Adrenaline, Desperation, and a Podium Finish at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON
Kerstin Abele Encounters the Unthinkable
Sunday morning started calmly. Ninety minutes before the start, Abele left her accessible hotel in Berlin-Tiergarten to retrieve her handbike from the car in the underground garage. Then the unthinkable happened. As she entered the elevator, her car key slipped from her lap and fell into the gap of the elevator shaft door. "I was paralyzed, and not in a figurative sense," Abele describes the drama. Her sports equipment was locked in the car. "Was this it?
© Sportografen
ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg in Emergency Mode
Abele immediately rolled to the reception, where the elevator company was contacted. A well-intentioned attempt quickly revealed that organizing an elevator mechanic on a Sunday was virtually impossible. However, the fighter in Abele wasn't ready to give up so easily. Her only hope: ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg. They took on the challenge with top priority. What followed was like a scene from a movie for the sympathetic handbiker. A young ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg employee couldn't drive his vehicle right up to the hotel and instead ran with his toolbox to the hotel's underground garage.
Handbiker Puts in all Effort
"I was near tears when I saw him sprinting towards me 35 minutes before the start," Abele describes the hopeful moment. The ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg man remained calm. He expertly opened the car and with just 25 minutes left until the start, Abele assembled her handbike – aided by the man in yellow. There was no time for a big thank you. Four kilometers remained until the start. Her helper pushed Abele up from the garage, and with a grateful goodbye, she went full throttle. "Pedal to the metal" was the order. A heart rate of 170, wind, cold, and the lingering shock were far from ideal starting conditions.
Shortly before the start - Abele made it just in time. © SCC EVENTS_Petko Beier
Crossing the Capital with Police Escort
Abele managed to catch her breath for at least five minutes. Her pulse slowed, and the thought of "whatever happens now, I'm in" made the handbiker smile again and pedal hard. Despite all the excitement, at four degrees Celsius with headwind, she finished second in 56:07 minutes, followed by a goosebumps-inducing feeling. The roller coaster of emotions took another lap. Immediately after finishing, another piece of bad news arrived: doping control. This meant non-stop company until the sample was submitted, which she couldn't do at the finish line. Her everyday wheelchair was at the hotel, and the car key was still in the elevator. Taxi? Not an option. Fearless as Abele is, she approached two policemen securing an intersection after she returned to her normal wheelchair. This led to another hopeful moment. One of the officers promptly stopped a taxi that wasn't scheduled for a ride and drove the athlete and her companion across Berlin to the control.
Big Thank You: This is Berlin
The test was passed, but the car key was still missing. Abele had no choice but to book another night. On Monday morning, almost casually, the reception handed her the key chain. A maintenance technician had found it. "I cried my eyes out. All the tension fell away from me," Abele rejoices to this day. She has immense gratitude not only for the yellow-clad angel, the police officer, and the taxi driver but also for the hotel team, who gifted her an extra night.
Courage, Help, and Compassion are the True Champions
"It was simply incredible. So much compassion, so much warmth. Everything touched me deeply," concludes the athlete. "The GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON put me in an emotional state of exception with desperation and adrenaline. In the end, it culminated in great gratitude. A competition that was not only superbly organized athletically but also wonderfully human for me. Kerstin Abele didn't just conquer Berlin athletically. She showed everyone, with or without disabilities, that courage, help, and compassion are often the true champions.
When picking up her bib, Abele was in high spirits.
Read more moving stories about the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON in our Event and Finisher magazine.
