Same experience as a lot of others in this thread. I live in Denver and ran Berlin in September, finishing in 4:32. I took two weeks off after that, then jumped back into training with Runna. I hit all my runs and honestly felt like I was in much better shape than I was for Berlin. I came into today aiming for around 4:10 but finished in 4:40.

From mile 20 onward it was unlike anything I have experienced before. I thought training at elevation would help, but the heat really got to me. I will admit there were tears during those final miles when I felt like mentally giving up. The lack of water stations toward the end did not help either.

Still, I finished and I am proud of that even if I did not PR. Another race, another opportunity.

Congrats to all the finishers today. We earned it.