Second attempt at the Amsterdam half

I recall doing two 15km runs in advance as "preparation", and that was it. On the day, I ran with two friends. We didn't plan to run together the entire way, but as we were all pretty much in the same boat, the mental support we got from each other was very welcome. I actually felt quite good on the day, being swept up by the adrenaline of the event, but the lack of training resulted in two days of fever afterwards.

Attempt number two was last year in 2021, with Daniel and my sister. This was actually Daniel's first time in the Netherlands – I lured him there with the prospect of running a half marathon together. It worked!

My sister and I both lived in Amsterdam at the time, and we did most of our longer training runs together. Two months before the race I injured my knee and worried I wasn't going to be able to do it, but was just in time to get back into it.

The conditions on the day of the race were great. The half started in the afternoon, so there was plenty of time for a proper breakfast, more snacks, and nerves. I prefer it this way though, as I'm more of an afternoon/evening runner.

My parents came to spectate, and so did my brother and his girlfriend who happened to be in the Netherlands. We also had some friends cheering us on at different points along the route, so the atmosphere was great. And we felt great. Up until 3 km before the end, where I started to have a rough time. My sister went ahead when I was slowing down. The fact that she did, really pushed me to give it my everything, so I caught up on her and we eventually finished together.

Daniel was also set on breaking his PB with a 01:28:49 run, and finished way before us, so he was able to see us finish. All three of us ended up setting a new record – granted, this wasn't too difficult for me (second time) and my sister (first time). But we were happy!