On Monday, August 15, the marathon of the European Championships Munich 2022 took place with start and finish at Odeonsplatz. In the morning, the women started first, followed an hour later by the men. The best German woman, Miriam Dattke, finished fourth in only the second marathon of her career. In an outstanding team performance the German women won the gold medal. In the men's race, Ringer Richard took first place after a brilliant sprint to the finish. In the men's team classification, silver went to Germany.  

After the medal ceremony of the marathon, the public run for all hobby athletes, the Salomon Run of 2022, continued immediately. The 10-kilometer marathon loop of the elite was run. However, the way there was not easy to find. The announcement mentioned the subway exit and the street name of the start, but gave no indication that it was necessary to walk from Odeonsplatz into a side street and through a small park. Since no signs were posted either, it was difficult to even reach the target street without the map sent to us in advance. Arrived at the supposed start, the runners went from there in the previously determined start groups A and B to the actual starting line, which was set up in the middle of the grandstand at Odeonsplatz, from which the marathon runners of the European Championships had also started in the morning. However, the line-up in the starting area was not announced, which is why the motto: "Follow the masses" was quite appropriate. The respective runners were not checked for their starting time, which meant that participants of group B were running in group A. Furthermore, there was no clock or time announcements how many minutes were left until the starting signal. The many athletes stood in the starting area, took pictures, filmed and waited for the starting signal. Only the last ten seconds were counted down, telling the participants that the race was about to begin. In the meantime, only a few spectators could be spotted applauding on the grandstand, which had previously been full during the marathon. After the starting signal, the pace was slow at first due to the many runners. At the edge of the course, the spectators knocked on the barriers and caused an insane noise, which motivated the participants once again. But after a few meters the shouts died away and the sound of rubbing fabric and cushioning running shoes dominated the following kilometers.

From Odeonsplatz, the course continued towards Marienplatz, past the Viktualienmarkt, to Gärtnerplatz. Since this has a star-shaped street course and the athletes came from one street, turned into the next, turned around there and ran again another way, the whole Gärtnerplatz was full of runners, which created the feeling of a large running community. On the way towards the Friedensengel, the athletes passed a spray shower, which provided cooling in the hot temperatures. In addition, at just under halfway through the race, there was an aid station with water. Since this was the only possibility to drink something during the ten kilometers, the aid station filled up quickly due to the many participants. The course continued towards the Friedensengel. Again and again, cyclists and pedestrians tried to cross the route of the runners, but were rejected by police officers and law enforcement officers. In order to reach the Friedensengel, the runners had to walk up a small incline. Some of them got physical problems. But the support of the athletes among each other was very great and they asked about each other's well-being. After the effort uphill, the runners relaxed downhill and continued towards the Chinese Tower in the English Garden. There, the brass band music sounded from the beer garden and a good-humored orderly animated the course spectators to cheer on those running past. Slowly, the finish line was approaching, and after a last refreshing shower, the runners headed down the home stretch from the Siegestor back to Odeonsplatz. On the last kilometer the spectators knocked on the barriers and cheered loudly. At the finish line, there was a medal, but unfortunately not enough for all participants, because on the day of the event a large number of runners had registered and the organizer had apparently not planned ahead. Furthermore, there was a long queue around the aid station and the participants had to wait for some time in the blazing sun to get a water or bar after the run. All in all it was a beautiful course through the heart of Munich with a great cohesion of the running community - despite hot temperatures and partly poor organization of the organizer.

Text & photos: Luisa Peintner