This was my first international race, and as I love the city of Berlin, the chance to run around it was something that I couldn't turn down. I had failed in a charity ballot for London 2018 but the charity offered me this as a back up and therefore all registration stuff was a breeze. The expo had a lot of stands, and actually quite useful stuff too, with extra bits that could provide good pre-race photo ops. It's based at the old Tempelhof airfield and I found there was plenty of room to walk around. They separated runners from 'others' for the bits you needed so getting through to collect my number was super quick. On race day I got to the start area around 730 and did the first of the usual toilet stops. There were many more by the start pens also and despite the number of people there wasn't hardly a queue at all. The atmosphere at the start was brilliant, with runners from many different countries chatting and watching the early races start on the big screens. The race itself was hot, so after 10km I knew that my chances of a PB were gone so I decided to just try and enjoy it. The crowds were great through most of the course, and running past some iconic landmarks was brilliant. Plenty of bands along the route to provide extra atmosphere. A few people say that the course can be narrow but I didn't find it any worse than other big races. My only concern is for the water stations. They used plastic cups and despite running on the other side from them (I had a hydration pack) underfoot was a bit dangerous in places. Crushed plastic and puddles don't make the best conditions to run on. Aside from that, even when I was struggling , the race was superb and I would gladly do it again. The final kilometre rivals London easily, and approaching the Brandenburg Gate is one of the best race views I have ever experienced. Once through there you see the grandstands on either side of the finishing straight and the noise makes you keep going until the line. As always, the medal is chunky and well designed and feels great to have around your neck. Getting out of the finish area took some doing though, and I think a bit more signage is needed in terms of how to actually escape and also where to return your timing chip. A few little things to polish, but it's easy to see why this is one of the 6 Abbott Majors. If you do get to do this, try and get to Berlin on the Friday at least to experience the build up to the race as a lot going on, plus on the saturday there is an inline skating marathon which is insane to watch too. Also, ditch the hotels and go for AirBnB's. Much cheaper and a great way to experience some extra German culture.