My first trip along the Rhine River was in the summer of 1972. I took a train from Bonn to Munich, and the sunny day was perfect for the stretch of the river just south of Bonn. 35 years later it was another sunny day for seeing the Rhine just south of Bonn. This time, though, my mode of "transportation" was a little different. I ran a full marathon with Mary Ann Miller and Matthew Bates.

I had always wanted to run a marathon but had never gotten around to it. So when Mary Ann ran a marathon in Cincinnati three years ago, I told her we should run one together sometime. She came to Bern, Switzerland on a year-long Fulbright scholarship last fall, and it was a deal: the Bonn "Rheinenergie" marathon on April 22, 2007. Unknown to her, her boyfriend Matthew Bates flew over from California for the event, so when I picked her up on Friday afternoon it was a big surprise for her to see Matthew waiting on the platform at the Siegburg train station. Unknown to Mary Ann, Matthew had also been training for the run, and while we were being "interviewed" just before the start of the race, Matthew quickly put on his running suit (you can see him in the background between our shoulders).

Mary Ann could hardly contain her joy when she realized that Matthew had come all the way from California not just to watch her run the Bonn marathon – he was going to run it with her! He had obtained the same training manual that she and I had used to prepare and had been running the exact same schedule that we had. So when Mary Ann would call Matthew in California and tell him how grueling her training had been, she could not imagine how wrong she was when she would tell him, "You just can’t imagine how tough it was!" After completing the race, she realized how wrong she had been. By the time she regained her composure, we only had about one minute to get into the starting box for our group. The 2300 people registered to run were divided into starting groups by the estimated finishing time. We were in the red group with an estimated finish time over 4 hours. There was enough time for a quick hug to wish each other all the best for the race.

And then we were off! Well, almost. Having never run a marathon before, I did not know that they released each group for the start by its corresponding time slot. So when the gun went off, the group of elite runners took off, and then there was a brief wait until the next group started. We actually sauntered about 50 meters forward as our group of average runners got closer to the starting line. At this point, everyone was in a jovial mood, and I joked that it was more like a "Volkswanderung", a large group hike. Finally we were within sight of the starting line and the entire group started running. Each runner had a time chip attached to a shoe, so when we stepped on a special electronic sensor pad at the starting line, our individual clocks began to run.

The first six miles were one big party through Beuel, the part of Bonn on the other side side of the Rhine. We had to cross the Kennedy bridge going and coming. There were bands playing music for the runners and hundreds of people lining the streets with noisemakers, signs and various horns to cheer us on. Mary Ann had some trouble with stiffness during this first part of the race but continued on gamely. When we crossed the bridge coming back into the main part of Bonn, our local cheering squad and film crew were waiting for us under the bridge as we headed south along the Rhine. Jesmina Allaoua manned the video camera, and Elisabeth Hellmig, Jako Kasper, Sabrina Kneip and Simone Ulbricht encouraged us as we ran by. The run south along the Rhine was pleasant. We had great weather and it was still cool at 10 a.m. about one hour after the race had started. A slight breeze was blowing into our faces, cooling us down a bit.

At the halfway point Matthew and Mary Ann had dropped back about two minutes. I was surprised by my halfway time of 2:00:59 since the run had seemed quite easy so far and I thought I might have been running slower. Then a few hundred meters beyond the half way point the course made a jog to the west and then back towards Bonn. Now the breeze was no longer in our face and you began to feel the heat from the sun. It was already past 11 a.m., and by the time we finished the temperature would reach 78 F (25 C). On the same day the London marathon took place and there they were reporting warm conditions with only 21 C (70 F). Things went well for me until about mile 19, when the proverbial marathon grind started as I began to hit my personal "wall". At one of the water stations I made the mistake of grabbing a bottle of Coke that was offered, and after a couple of sips of that my heart seemed to miss a beat or two. That was enough for me, and I decided to stick to the advice given in our training guide: "Don’t try anything new the day of the race." The last 5 miles or so I alternated timed walks of 1-2 minutes with running, and finally we all made it to the finish line ahead of our goal of 4:30:00.

After the three of us had enjoyed some refreshing drinks and joked a bit, Matthew had yet another surprise for Mary Ann on this super weekend. After having run 26.2 miles, this amazing guy got down on one aching knee and pulled out an engagement ring and popped the question to Mary Ann – right in front of our film team of one and our cheering squad and several dozen other people who were enjoying a post-race drink at one of the outdoor cafes at the Bonn market square (where the marathon finish line had been). Once again Mary Ann was totally surprised, but not so much that she didn’t jump into Matthew’s arms as a whole crowd of people applauded. Then the two disappeared for a couple of minutes, out of sight of Jesmina’s video camera and the rest of the group. When they returned, I just had to ask Mary Ann: "Well, did you say yes?" By now the ring was clearly visible on her finger, so the answer was obvious. It was a wonderful conclusion to a super weekend. I finally did something I had wanted to do for years. I didn’t set any record with my time, but for a 55 year old I was pleased to have finished the race. And Matthew, your chase is over, too. 🙂

Comment from Reinhard Habicht:

Herzlichen Glückwunsch an alle drei für die bestandene sportliche Herausforderung, tolle Leistung. Einen besonders herzlichen Glückwunsch an Mary Ann und Matthew für die geplante Lebensherausforderung!

Comment from Rainer Barth:

Dieses Talent kannte ich noch nicht von Dir, lieber Paul. Das erinnert mich an den alten VW-Käfer: Er läuft und läuft und läuft!

Answer from Paul Kieffer:

Hoffentlich gilt das auch für den alten Kieffer: Er läuft und läuft und läuft!

Comment from Colin Cato:

Wow, I don’t know how you did it. I know for sure i could not run, walk or even bike 26 miles. Congratulations!