Team PDRC Berlin 26: What Happened on Race Day
Team PDRC Berlin 26: What Happened on Race Day
A few weeks ago, we introduced the PDRC team heading to Berlin with adidas. LANS, Liv Clayton and Ellis Taylor arrived with different targets and months of training behind them. Berlin gave us a sub-2:40, a 12-minute PB and one target still waiting for another day.
Before Berlin, we were following the long runs, race-specific sessions and the final few weeks of preparation as Sunday 27 September got closer. Then it was time to race.
LANS, Liv and Ellis lined up for the 2026 Berlin Marathon in PDRC colours and the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5. The weekend had already taken in the adidas shakeout, Home of Fast and everything happening around one of the biggest marathon weekends in the calendar. Once they crossed the start line, though, each race went in a very different direction.
If you missed the build-up, start with Meet the PDRC Team Taking on the 2026 Berlin Marathon. For everyone else, here's what happened next.
LANS: Sub-2:40, With a Stop at 35K
Before Berlin, we wrote about the part of a marathon you cannot recreate in training. For LANS, that arrived around 35 kilometres into the race.
He had gone into the weekend chasing sub-2:40 while also dealing with flu symptoms on race morning. Once he started running, things settled. The opening half was probably quicker than planned, but he felt good enough to run by feel rather than forcing himself to stick rigidly to the original plan.
The most challenging moment came at 35KM mark. I just had this moment were I needed to stop - I wasn’t fatigued, I wasn’t really struggling… just mentally my body kind of shut down momentarily and I just remember pulling over to the side, maybe walking hands on hips for 30-45 seconds, and then trying to do the mental maths of if I could still achieve my goal on sub 2:40. Once I realised it was still on, I just had to regather myself and empty the tank for the last 7KM.
Then he stopped.
He got moving again and crossed the line in 2:39:18, taking another sizeable chunk off a marathon PB that has moved from 2:54 on debut to 2:51, 2:45 and now 2:39.
There was also a runner he had spent much of the race alongside. After stopping, LANS lost sight of him and used catching him again as something to focus on through those final kilometres. He did not see him until the finishing stretch, when the pair ended up crossing the line at around the same time.
After all that, LANS was asked to describe the race in three words.
Could’ve gone quicker 🤣
Liv Clayton: When 3:30 Doesn't Happen
Liv had trained with 3:30 in mind. Berlin finished in 3:44.
That hurt. The training had been done through a busy summer alongside a full-time job, social plans and normal life, and Liv had arrived in Berlin believing the target was there. When the race did not match the block that came before it, she was honest about the disappointment.
I think initially I was quite upset, especially because I was working with a brand and having everything filmed for social media. It made me feel like I needed to run a crazy time for it to be worthwhile watching but the team were super supportive regardless of time, the only metric that matters sometimes is fun!!
Berlin was still Liv's fifth marathon and first World Major. She returned to running in 2023 after growing up around cross country and athletics, then ran 4:14 at her first marathon in Edinburgh in 2024. Since then, she has kept pushing the distance, including an 85km ultra last year.
The 3:30 target has not gone anywhere either. Liv is planning to step away from the harder training blocks for a while before building towards Manchester Marathon in 2027.
Sub-3:30 redemption, here we come! Hopefully back in the Pro:Direct vest too.
We will hold you to that one.
Ellis Taylor: 12 Minutes Quicker
Ellis arrived in Berlin only a few months after his first marathon in Manchester, where he ran 3:32. Marathon number two ended in 3:20:48.
For much of Berlin he felt controlled. Around 37km, that changed.
Really well! I finished in 3:20:48, which was a PB by around 12 minutes from my first marathon in Manchester earlier this year. I felt really controlled for a lot of the race, but from around 37km onwards I was definitely in the trenches 😂. The last 5k was a case of hanging on for dear life, so crossing that finish line with a big PB made it even better.
Two years ago, Ellis says he was struggling to complete a parkrun. Berlin was his first World Major, and the progression from there to a 3:20 marathon explains fairly well why running has taken over such a big part of his life.
If I go back 2 years, I struggled to complete a parkrun. Running is one of those sports where you can see improvements each time with consistency and I think that’s why I am hooked! I think like most people, one thing leads to another. Started with a parkrun, now I’m here.
The next number already exists. Ellis has 3:10 in mind, with sub-three as the longer-term target once his foot injury from Berlin has settled.
His content has always sat between running, fashion and everyday life, so Berlin was never going to be purely about the watch either. The race kit got almost as much attention as the marathon itself.
Most of what I share sits somewhere between running, fashion and lifestyle, basically proving you can care about your marathon time and your race-day fit at the same time.
Fair enough when the fit also comes with a 12-minute PB.
Racing Berlin in the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5
All three raced Berlin in the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5, giving them a full marathon to get to know adidas' latest long-distance racer.
Ellis came away particularly happy with the fit and stability compared with the previous generation.
They were really good. For me, they felt more stable and the fit worked even better than the previous Pro 4. With the Pro 5 being the shoe of the weekend, it was amazing to get to represent adidas in those shoes, especially since they look sick too.
Liv also picked up on the cushioning and stability.
Big fan, I’d definitely wear them again! They felt a lot more cushioned and stable compared to the Pro 4s, which I really liked. I don’t think I’m fast enough to really get the full effect of them, haha, but every little helps!
LANS had previously raced in the Pro 4 and again noticed the stability, although he would personally go for a closer fit next time.
Loved them since the first time I put them on. They definitely feel a little different to the Pro 4’s which I’d previously raced in given the change in the carbon rods to now a ring around the shoe. But overall I still find them a great race shoe and I think there a little more stable then the pro 4’s because of that change and having more foam on the sole with no cutout for the rods. I would definitely wear them again, but personally I would maybe try to size down by half a size as I really like my race shoes to feel snug and I found with the extra room in the toe box I could do with them being a little tighter.
For the technical side of the shoe, read our First Look: adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5, where we get into the new EnergyRims, Lightstrike Pro, Lightlock 2.0 and the rest of the changes from the Pro 4.
Berlin, Done
By Sunday evening there was a 2:39 on the board, a 12-minute PB and one marathon target waiting for another attempt.
What came through most when we spoke to the team afterwards was how much of the weekend happened away from the clock. Ellis talked about everyone feeling like family by the end of the trip. Liv came away grateful for the support when her race did not go as planned. For LANS, seeing the Pro:Direct team around 21-22km was one of the best moments of his day.
The targets have already started moving again. Liv has Manchester 2027 and sub-3:30 waiting. Ellis wants 3:10 once he is back running properly. LANS has finally broken 2:40 and, apparently, still thinks there was more there.
Berlin 26 is done.
Follow @ProDirectRunning, @livelans, @laceupwithliv and @ellistaylor for what comes next.
https://www.prodirectsport.com
I've spent most of my life playing football, with running filling the gaps when the pitches are waterlogged. Somewhere along the way, I've developed a bit of an obsession with football boots and running shoes. From fit and feel to the latest tech, I'm usually the person people ask about footwear. Just don't ask my teammates how often I change boots.
