I signed up for the Paris Marathon on April 12, 2026.
It will be my fifth marathon, the first one outside of Scandinavia. This is one of the races I have long wanted to do, and racing it means crossing an item off my bucket list.
My goal is threefold:
- to enjoy the race,
- to finish it, and
- to break 4h 7m (my PR is 4:14:31).
This is what I train for now. Here we go.
#ParisMarathon in T minus 170 days.
No need to sugarcoat it: getting my shoes on and getting out the door was hard today. But once I was out there, this was a very nice and quiet morning run.
"I'm movin' through the dark of a long black night
Just movin' with the moon and the light it shines
And I'm thinking of a place and it feels so very real
Just movin' through the dark"
#ParisMarathon in T minus 170 days.
Distance: 5.13k
Pace: 5'28"
It was a dark and stormy morning, even if the sun soon rose, but I did the long run of this week. The first half was a struggle (because of strong headwinds), so I'll think of it as character-building... Running in the woods, though, was just wonderful.
35/52 of #52weeks52halfmarathons done.
#ParisMarathon in T minus 168 days.
Distance: 22.03k (total this cycle: 27.16k)
Pace: 5'40"
My first speed run in ages, I did the "First Fartlek Run" with @coachbennett in the #NikeRunClub app: 17 minutes of alternating pace to push myself (+ 15 minutes to get home). This was hard but fun.
Let's make today count!
#ParisMarathon in T minus 166 days.
Distance: 6.22k (total this cycle: 33.38k)
Pace: 5'13"
Today, I'm in Oslo, so my morning run had lots of hills.
The highlight of the run was listening to https://youtu.be/YzhjTeSz9y4 as I ran through the warm autumn colors and the cold sunrise in the Vigeland Park. It was such a beautiful moment.
#ParisMarathon in T minus 163 days.
Distance: 7.95k (total this cycle: 41.33k)
Pace: 5'29"
My daughter wanted to go for a run together (that's a first), so we did.
It was quite short.
It was quite slow.
And it was quite amazing to spend time with her this way.
#ParisMarathon in T minus 161 days.
Distance: 2.42k (total this cycle: 43.75k)
Pace: 7'40"
I was never really in the zone today, but experience carried me through. It was an ok run. This was week 36 of #52weeks52halfmarathons.
More important and impressive, however, my wife is walking a 27k route today ("Amarminoen"). This is a massive undertaking for her, but we will be there to support her and celebrate with a pop-up energy station later.
#ParisMarathon in T minus 161 days.
Distance: 22.35 (total this cycle: 66.1k)
Pace: 5'39"
Friday was Halloween - and this morning, I went on the "Spooky Speed Run" with Count Bænnætt (aka @coachbennett) in the #NikeRunClub app.
At 1k, in the dark and the quite of our small town, I passed a crowd with torches. I think they were on their way to surprise a friend on his birthday, but with John Carpenter synth in my ears it sure was a little spooky.
#ParisMarathon in T minus 159 days.
Distance: 4.98k (total this cycle: 71.08k)
Pace: 5'16"
A tempo run in the dark of the morning with The War on Drugs as my soundtrack. Many runners out there. This was a hard run, and it felt good.
I test the #Runna app these days. The guided runs in #NikeRunClub are gold, but I need something to push me a little further on especially long runs. Maybe this is it..?
Distance: 9.63k (total: 80.71k)
Pace: 5'17"
#ParisMarathon in 157 days. (Runna, ridicuously, projects my finish time to be 3:45:46. LOL!)
Such a joyful long run this morning. I got to see the sun rise over the sea, I met my mother and brother (quite a surprise), and I just had a blast out there. This was week 37 of #52weeks52halfmarathons.
I'm still testing the #Runna app, tweaking the settings to best suit my preferences.
Distance: 21.29k (total: 102k)
Pace: 5'31"
#ParisMarathon in 155 days.
An early and easy morning run. It was nice, and I felt good out there. Not much to report, really; it was just a run.
This was the third test run of the #Runna app. I look forward to Thursday, where I'll do intervals, and it'll have to show its true colors.
