is so true. The course is very flat and the surface is even, at the half way stage I realised I was on my way to beat my PB with 20-30 minutes and I was thrilled. Despite my worries about my training I felt great, muscles where OK, no trace of any stitch, plenty of energy my feet felt very light

Then it happened, not exactly sure when but it was around 28-30 km (the km sign post at the marathon were rubbish missed most and my Ipod measures incorrectly), I felt pain in my hip and knee and the muscle and tendon/band in between, it got gradually worse until finally might right leg couldn’t take the weight of my body any longer as I landed on it whilst running. I should probably have stepped of at that stage but I am way too stubborn for that and pressed on until I reached the finishing line. I hobbled and walked as fast as I could and finished on 5:04:56 which I think is ok considering the injury but gutted I missed what would have been a PB Might publish the horrible finishing line photos of me pulling ugly painful faces…but nah probably not

Sweetie did fantastically well and finished on 3:50:06, I am so proud over him.

In Swedish
Vi gick upp tidigt för att äta frukost så vi skulle kunna smälta den ordentligt innan loppet, hotellet hade snällt öppnat en halvtimma tidigare än normalt för frukost till alla löpare. Sen vilade vi lite och gjorde oss iordning. Min spring outfit är väl inte världens finaste men ack så praktisk, fast jag gillar min nya springtop ordentligt.

Vi kom till starten en halvtimma innan 9.00, jag hann inte säga lycka till till min sötnos innan loppet för jag hade fullt upp med att köa till toaletten, 40 minuters kö så jag kom 15 min försent till starten men eftersom min startgrupp inte hunnit över startlinjen så gjorde det inte så mycket. Tiden tas ju inte heller för än mitt chip kommit över startlinjen.

När jag väl börjat springa så gick allt jättebra, musklerna kändes bra, inget håll, tillräkligt med energi, bra flås och lätta fötter. Hade redan hört från flera håll att Berlins bana är snabb, Haile har ju sprungit på världsrekord tid där och flera andra har visst gjort sina person bästa där. När jag tittade på min klocka vi halvägs punkten så inså jag att jag skulle slå mitt PB med 20-30 minuter. Jag var jätteglad

Men så plötsligt så händer det, vid 28 eller 30 km (vet inte riktigt för Berlins km märken syntes väldigt dåligt och min Ipod mäter fel), jag får ont i höger höft, knä och muskeln och leden/bandet mellan höften och knät. Envis som jag är så fortsätter jag för “Jag ska i mål” trots att jag nog borde klivit av där, till slut så klarar inte mitt höger ben att ta vikten av min kropp när jag landar i steget. Jag haltade och gick snabbt den biten som var kvar, ganska nöjd att komma i mål på 5:04:56 trots skada men riktigt ledsen för jag var så nära att slå mitt PB rejält

Sötnos var helt suverän och sprang i mål på 3:50:06, är så stolt

it was a sunday of will and pain, when me and mathilde went to watch the marathon. we were constantly looking for a glimpse of her dad or my uncle who both has the annual ritual to participate in the 42 km of struggle. we were surpriced to see the majority of runners in white/red shirts, indicating that they were danes like us. among them was a lot of old men, showing an admirable strengh, though obvious as it was, that they were hurting everywhere. we also saw men bleeding all the way down their sporty legs and even nipples, which apperently is a possible consequence, when rubbing ur ass cheeks agains eachother or wearing a loose t-shirt, for those 42 km…

Landed really early in Berlin on Friday morning, way to tired for the brain to work properly. Went by Ryanair which further caused my brain to go into meltdown…How much worse can they actually get until people (yes me included) start boycotting they??? I am starting to think they are some sort of evil social experience to see how much shit and frustration people are willing to put up with for a cheap ticket…Oups went a bit of topic there.

To get from Berlin Schönefeld airport to central Berlin was very easy, just a short walk to the train station and €2.80 and 30-45 minutes later I stepped of the train in Zoologischer Garten, right where I wanted to end up. The hotel was within walking distance and with the help of the map in my Top 10 Berlin guide book I found it alright. I can really recommend the Top 10 Berlin book, really good size so easy to take around town or you can detach the map and travel even lighter. It picks out the classics and a few other top spots and it is not over bearing, and it gives you choices between budget, medium and luxury. The only bad point with the book is that it has a few sights have double or triple entries, they could either be removed and make the book lighter and cheaper or replaced by more information. Really missed a map of where the Berlin Wall cut through Berlin and a bit more info about the wall.

