When we planned the trip to my parents, we found out about the Siebengebirgsmarathon. We got thrilled, as there are very few events in winter-time in Germany we know about. It was close to my parents’ home and with 650m climb and drop through the forest it seemed like a nice and tough alternative to the street marathons we are used to run. So we signed up. Unfortunately the tough week before, and a flu on top was too much for Annika.