Berlin Registration Drama ... Resolved

This post is about 2 months late in coming because it has taken me almost that long to be able to breathe when I think about it.  But I know Aimee said she wanted to hear it, so here is the story of the drama surrounding my Berlin marathon registration.

By way of background, I have a pretty solid history with race registration in the US. 

Boston 2011 filled up in less than 10 hours.  I posted the full story here -- I persistently clicked from the time it opened until I got in (I still remember my horror and panic in clicking "authorize charges" about 40 times to the tune of $130 per charge!). 

I've gotten into Chicago and Marine Corps by registering promptly.

I was lucky in getting into New York through the lottery on my first attempt.

But my luck with foreign races has not been the same. 

I posted about it as the drama unfolded, but for the last few years (pretty much since the 2008 Olympics), I have wanted to run the Beijing Marathon. And I'd wanted to travel to mainland China for much of my life, probably since I was old enough to learn about the world and how many different and interesting places there are, and then realize that as the world becomes more global, differences disappear. So the Beijing Marathon seemed to be the perfect way to combine an amazing marathon with a trip to an amazing country. I paid close attention to the Beijing Marathon in 2011, knowing it would be my turn in 2012 (and having had experience with some marathons filling up before I had a chance to register, knowing I needed to get a visa, plane tickets, arrange for vacation from work, etc.). In 2011, this is how it went: in the winter, there was a marathon webpage with information about the 2011 race; in June, the registration date was announced; in August, the registration moved to "late registration" status; in October, there was a marathon. So since 2012 was to be the 31st year, I assumed it would be roughly the same.

Not.

Instead the website stayed blank for months.  Then finally a countdown calendar appeared, counting down until Oct. 14, but nothing more.  Then the countdown calendar disappeared.  Then it reappeared, again, counting down until Oct. 14.  Then the logo and colors of the website updated.  But then it was late August and there was still nothing more than a countdown calendar and a blurb saying registration info would be "coming soon." 

Then in early September, Runner's World picked up a story about the National Congress of the Communist Party of China planning to meet in Beijing that very same weekend, so the marathon was not going to be held.

Of course we already had plane tickets, so we were going to China.

Realistically, I hadn't thought I'd PR in the Beijing Marathon.  First, I knew the air was not good there.  Second, I didn't know enough about the logistics -- would there be cold water and Gatorade at all the stops?  Third, I'd want to soak in the experience, likely running at a training pace, but possibly a bit slower, and possibly with a few stops to take some photos.

Instead, my PR sights were set on the Berlin Marathon in 2013.  I've also been planning that trip for years.  Since I ran Boston, I realized that I'd run 3 of the 5 (now 6) marathons that are considered the World Marathon Majors -- the two remaining were Berlin and London.  I can't run London anytime soon, as it is a lottery and we like to plan our trips very far in advance.  But Berlin was just right. 

I started telling people about it over the summer.  Inviting friends to plan to run Berlin 2013 as well.  On Sept. 10, I sent a mass email to many family and friends who I know like to travel and run marathons, inviting them to think about whether they'd like to run Berlin with me in 2013, advising I'd send more details later. 

There was one hitch in my plans -- registration for Berlin was set to open on October 25.  I would be in Shanghai that day, and I had no idea in advance how strong the Great Chinese Firewall was, whether it would be safe to use a credit card from an internet cafe in China, whether I'd be able to find an internet cafe (possibly in the middle of the night, due to time differences).

So I came up with an alternate plan.

I gave every conceivable personal detail about me, my running history, and my credit cards, to a very good trusted friend who also planned to run Berlin 2012.

I sent another mass email on October 2, as soon as the registration date was announced by the Berlin Marathon, telling all my friends that it would open Oct. 25, that the marathon sold out last year in early December, and that there's no reason to delay in registering since 2013 could sell out more quickly than 2012.

And then I kind of forgot about it. 

Until I checked my email in Shanghai on October 26.  I saw several emails from friends replying to my mass email.  I opened them in order, starting with the first that I received. 

One friend said she got in.

Another said he got in.

Another said he got in, but he was already group 3.

Another said he'd tried to get in but it was already sold out.

No email from my trusted friend with all my registration info.

$HIT!!!!!!!!!

Sure enough, a few hours later, I got a text message from her (I was able to receive texts in Shanghai) and an email.

She was apologizing profusely, saying she'd gotten busy at work, she hadn't thought it would fill up in less than 3.5 hours, and that it was already closed out before she'd had a chance to register either of us. 

$HIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as I got home, before I even started digging through the 200 work emails that awaited me, I scoured the Berlin marathon website and sent emails to the charity partners and the tour operators asking about how I could get in. 

The tour operator for the US put me on a wait list.  That was going to add about $500-$1000 to the cost of our trip, but I figured it was worth it -- it would mean many of the race logistics would be handled for me, and it would mean we'd be staying in a nicer hotel than we'd usually pick on our own dime.  Plus I'd have months to work that into the budget. 

But then Berlin announced that a limited number of spots had not been filled during the initial October 25 registration, so they would make them available again.

The new registration date was November 17. 

And there would be 2500 spots available.

Bear in mind, there were originally over 30,000 spots available on October 25 and they all were taken in less than 3.5 hours.

So everyone who was busy or forgot that day would now be trying for even fewer spots.

I don't trust my home internet, my home computer, or my work computer in a pinch.  For life and death matters like registering for this race, I decided to call on another trusted friend -- the very first person who'd sent me an email saying she was registered for Berlin.

And I decided to call on other resources as well.  I had four separate people besides her trying for me.  I decided I would sit with her on her laptop at her work.  On their own computers at home would be two other running friends, my husband, and one of my brothers.  Everyone had my basic info and was to call me if they got in. 

The big minute came and we began clicking.  At first it seemed like it was working, then we'd get a "try again" message.  Then a friend and my brother got through and put in my info -- but they were kicked out when they hit submit.  For nearly 20 frantic minutes, we kept trying.  Finally... success! 

I couldn't breathe until I saw in my inbox an email from the marathon confirming that my code would be processed and sent to me, then I would be eligible to complete a medical questionnaire and pay for the race.

Oh my. 

The drama! 

The bottom line is that with much stress and likely permanent damage to my heart, I got registered for the race of my dreams with the help of a friend.  I won't have to spend the extra money for a tour if the wait list cleared, and I wouldn't have to raise money for charity (certainly valuable and important, but I so hate doing fundraising). 

My trusted friend was so bothered by getting shut out (and the fact that she has a new job and just moved into an amazing house), that she decided not to attempt to register when it reopened.

But I think we will have a little group of at least 5 runners, which will be lovely.  My local bestie and her sister are coming, a few significantly faster friends, and hopefully my friend that I could rely on when it was all or nothing in the last ditch effort (she has to work it out with her family, her finances and her job, but my fingers are crossed!). 

And hopefully that means a little group of 10 or so to grab some meals together in Berlin, maybe go see some sites together, maybe car pool to Munich, and perhaps most importantly (and most fun!), meet up with at Oktoberfest the night after the race!!!