Distance: 10.6k (total: 112.6k)
Pace: 5'33"
#ParisMarathon in 152 days.
Intervals. 5 x 1k @ 4.55. Plus 3.5k warm-up and 2.5k cool-down. This was FUN! And occasionally fast. And hard. But mostly fun.
Have a good one, folks. Let's make it a beautiful day.
Distance: 12.96k (total: 125.56k)
Pace: 5'22"
#ParisMarathon in 150 days.
Edit: reposting this as part of my thread; sorry for the confusion.
An amazing morning run. It was cold (0 degree C), and it was pitch black when I started, but over the two hours the sun rose and I got to watch the world wake up. I spotted hares and a flock of geese, a young deer just 10 meters from me.
My free trial of #Runna expires now, and I won't move to a paid subscription. #NikeRunClub is better for me.
Week 38 of #52weeks52halfmarathons.
Distance: 22k (total: 147.56k)
Pace: 5'35"
#ParisMarathon in 147 days.
A few words on my experience with #Runna.
The app looks great and made a (solid and ambitious) AI-powered personalized training plan. Fine.
However, it provides audio feedback on pace *all* the time. "Slow down!" "Speed up!" Sometimes three such cues in 100 meters (and then 21.1k is a looooong way to go). It turned #running into a mechanical activity.
Could it make me faster? Maybe. Would it ruin my enjoyment of running? Certainly.
And that is why I stick with #NikeRunClub and @coachbennett.
NRC has its share of issues, for sure, but its approach to running just aligns so well with my own that I can live with them. And I know the alternatives aren't better (for me).
On a writing retreat with good colleagues, I started the day with a run.
This one was technically challenging. The light from my vest reflected in the raindrops on my glasses, making it hard to see were I ran. That combined with some uneven roads made it ... interesting. All in all, this was a run where I collected XP.
Distance: 6.89k (total: 184.45k)
Pace: 5'30"
Edit: pace corrected
#ParisMarathon in 144 days.
Morning intervals: 8 x 80 secs of various fast paces. Again, mixing things up on speed runs (and in general) was so much fun.
Due to windchill, it felt like -7 celsius out there (this one's for you, @pfernandes). Cold, but nice and clear.
A minor issue with the #nikerunClub app is that it doesn't count the light running I do between the intervals. It is what it is.
Distance counted: 3.92k (total: 188.37k)
Pace: 5'06"
#ParisMarathon in 142 days.
As @coachbennett says, "commitment is not giving up, it is giving more." This is about running, and this is not about running.
This was a long run through the cold and beautiful dawn. I felt good; this was nice. A big shout-out to the drivers who slowed down when they met this solitary runner in the dark of the countryside.
Stage 39 of #52weeks52halfmarathons.
Distance: 22k (total: 210.37k)
Pace: 5'40"
#ParisMarathon in 140 days.
Edits: typos.
Boy, that escalated quickly. My easy morning run with quite some hills in rainy Aarhus turned into stage 40 of #52weeks52halfmarathons. At 10k I just felt like #running far today, and YOLO got the best of me.
This run was heavily #MastoRunDK-supported. @nerdd suggested Aarhus Ø and Riis Skov as good places to run. @jimmyhartington provided the soundtrack (Radiohead, "The Bends"). Thank you!!
Distance: 21.28k (total: 231.65k)
Pace: 5'49"
#ParisMarathon in 138 days.
A nice afternoon run in Elsinore. It was fine, and Kronborg (the castle of Hamlet) is impressive.
This was likely the last time I used my pair of pink Nike Pegasus 41s. But they have covered 1,256k, so we literally had a good run.
Distance: 5.99k (total: 237.64k)
Pace: 5'27"
#ParisMarathon in 135 days.
I pushed hard to get a fast run in this morning. It worked out well, though I would have loved to go a little longer.
This was the first run of my new shoes. I still use a pair of Nike Pegasus 41, so I couldn't feel much of a difference. But I know these are an improvement.
