“I felt like a superstar”

Bad Segeberg/New York. The gold-colored medal with the Statue of Liberty in the center and the inscription: New York City Marathon 2024 is palm-sized and heavy “It has a special place,” says Heinz Sandbrink. Together with his running friend Ramez Shahin, Sandbrink is one of the “finishers” of the world’s largest marathon.

The two Segebergers have achieved a dream. They crossed the finish line after 42.2 kilometers through New York City with more than 55,500 runners from more than 100 countries. Days later, Sandbrink is still reeling from the experiences. “I didn’t think the marathon would make me so euphoric. You felt like a superstar.”

More than 100,000 applicants each year for the New York Marathon

Sandbrink grew up as a ball athlete. But if you are over 40, football is no longer the right sport, says the 65-year-old. So he started running in 2001. Two years later, Sandbrink completed his first marathon in Berlin. The finisher’s medal hangs in his office at home – next to Lübeck and Hamburg.

The running group at the Segeberg Siegesburg Lions Club came up with the idea to participate in the New York Marathon, the biggest in the world – along with Berlin, London, Boston, Chicago and Tokyo. As a retired school principal, Sandbrink had time for this for the first time. More than 100,000 people from all over the world apply for a place to start in the Big Apple every year. Despite entrance fees of hundreds of dollars and outrageous hotel prices. “I almost didn’t want to drive because of the high costs,” Sandbrink recalls. But his wife encouraged him.

Sandbrink and Shahin’s dentist got their ticket to the New York marathon through a licensed tour operator with starting place quotas. Sandbrink reports that you can also get a starting spot through a lottery and as a charity sponsor. In June, the Segebergers began training according to a strict schedule, three or four times a week. “In total we walked about 520 kilometers.”

Bad Segeberger Sandbrink and Shahin enthusiastic about the atmosphere at the 2024 NYC Marathon

The marathon on November 3rd was a great experience. The US anthem ceremony on Staten Island, the first of which tens of thousands of runners will run in several waves across the Verrazzano Strait Bridge to Brooklyn. Shahin took a selfie on the bridge, and Sandbrink can also be seen there wearing a headband in German colors. “There’s got to be some patriotism,” Sandbrink explained with a laugh. He was asked about it again and again.

Shahin and Sandbrink feel that the atmosphere on the 42-kilometer route through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and Harlem was incomparable. Millions of people will be cheering on the runners, with posters and live music everywhere, Shahin said. “We felt like we were part of a big family. “People are having a mega party on the way,” Sandbrink said.

Led by the crowd, Sandbrink first starts the race too fast. You have to stop and walk twice. But stopping was never an option. “You only do that if you’re seriously injured.” After 5 hours, 17 minutes and 54 seconds, Sandbrink crossed the finish line in 44,435th place. Shahin arrived 32 minutes earlier in 35,226th place. This was my 5th marathon and it won’t be my last,” says Shahin.

Through New York with the ending base

But position doesn’t count when the marathon runners run through the city with the finisher’s medal around their neck. “I didn’t want that at all,” Sandbrink said. “But that was unbelievable. We were always congratulating him and patting him on the back.” Even drivers stopped to appreciate the marathon performance. The oldest participant at the end was 88-years-old after more than eleven hours.

“You’re never too old to run,” Sandbrink said. “You can still start doing this at age 70.” He will be 66 soon. “New York was supposed to be my last marathon.” Now he is not so sure anymore: “London is not far away.”

LN