The hotel was the three star Sorat Ambassador I must say a very typical German hotel. With typical I do not mean bad, but like most buildings they are either built in the 50s and 60s or the early 90s everything looks a bit the same and often a bit dated decor. But everything works, everything is clean and the staff were superb. Would I recommend Sorat Ambassador to others? Absolutely! The hotel is easy to get to from the airport, very central and within walking distance of many sights and close to the shopping streets if that is what you like. But most important the staff were really nice, helpful and friendly.

The room was comfortable and clean, the bed was comfortable apart from the insanely large pillows. As my brain did not work properly from lack of sleep I seemed to have forgotten how to use a key I then realised I needed an afternoon nap.

I went sight seeing a bit whilst waiting for Sweetie to arrive I went to the Europa centre and then to “Hollow Tooth”. Hollow tooth is a church that was bombed severly during the second world war but instead of tearing it down the Berliners wanted to keep it as a reminder of the horror of war.

At eight Sweetie finally arrived, I was so happy to see him again, we have never been apart for this long before. I didn’t want to stop hugging him and looking at him We ate a quick meal of pasta on or way to the hotel. Yes Carbo-loading it is before a marathon, so funny all the resturants and hotels seemed to have special marathon pasta menus. In Berlin you really notice the marathon runners whilst in London they really blend in. After dinner we went back to the hotel, we talked and hugged for a few hours and then slept.

We went up early in the morning to go to the marathon expo at Flughafen Tempelhof, a building that made me say “It looks like a Nazi building” and loo and behold my guide book describes it as a facist building from 1939…looks really oppressing doesn’t it? Although a fantastic exhibition venue I must admit. The expo was great, we got our numbers and chips alright and they had plenty of running gear for sale. I bought a new Skins long sleeve running top and a sort of bandana to protect my head from the sun.

Needed to repair my sweded outfit so I had to get hold of a tailor. Luckily German is not to disimilar from Swedish so I could guess that “änderungen” meant changes, and what do you change if not clothes. At the tailor I just said “Problem, morgen maraton, kaputt” and showed him the pocket for my Carbogels (yes more Carbs guess you can see the pattern). So Sweedes can get by in German, even though this tired Sweede brought her Spanish phrasebook and not the German one

Then we went back to the hotel for a quick pasta lunch and a nap, you need to rest a lot the day before a maraton and stay of your feet. We then walk to the marathon start to check that we could find it properly and to time the distance there. After that we meet up with one of Sweeties friends who is also running and ate som more pasta, tired of pasta wanted meat or pizza Then a taxi ride home and early night. To be prepared for the Berlin marathon the next day.

In Swedish
Landade tidigt på fredagen i Berlin, flög tyvärr med Ryanair, lovar mig varje gång att sluta eftersom de suger, tror definitivt att de egentligen är ett elakt socialt experiment för att testa människors gränser.

Vårat tre stjärniga hotell Sorat Ambassador var helt ok (jag är närking så läs ok som bra), bra område, nära till allt och trevlig personal. Visst hotellet ser daterat ut men det har varje hotell som jag bott på i Tyskland gjort, huvudsaken är ju att de är rena fräscha och funktionella samt har trevlig personal. Hotell ambassador tickar alla boxar så jag kan rekommendera det om du ska till Berlin.

Medn jag väntade på sötnos skulle anlända så sov jag, behövdes när jag inte kom på hur en nyckel till rummet fungerade…hmm vrid åt ena hållet tills dörren öppnas kanske??? Sen lite sight seeing på Europa center och “Ihåliga Tanden” kyrkan som bombades under andra världskriget. När sötnos kom så ville jag bara krama ihjäl honom, har ju inte sett honom på länge. Vi Kolhyrdats laddade med pasta innan vi gick till hotellet for att prata, kramas och sova tidigt.

Nästa dag så hämtade vi upp våra nummer och chips för maratonen på Flughafen Tempelhof, den byggdes 1939 och hela byggnaden ser verkligen nasistisk ut, den riktigt tornar upp sig över en och man kände sig lite plattare. De hade mycket grejer på expon och jag köpte en ny Skins långärmad springtop och en sorts bandana att skydda huvudet från solen med.

