Arndt hits the road running

Judith Arndt showed what a world-class athlete can do, when she ran the Dresden Marathon last weekend with only minimal preparations. The T-Mobile rider finished in her first marathon in a time of 3:32:24, giving her place 32 among the women and sixth in her age group. "It is unbelievable what the body can accomplish, when the head really wants it."

"I only heard about this race seven days earlier, so there wasn't time to do any real preparation," the 31-year-old said on t-mobile-team.com. "On the Tuesday before the race I ran for two hours for the first time, and during the team meeting in Cologne I was able to get in two training sessions."

She was a little nervous before the race, "whether I would make it to the end or put too much pressure on my joints, but it went better than expected. I ran controlled over the first half of the race, then in the second half I could give gas. My legs started to get stiff in the last five kilometers, but I still felt good. I wanted to try it and now I am very happy," Arndt concluded.

The 2004 World Champion found a similarity to cycling, too. "The only place it was dangerous and chaotic was at the feeding zones. There was no difference there between cycling and running races."

It was Arndt's first marathon, but not her last. "I would like to know how fast I can go when I really train for it." But she will not be quitting her real job, although she is not sure when she will get back on her bike. "I'll have to see when I can start cycling again, because my legs do still hurt a little," she concluded.