It's December 1. Happy Christmas - or what you celebrate. Let's make this a good one without any fear.
Distance: 5.95k (total: 243.59k)
Pace: 5'07"
#ParisMarathon in 132 days.
This was a hard fartlek to start the day with: two minutes of hard running, one of easy, repeated seven times over. This was fun.
Fittingly, my soundtrack was Springsteen:
"And hard times come, hard times go
Hard times come, hard times go
And hard times come, hard times go
Hard times come, hard times go
Hard times come, hard times go
Yeah, just to come again"
Have a good one!
Distance: 6.12k (total: 249.71k)
Pace: 5'01"
#ParisMarathon in 130 days.
Oh my!
For the first time in my life, I have won a lottery - so I will participate in the 2026 Half-Marathon World Championship!!
(Along with a gazillion other people. For all practical purposes it is just the Copenhagen Half-Marathon, which I have done since 2019.)
The #ParisMarathon on April 12 is still my primary race of next year. But getting into shape to race the HM fast has just moved up my list of priorities.
See you on the starting line.
My race calendar for 2026 is taking shape.
Edit: Paris Marathon removed, Malmö Marathon added.
@askekammer looks good 💪🏼👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. You are really progressing - eating half marathons and marathons for breakfast 😎
(You could - if not 100% finalized - throw in a 3/6 hour race or something crazy just to have something odd in the mix … I’m sure you’ll like it. And you can do it for sure)
Thank you!
I am quite happy with the plan, truth be told. And it is dynamic, so I can easily throw something more into it.
i would love to do some odd-distance races to mix things up. But the challenge is to find good/interesting races that are not too far away from where I live and also align somewhat with my general calendar. I have a very patient and supportive family, but there are limits. :-)
Congratulations!! I was going to sign up through the Novo Nordisk running Club, but that's obviously out of the question now 😅
I'll have to sign up and see if there are spare/leftover tickets closer to the race.
There will definitely be some tickets available at some point, at least through the re-sale platform. And you should sign up for that as soon as possible, as demand far exceeds supply for CphHalf (in general as this year in particular).
Otherwise, I must say that this race looks pretty good: https://www.sportstiming.dk/event/16001
Cool! Det lyder som en god træning, flot gennemsnits tempo du holder!
Tak!!
Den syvende og sidste del, hvor jeg ydede 8/10, var streng, men i sidste ende gav det pote.
@askekammer
Negativ split ovenikøbet!!
Ja, det er lidt vildt hvad man kan med kroppen når hjernen bliver engageret og fokuseret på et bestemt mål! 😎
Tak! Der må gerne være lidt spræl i løbeuniformen, som især her i Norden kan have tendens til at blive holdt i vinterfarver året rundt.
@askekammer Jeg kunne ikke være mere enig. Cykeltøj har de seneste år også brugt den palette med gråtoner og jordfarver. Specielt de danske mærker er slemme til det.
I den mørke del af året er det især skønt, når der er knald på farverne.
Sådan! Det er pænt hurtigt det der!
Hvor meget kraft skulle du lægge i det for at holde det? Var det cruise-tempo eller lidt vildere?
Tak.
Jeg pressede mig selv - dog ikke så meget, at jeg på noget tidspunkt for alvor var presset (hvis det giver mening). På en 1-10-skala for intensitet lå jeg nok omkring 7,5, så der var et ekstra gear, jeg kunne have brugt over en kortere distance. Alt i alt går det planmæssigt fremad med at skrue op for tempoet.
@askekammer det giver rigtig god mening!
Jeg føler i hvert fald jeg forstår hvad du mener, og kan næsten mærke det som en oplevelse jeg selv kan have.
Fedt med fremgang i tempo, hvis jeg forstår rigtigt så mærker du garanteret også efter at det ikke bliver for meget.
Jo, jeg løber stadig meget på gefūhl.
Træneren i Nike Run Club-appen arbejder med, at man i stedet for at løbe et bestemt tempo løber en bestemt anstrengelse (altså, hvor hårdt er det på en skala fra 1 til 10). Den tilgang har jeg overtaget.