Klantade mig och tog med min spanska frasbok istället för min tyska, men klarade mig ganska galant ändå eftersom tyska inte är så olikt svenska. Hos skräddaren blev det “Problem, morgen maraton, kaputt” och han lagade snabbt min swedade ficka för mina Kolhydratsgeleer, jupp kolhydrater är ett återkommande tema

Sen en åt vi en snabb pasta lunch och tog en tupplur, man ska vila och inte knata runt dagen innan ett maraton. Sen gick vi till starten så vi visste var den var och hur lång tid det skulle ta att gå dit. Efter det träffade vi en av sötnos vänner som också skulle springa och åt lite mer pasta, trött på pasta ville egentligen äta kött eller pizza. Sen taxi till hotellet och tidig kväll inför söndagens maraton.

Berlin – Marathon, schon morgens um 9 Uhr kreiseln wieder die Hubschrauber am Himmel … Neeeiiin! Heute nicht, nicht schon wieder stundenlanges Rotorblattgeschrabsel! Die Sonne scheint in Strömen und so landeten wir kurzerhand mit Pullover und Sonnenbrille ausgerüstet im Auto, um auf die Insel Usedom zu fahren.

Herrlich, an einem norddeutschen 20igsten September die Füsse ins Meerwasser zu tauchen und stundenlang am Strand hin- und her zu wandern! DAS war ein Ausflugshighlight!

Auch die Fahrt dorthin war wunderschön. Schade nur daß die ganze Landschaft mit Windkraftanlagen zugekleistert ist – eine erodierende Ästhetik der Landschaft. Von ca. 30 Anlagen sind vielleicht 5 in Aktion, weil die Menge des Angebotes gar nicht gleichzeitig verarbeitet werden kann.

Wir haben den Tag trotzdem genossen, die Stadtluft hinter uns gelassen und mal wieder durchgeatmet – wunderbar! Die Pullover brauchten wir bis in den späten Abend hinein nicht …

Today was the Berlin Marathon, again, it does this every year… It’s impossible, or at least very difficult, not to get excited.  First, there’s a ton of cheering people standing next to you, second, there’s people in front of you who are running 13 miles per hour, and third, you can meander down the middle of major streets.  All in all, a fantastic sunday.  I found it really impossible not to walk around with a goofy smile on my face; there’s music playing, drum circles, people encouraging other people, people who really really need encouragement and just a festive vibe in the air.  I sat with Bea and her dog Bacon and watched as Haile Gebrselassie attempted to beat his world record of last year: 26 miles, 385 yards in 2:03:59.  He didn’t, finishing almost 3 minutes behind his previous record, though still far in front of everyone else.  It was a good deal warmer than last year and by the time the runners rounded the corner onto Potsdamer, you could tell they were feeling the heat (the actual heat).  It’s sometimes hard to remember after the very very fast record holders have passed that the people after them are still unbelievably good at running.  There was a large group of men, and the first women, who passed in the fifteen to thirty minutes after Gebrselassie who are exceptionally good marathon runners.  Actually, anybody who finishes at all is impressive, and anyone who sustains a jog, no matter how slow, has earned my admiration.  I did see someone collapse who was in one of the first big groups of men, people who in order to have the times they did had been sustaining a fast run for two hours.  This guy was walking, which was a big warning sign.  Luckily there were about a hundred people ready to jump forward and catch him when he fell, which he definitely did.  They did have to call an ambulance for him, so I hope it was something like dehydration and not a heart attack.

It’s sort of amazing how friendly people are to the runners, joggers, and walkers of the marathon.  Toward 2pm I was walking back and the power walkers were still going.  And there were still people to cheer them on.  This older woman was yelling encouragement, telling them how close they were to the end (relative…)  And at the finish line the scene is a little insane, with an announcer getting the crowd excited and the runners throwing themselves forward toward the end. It almost makes me want to train to do a marathon.  And then I look more closely at the runners’ faces and decide against it.

Well.  The road is back to being populated by cars and so I must get back to doing actual work.

…und habe die letzte Gruppe noch gesehen!

Seit knapp 10 Jahren wohne ich an der Berliner Marathonstrecke, von Abwesenheiten mal abgesehen. Das heißt: Direkt etwa fünf Meter vor meinem Balkon spielt sich das ganze Spektakel ab, mit Lautsprecherdurchsagen, lautem Klatschen und anfeuernden Rufen. Vier Stunden lang. Bestimmt dreimal hab ich’s ganz verpaßt. Und oft war ich total überrascht beim irgendwann Vor-die-Tür-Treten oder Aus-dem-Fenster-Schauen.

