This time, 27 km was the limit. Hip pains, thigh cramps, knee pains and feet strains all came into play. It started out as a stretch-run-walk routine, but I soon figured that I would be better off walking most of the remaining distance.

The will was there. I began counting, kilometre by kilometre, … 32-33-34… It did take a good bit of will to keep going. As the count went from the low thirties to the high thirties, a few people appearing along different parts of the course began to catch my attention.

To be exact, it was not the people who caught my eyes. It was that ribbon that they wore around their necks. A ribbon with black, red and gold stripes, from which hung the finishers’ medal.

Black, red and gold, these are colours familiar to me. When I was a teenager, I had weaved a wrist band of these colours and tied it to the strap of my bag during the World Cup seasons in support of the German team. Now I had a chance of earning a medal with a ribbon of these exact colours and seeing it just brought back some memories. I wanted that medal, but to get it, I should not let myself faint, cramp and collapse or simply give up before crossing the finish line.

Once I had my black, red and gold ribbon around my very own neck, I got to take a close look at the medal. On its front side is the face of Haile Gebrselassie, with his world record timing of 2:03:59 h engraved on it. This is the time he set in Berlin in 2008, the first time a runner ever broke the 2:04 barrier. The engraving on this year’s medal commemorates his record-setting feat last year.

The other side of the medal is the obligatory text showing the event, the date and the year. As image, it shows that famous moment as Haile crossed the finish line last year, arms in the air, a wide smile across his face.

Actually, the race magazine given out at the expo had a column describing the design of this year’s medal. I did not read it the night before the race as I was busy packing and memorising the water and refreshment points.

This one is definitely something different from the medals that carry the same designs year after year, except for their dates. I like it!