Så hvor jeg normalt måske ville løbe 6, prøver jeg for tiden at presse den op på 7. Og så videre. Teorien er, at det efterhånden forbedrer både udholdenhed og tempo - og samtidig tager højde for dagsform. Det virker for mig.
Det lyder som en rigtig god måde at gøre det på.
Jeg har tendens til at løbe lige omkring det højeste af det interval jeg skal løbe.
Så f.eks tempo interval fra 5:15-4:55, så vil jeg komme til at løbe omkring 4:55 eller 4:50
Så det tror jeg klart er en dårligere idé 😬
Jeg kan forestille mig, at det kan gøre turene lidt for hårde og derved øge risikoen for både skader og for at brænde ud. Men det gør dig også lynhurtig. :-)
Pjat! De kan da holde lang tid endnu!
(Kigger bedre på billedet)
Nååååå, ja ok, det kan jeg godt se 😂
De har holdt overraskende godt - men da de begyndte at være slidte, gik det pludseligt stærkt. Heldigvis har jeg et nyt par klar, og i weekenden skal de indvies.
@askekammer For almost 1300km they look quite good, seems you treated them well!
Hearing the clock ticking for your Paris marathon, it reminds me of this quote from Don Kardong:
"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success. Although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes." 😁
Yes, they have stayed in good shape for surprisingly long. Before, I had a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire - and they were completely worn out at 1,000k. So I am staying with Nike now.
And what a wonderful quote. :-) I had a good laugh over it.
@askekammer Haha, you’ve definitely been on a good tour around town, judging by the mini map. And yes, going in any direction from the city centre is uphill (or into the sea) 😁 Well done!
City centre -> Aarhus Ø -> Riis Skov -> Katrinebjerg -> Vestre Cemetary -> Åbyhøj -> city centre.
I truly like Aarhus (if I had to live in another place in Denmark and was not bound by family practicalities, I would move here in a heartbeat), and today was no exception despite the weather.
@askekammer That is a great route, and you must have passed more or less right by where I live in Åbyhøj. If I had known and hadn’t been sound asleep, I would have waved 😄
Aarhus is lovely (I have never felt a need to leave), and I am glad you enjoyed the run through our streets.
Slowly but surely getting there. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you. There is something very special about running through the dawn, starting in the deep dark and finishing in (somewhat) light of day.
Thank you. Consistency is, as you know, the key to success.
I think the idea is that you stop and recover until you run again. But I would rather just take it easy and recover on the run; also, there is no way I will stop in -7 degrees and wait for permission to go at it again.
Thanks; appreciated. Truth be told, I have now reached the point where getting out is not that difficult anymore. As I went to bed yesterday, I knew I would start today with a run, so there really was not that much negotiation with myself. And I know from experience that once I am on the road, I enjoy it.
Not gonna lie: it's was cold. But with the right clothes, it's not too bad (and being from Denmark, I have 42 years of training in dealing with the cold). When/if we get snow, however, that will be a real challenge for running the 21.1k!
Well done!
A full 5k below 25 minutes hidden as an exercise inside a long run!
That's marathon pace right? 😜
Pushing the limit is fun, I'm happy my Tuesday intervals so far are only 2 minutes 😅
Well, 4'55" is definitely someone's marathon pace - but not mine. (Around 5'50" is what I aim for across the 42.2k.)
The distance/duration of the intervals may vary, but shaking up the run every now and then is good. Have fun on your next run, Folmer.
Lige præcis. Og løbeturen var egentlig ikke kedelig (jeg fik testet ny men dårlig musik at løbe til, og til løbe-appens store fortrydelse ramte jeg et fint negativt split) - men nogle gange er der bare ikke en historie at fortælle. Det var en løbetur, den var fin, jeg kom ud og fik km i benene, and that's it. :-)
Aske Kammer
Doug Lane 🌈 BLM 🇺🇦
moelholm🏃🏻♂️
Vicomte Folmer af Helvede
Kigelia
Pedro Fernandes
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udo m. rader ☕ 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧
WTL
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