A look back at the Grand Prix of Bern

With the Grand Prix of Bern done, I have achieved one of my personal goals for 2025. But I am not posting this because I am looking for approval or recognition. I would simply like to share a story about my personal relationship with running that puts this image into context. Spoilers: It’s a story of struggles and hardships. 

Why should this interest you? Well, maybe you’ve been through a similar situation or you are in the middle of it. Maybe there is something to take away from this for you as well. 

Walk with me in hell

My personal history with running and sports in general has been a complicated one. I grew up pretty overweight and as such, I was never super motivated to run. Keep in mind that every additional kg of body weight puts additional stress on your joints, heart and so your body as a whole. It did not help that I was generally doing poorly in physical education. Everyone who went through the same struggle can probably confirm that - like this - it’s not much fun to run. Eventually, I lost a lot of weight. But even then I never really enjoyed running. 

The final nail in the coffin (for the time being) for my running ambitions was, when I hurt my knee in military service doing the longest run of my life so far. It was the infamous RUFK (18 kilometers around the airport in Kloten). The pain came a bit before the midpoint. But I pushed through because I didn’t want to be forced to do it again. Ever since that event, I always felt pain when doing extended sporty activities. I had an even more negative sentiment towards that sport. 

What’s love got to do with it?

As a matter of a fact, I remember a distinct thought on running from my first date with my girlfriend in 2016. We were calmly walking next to the Aare in Bern, enjoying early spring. When we spotted a runner (probably training for the GP of Bern), I only commented: “Look at his face. This can’t be fun. I would never do that voluntarily.” Well, little did I know that 9 years later, I would be that runner. But how did I recover from my stigma?

It was probably based on my positive experiences with hiking. Thanks to my better half, who is a passionate hiker, I was able to regain my joy of movement. It took quite some time until I was able to go for longer hikes (more than four hours) without pain and negative thoughts. But once I crossed this threshold, I also felt the need to do a bit more. 

Run to the Hills

I don’t even remember why I had this idea to make the Grand Prix of Bern my personal “Mont Everest”. But it served as a pretty effective motivator to get out there and train. And once again, I had great help from my social environment. When my GF and her brother decided to join in as well, we were set on this path. 

Full disclosure: All we wanted to achieve was to finish. No target times or other ambitions. We started training at the beginning of 2025 and were doing pretty well. 5 km, 8 km, 10 km - it seemed we were on the right track. But it can’t be all smooth sailing, can it? Spring came and with it a very persistent flu wave. If you are sick for 3-4 weeks, training gets compromised for sure. We were a bit insecure, if we really could do it. Nevertheless, we decided to push through. The right decision.

Off to the races

On the 10th of May, it was time to find out if all the effort was worth it. Together, we went to the start line, surrounded by thousands of other runners. I have to admit, that before the event itself, it did not really cross my mind how huge of an event this would be. Luckily, the atmosphere was as good as the weather that day. I could not have asked for a better debut to the Grand Prix of Bern than this. The tension grew with every minute passing by. At the same time, it was nice to share these moments before the start with people I hold dear. 

When we heard the starting signal at 17:15, something I didn’t expect was happening. I entered a tunnel vision mode, I only remembered from riding my motorcycle on the racetrack. It was me and the city, step by step. Before the race, I told myself not to overdo it at the start. But when I crossed the Nydeggbrücke, my mind had already shifted. I overtook a lot of other runners, checking my Garmin watch just to make sure that my heart rate stays in check and pushed to my personal limit. 

To my surprise, I was even able to enjoy the race, even though 10 km in, my legs started to hurt. The surface of the Grand Prix of Bern is almost exclusively hard asphalt or cobble stones. Not especially nice on the joints.  I tried to focus on my goal and pushed through. After a bit more than 1 hour and 35 minutes and 16 kilometers, I crossed the finish line. This was much faster than what I was expecting and I cannot deny the positive emotions that this achievement caused for me (I would not write these lines otherwise). 

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) 

What is more important than my performance in the GP is the fact that I was able to enjoy the experience. I would never have imagined that I would be able to do this thing with a smile on my face. The key to this was the fact that I did this for myself and at a pace where I felt I was in harmony with my personal capabilities even when going out of my comfort zone. 

My message for you: Do your thing, do it at your own pace. And don't forget to enjoy. 

And now let me figure out if I can do this thing in under 1 hour and 30 minutes.