Was soll ich sagen — es ist sonntags, ich schlafe ohne Hörgeräte und setze sie auch manchmal erst lange nach dem Frühstück ein.

more pictures

My running number is F3623 and you should be able to follow my progress online if you enter my number on this website somewhere Berlin Marathon Website

And if you want to watch it you can do it on webb tv here

If you really, really want to support me then you can donate money to my charity by clicking here.

Also don’t forget Sweetie is running too his number will be 7184 so you can track his progress too.

In Swedish
Mitt springnummer är F3623 och du borde kunna följa mig på nätet om du knappar in mitt nummer på den här websidan någonstans Berlin Marathon Websida

Och vill du titta på loppet så ska webb tv fungera här here

Men självklart så får ni ju stödja mig genom att donera till min välgörenhet genom att klicka här.

Glöm inte att sötnos springer också hans nummer är 7184 så ni kan kolla hur det går för honom också.

…but it won’t be me

Yes this is the weather forecast for Berlin, Germany, the marathon is on Sunday. Most runners find sunny weather the most difficult marathon weather and many runners complained at the heat during London marathon in April. My nightmare weather would be cold or cold AND rainy. Everyone that knows me have heard about me complaining about being cold so running in sunshine does not bother me too much. But I think I will buy something to cover my head as I do not wish to burn my scalp. Just hope my Sweetie will cope well with the heat.

In Swedish
Det verkar bli fint väder i Berlin i helgen Jag kommer inte att lida men det kommer nog de flesta andra som springer göra, hoppas bara att sötnos klarar värmen bra. Jag hatar kyla och kallt regn så jag är bara glad om vädret stämmer.

Only a few days left now until my second marathon, I do not have a fundraising target like I had for the London Marathon but I would love if you could sponsor Lepra again on my behalf. Lepra does a lot of good work where it is needed and as I went to their AGM to check how they spend there money I can happily say it appears to go where it should and not down some big spender’s pocket.

You do not have to give much I am happy just getting the minimum donation limit of £2, you can donate by clicking here.

In Swedish
Bara några dagar kvar nu tills jag springer Berlin Maraton, även denna vill jag springa för välgörenhet. Så donera gärna genom att klicka här. Ni behöver inte ge mycket jag blir glad för £2 som minimum gränsen är.

BERLIN – Im Rahmen des diesjährigen Berlin-Marathons wird am 20. September 2009 eine besondere Aktion stattfinden: 1183 Läufer sollen für die Freilassung des vor drei Jahren entführten israelischen Soldaten Gilad Shalit und die Wahrung von Menschenrechten in aller Welt am größten Laufevent Deutschlands teilnehmen. Dafür wird noch nach Unterstützern gesucht ( Mehr…. )

Q: Didn’t you once run in the Paris Marathon?
Joe: Yep. I ran three of them.
Q: Correct me if I’m wrong but is it also true that you never trained for any of them?
Joe: You shouldn’t really ask me about my training regime, you know.
Q: Why?
Joe: Because it’s not good and I wouldn’t want people to copy it.

Q: Don’t make me beat it out of you.
Joe: Okay, you want it, here it is. Drink 10 pints of beer the night before the race. Ya got that? And don’t run a single step at least four weeks before the race.
Q: No running at all?
Joe: No, none at all. And don’t forget the 10 pints of beer the night before. But make sure you put a warning in this article, “Do not try this at home.” I mean, it works for me and Hunter Thompson but it might not work for others. I can only tell you what I do.”

Berlin Sunday  – see you there?

There is no better way to run a marathon than doing it for a charity, this time I do not have a proper target to reach although I have set out £200 just to see what happens. So give whatever you feel like you can, minimum donation is £2, take out your card and click on this link http://www.justgiving.com/Eva-Jonsson/ or the sponsor me now button. This is your chance to count your blessings and give something back to those who need it more.

In Swedish
Har inget fundraising mål får Berlin maraton men tycker det är bra att springa för ett bra ändamål. Så jag har satt mig ett eget mål på £200, vi får se hur det går ge vad ni kan, minimum är £2. ni kan donera genom att klicka på den här länken http://www.justgiving.com/Eva-Jonsson/ eller sponsor me now knappen.