The preparation for Antwerp was superb with an excellent training camp in Kenia with my teammates Almensh, Tarik, Florent, Koen and a posse of strong Kenyans.
The facts and figures of my race: 21.1km: 1h 07' 12" 42.195km: 2h 16' 49'' Position: 2
The two pacemakers for me were Jesse Stroobants (till 22.5 km) and Onesphore Nkuzimana (till 27 km). With special thanks to Jesse, the man who can run more accurate then a swiss watch, we reached the halfway mark exactly as planned. With the windy conditions it was definitely not an easy job for Jesse and Onesphore but they did a fantastic job, I love this guys!
After the pacemakers dropped out, I pushed down the lap button on my watch and tried to cover the remaining 15 km as fast as possible. The last 5 km my pace slowed down a lot but nevertheless I was closing the gap with the Kenyans in front of me, it was clear this marathon was going to be heavy stuff for all of us. Paul Kiprop maintained his lead and won convincingly, he clearly deserved the victory. His compatriot Alfred Kering suffered a lot in the last 5 km and I passed him around the 38 km mark to came in as second. My teammate Florent and the strong Tim Stessens could grap spots 3 and 4 at the end.
Overal I am really happy with my race but due to some specific marathon workouts in Kenia we know there's still a big margin to improve my marathon PB.
To conclude many thanks for all the messages and e-mails that Eva and me received!
Later this week my racing schedule will be posted. Let's run. Greetings Lander