One day before my 25th birthday, the SRH Dämmer Marathon Mannheim, where I had made my marathon debut seven years earlier as an 18-year-old birthday girl, took place on 11 May. As last year's winner, Natalie was once again the favourite to start in 2019, and I was a candidate for a top 5 finish.

The event team had changed the course slightly compared to 2018. So this time, after about three kilometres, we passed the numerous spectators in the start-finish area. Pleasant temperatures and a great, atmospheric course provided good conditions for fast times, had it not been for the rather strong wind, to which the fastest runners were exposed.

Nevertheless, we went into the race offensively and simply gave our best. After 34:21 minutes I had made it. Fifth place in a field of around 1,000 participants and a time that underlined my clear upward trend on the way back to my old strength (and to new best times). Natalie followed a good two minutes later in a fast 36:23 minutes. Thus she not only defended her last year's victory, but also improved the course record significantly. The fact that only four teammates, including myself, and three other participants could run faster than Natalie highlighted her outstanding performance from a very strong team result.

This was my fifth time at the start of the Mannheim Dämmer Marathon. I still have fond memories of my first marathon on 12.05.2012 more than seven years later. Although I was able to significantly improve my time of 3:28:36 hours several times in the meantime and run in the world's biggest marathons in New York City, Berlin, Paris, Dubai, Vienna, ... However, the SRH Dämmer Marathon Mannheim always plays a special role, so that now - almost 20 marathons later - I have happily returned for the fourth time. Natalie has also started three times and is a big Dämmer Marathon fan. So we will be happy to come to the SRH Dämmer Marathon in Mannheim in the future, too.