ITW ALASSAN ON HIS 2:24:13 AT THE 2026 BERLIN MARATHON

Never had a club licence. 80 km per week maximum. A messed-up psoas. And yet, 2:24:13 at the Berlin Marathon, a new Jolie Foulée record over the distance. We wanted to understand how it was possible. Alassan told us everything, and we're not sure we're ready to follow his advice.

Alass, you shaved 4 min off your previous 2023 PB in Berlin. Natural progression or new training methods?

After my sub-2:30 in Berlin, I'd decided to retire from the marathon. That year, I'd done a string of marathon build-ups (London in April, Berlin in September) to run 2:32 then 2:28, which had really put me off long build-ups.

It took me three years to get over it and try my luck again at the distance. In the meantime, I hadn't stopped: I'd brought my half time down to sub-1:10, and especially done loooots of trail (including a CCC covered in blisters) and cycling. A two-year pro break really helped me build volume. Not necessarily structured, but volume.

This year, my mate Vince, who coaches athletes, offered his services to help me hit the initial target: beat my time while still knocking back negronis in the summer. A demanding brief.

You started injured. How did you pull off a PB with the red lights flashing?

Early 2026, I picked up an inflammation of the flexors/psoas that I really struggled to fix. The pain came back just in time for my last long session. The timing, always spot on.

I loaded up on ibuprofen for ten days to calm the inflammation, and a German physio fingered my psoas twice in the week before the race to release the trigger points. An experience I warmly recommend to everyone.

In my head, it was settled: the training block was done, I was going to empty the tank on the tarmac. I also knew that the pain didn't wake up while running, but afterwards. My only real fear was to compensate during the race and finish hobbling. Which didn't happen.

You ended up (against your will) pacing an international athlete. Tell us.

I had the pleasure of running alongside Jan Frodeno, the Ironman legend. Pretty crazy, especially since I only realised it at the 5 km mark. The whole crowd was cheering him on; I didn't think he was that big in Germany. Basically, it was like running with Dorian Louvet (the record holder for the majors in a year). Imagine the luck.

After pacing rigorously for 35 km, the 45-year-old said "Auf Wiedersehen" and dropped me. He finished thirty seconds ahead of me. I also caught up with Marion Trapp around the 17th. I wanted to finish first Frenchwoman, that gave me an extra boost.

There's always something that doesn't go as planned on a marathon. At Berlin, what was it?

No big drama. Let's say I took two "bets" that, this time, paid off.

The first one: to avoid the hassles some runners had in the start pen ten minutes before the start, I slipped in very early, like 25 minutes before. I didn't want to end up stressing to get in last-minute. Result: a meagre warm-up, ten minutes of easy run then 25 minutes standing around. So my heart rate went up pretty quickly at the gun.

The second big gamble came at the 4th kilometre. I could already see gaps of 30-40 metres forming between runners at these paces. I was in a group that felt a bit slow for my goal, around 3:26/km, and a faster group had formed ahead, with Jan Frodeno as a luxury windbreaker. I decided to make the effort to join them, thinking: better to run 30 km faster and ease off at the end than try a negative split and do half the race alone. The hardest kilometres are from the 34th to the 41st, where you get the wind in your face, so it's better in bad company than alone.

You run 2:24 with a positive split. What happened to you at the end?

I lost twenty-five seconds over the last five kilometres. A soft explosion, let's say.

My heart rate, already high, spiked when Jan wanted to speed up between the 25th and 35th: I saw kilometres tick by at 3:21-3:22, much faster than the planned 3:25. At the 38th, I think I hit 188 beats per minute. I had to grit my teeth to avoid collapsing.

Thanks to Vince, I'd already experienced this kind of explosion twice in a session. I knew I had a « buffer » left to hold 3:30 (a mad effort, mind you). It took me twenty good minutes to get my bearings after the finish.

You've run Paris, London, Copenhagen, New York, Chicago… so what's special about Berlin? Apart from being flat.

First off, Berlin is home now, so everything's simpler logistically.

Then, it's the only race where you feel like you're on a Formula 1 circuit: everything's mega wide, super fast, and of course flat as fuck. It's also one of the few marathons where you can get cheered on by guys on ketamine on a Sunday morning (shout-out to them).

The downside is the build-up: you have to do it in the summer, while your mates are knocking back beers every evening. You're the one grinding. It's actually useful: when you get to the start line, you need to have in mind everything you've sacrificed. It helps to have the drive.

24 hours after the marathon, you went to Oktoberfest in Munich. Do you recommend it to our readers?

I had two marathons in one weekend. I'm used to after-parties, but this time, I wanted to go big, create a masterpiece.
A friend from New York who had come for the race had put together a whole team to head straight to Oktoberfest. As a lover of sporting challenges, I just joined the group. We downed litres of beer and went on rollercoasters. Exceptional. Do I recommend it? Obviously not. Would I do it again? Obviously yes.

Can you describe your typical build-up week so we can try to crack your secret?
Nothing exotic: three sessions a week. Short VMA on Tuesday, tempo on Thursday, the long run with blocks on Sunday.

The rest is easy running and cycling. Two rides a week: a short one (which replaces an easy run), and a big ride on Saturday, 3 or 4 hours, the day before the long run. The idea is to start Sunday with tired legs to work on fatigue.

And as I love running slowly (rarely faster than 5’45/km, RMC AfterFoot Riolo pace), I often cap it at 80 km a week. Poor on Strava, but often more than 10 hours of training in total. You've got to pick your battles, we're not here to show off.

Which gives:

Monday: strength work
Tuesday: VMA session
Wednesday: easy run or short ride 2h
Thursday: tempo
Friday: easy run
Saturday: long ride
Sunday: long run
Very high quality, then, with the volume shifted to the bike. I like to train, but I like it to be fun above all. Grinding like a pig, not for me. Proof: my peak is the last week, 125 km on foot, and I blow up on the final session. My body hates it, and it made sure to remind me!

A sub-2:20 one day?

Not really. Even if, in a corner of my head, I'd like to bring down the French women's record. But let's stay reasonable, we have a slogan to uphold: drag the race down.

Photo credits: @pimrinkes / @rubenschmitz