Copenhagen Marathon 2026 (Recap)

🇩🇰 Copenhagen, May 17, 2026. The bib number was 8842 (a coincidence the Carletons made a moment of, given Bulgaria #88 happened last week). The gun went off at 9:30 with 14°C and a quartering crosswind. I finished in 4:08:42.

The first 5km were too fast. The next 5km were correct. The middle 21km were the place where the home race becomes the race. I passed the bike-lane corner of Vesterbrogade and Værnedamsvej at km 11. Our bike commute corner. Mama Pizza on the corner had a man named Per on the sidewalk yelling, in Danish and then in English, that I was doing fantastic. Per is 64. Per is the owner of the dry-cleaner three doors down. Per knows me from the cardigan I dropped off in February.

At km 24, the Inner Harbor bridge was as wind-tunneled as expected. I leaned into it. I lost a pace band. (It is still on the bridge somewhere. Some other runner will inherit it.)

At km 32, the wall arrived on schedule. The wall, this year, took the form of a small Danish child handing me a slice of orange. The child's name was Asger. Asger was four. Asger said, in Danish, that it was sour, and pointed to me, and pointed to himself, and laughed. I ate the orange. The wall moved.

At km 38, the Islands Brygge waterfront opened up and our apartment building came into view across the harbor. On the third floor balcony, against the harbor wind, a 45-kilo Samoyed in a sit-stay. Magnus 🐻‍❄️ was on the balcony. Jay was holding the leash. Jay was holding up a small printed sign that read, in Danish, Mor er hurtig (Mom is fast). Magnus 🐻‍❄️ was supervising.

I cried for 200 meters. I do not usually cry. I corrected for it by km 39. The crowd at km 40, behind the barriers at Langebro, included Jay's parents who had taken the train from Aarhus and who had a flag from a former Czechoslovakian national team that Jay's mother has had since 1984. They waved it. I waved back. I did not break stride. Jay's mother, whose name is Tove, will not forgive me if I had.

The finish was at Islands Brygge. 4:08:42. A 3-minute PR on a marathon. A 7-minute PR on Copenhagen specifically. Sixteenth in my age group out of 904. (The age group is now 38-42 since I age-up'd in October. I am pleased about this, in the way runners are pleased about age groups, which is to say grimly.)

After: The smørrebrød at the Vesterbrogade lunch place. The sauna at La Banchina the next day. The Carleton household stayed two extra days, walking slowly, letting Magnus 🐻‍❄️ direct the route. The Trip Ledger now reads: 88 countries, 7 continents marathoned, 1 home marathon PR.

The Tokyo Major is in 9 months and 22 days. The training has begun. The cardamom focaccia is also on the schedule.