One road leads to Athens

As a runner I know that the history of running marathons is tied to the legend of Phidippides. He was a member of the Athenian Army that defeated the Persian Army against great odds and then was asked to run from Marathon, Greece to Athens to announce the victory and let them know the Persians were planning to attack Athens after they were defeated in Marathon. Upon completing the run and making the announcement he fell over and died from exhaustion. That happened in 490 B.C.

So I was invited by my friend Lisa whom I've know since I coached her in high school track back in the late 80's to come to Athens. She, along with two friends, was participating in the 2500th anniversary of that run in Athens on October 31st.

I'll just talk about the race itself in this blog and then tell you a little about Athens in another blog. The marathon is 26.2 miles as most runners know. They do start in Marathon which is 26.2 miles from the original Olympic stadium built for use in 1896. Oh and I just happen to have a picture or two of that stadium.

It's all marble inside, wow. Nice toilets too, but no bidets (that are ubiquitous in the UAE) in the stadium that I could find. They must have udpated the plumbing since 1896 though because there's running water, and all the W.C.'s are marble.

I got to be Lisa's water boy in Chicago last year when she qualified to run Boston and then we were able to hang out in Boston together until the start of the race and we both ran it. She won't mind me mentioning that she's on a personal quest to run 40 marathons before she turns 40. She'll do it because she is focused and goal driven, but also an all around nice person. So I was off to Athens to be the support crew again.

Lisa and other members of the Burlington High School cross country team I coached in 1988 were part of my support crew when I ran a marathon in 1988 in the Boston area so life has certainly come full circle.

Lisa, (left above and beside me below) Kelly and Sarah arrived in Athens the day before me. Since Sarah was now five months pregnant (and hadn't been when she signed up) she wasn't going to run so it was down to two runners among the 13,000 registered that Sarah and I had to support.

Support isn't just on race day it's also doing little things like making sure the runners aren't doing too much walking the day before the race, making sure they're staying hydrated and just trying to take care of them so they have as little as possible to worry about. These women are all veteran marathoners with 35, 11 and 9 behind them so they know what to do, but it's nice to be able to help them out.

Getting out to the Expo was fun, although crowded they had some nice stuff for sale. I was surprised at how much they catered to the Greek runners specifically with language and printed information. Maybe the organizers didn't let some of the sponsors with booths know how many foreigners, particulary American's were registered to run or they were simply just targeting their own citizens. I was just suprised there wasn't more printed information in English. Nonetheless we had a great time visiting the expo twice and wandering the area.

The weather was great on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Of course nice weather for fans on Sunday to line the course doesn't mean perfect weather for runners. With a 9:00am start and already 60 degrees it was probably a little too warm too early for many of the runners. Sarah and I grabbed the metro (very clean) out to about mile 17 or so to watch for our friends and to cheer them on along with everyone else that came by.

And they just kept coming. We yelled and whistled for everyone we could by name, by number or by country if that's all we had to go on. I will admit I could not understand any name that was in Greek on their running bib, so I'd clap for them. There were alot of Greek runners. Like these guys.

Lisa came through a little behind her intended schedule, but still running well. Her intended target was under 4:00 hours, but given the weather and her experience she was smart enough to dial the pace back to something that she could manage and still finish able to run another day.

Kelly was smart too in the same respect she realized by mile 9 or so it was going to be a longer day than she had planned so smartly texted us telling us she was backing off her pace and not to worry about her. Of course we were thrilled to see both of them come by and stop for quick hello's and "you look great", "keep it up" encouragement. Having been in the same situation a few times in my running career I know what a friendly face can do to help when you are truly in the throws of what's become a race against the weather and not the clock.

I can tell you after a long day on the Road to Athens these women finished in one of the most thrilling and unique venues I've witnessed. I've finished marathons in downtown Honolulu, Chicago and Boylston Street in Boston, at the Iwo Jima Memorial in DC, on the 50 yard line at Notre Dame Stadium and even a 1/2 marathon on the Olympic Oval that Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals on in the 1980 Winter Olympics along with a couple on military bases in Iraq, but to sit in the stands at Olympic Stadium with the Acropolis off in the distance was very special. I can't imagine what Lisa and Kelly were feeling as they entered those hallowed grounds. Music playing, people from all over the world cheering, it gave me goose bumps and I wasn't even a runner.

What a great day and what a spectacular venue. I will admit I had harbored thoughts of registering late for the race and despite not being in any kind of shape to run just slogging through it to say I was part of the marathon, but a couple of nagging injuries told me to not even pack my running clothes so I only brought sneakers to make sure I was comfortable getting around, but nothing else to run in. It would have been a thrill to do it with Lisa or Kelly, but I was very happy to see them accomplish their goals of finishing the 2500th anniversary Athens Classic Marathon.

So my heartiest congratulations to my old friend Lisa and new friend Kelly on a great achievement. Would I suggest Athens as a destination marathon? Certainly. Traveling to Athens, spending 3 - 4 days (at most) in the city to run and then heading home or visiting some of the Greek Islands would be a wonderful vacation. There's great food, great shopping, great history and a unique and special venue to finish a race in.

These are the faces of two happy marathoners and one great supporter and a jealous marathoner behind the camera after a great meal in a cafe in the Plaka area of Athens. Those chocolate milkshakes were delicious.

QOB: "The challenge in marathoning is not completing the race or mastering the course, it's in training and making your body go beyond its normal limits." WEY