Athens Classic Marathon

The 'legend' of the origin of the marathon starts with the great Greek battle of Marathon, at which time the Greeks defeated the Persians for the first time, after living in fear of them. That occurred in 490 BC and is considered to be one of the most important battles in history, because it resulted in Greek independence, and the next 200 years was when Greece became a great nation, and its influence began to spread throughout the world. It also is considered the first battle for democracy because the Greeks were then able to establish their own government, the first democracy. To win that battle the Greeks overcame a large numerical disadvantage due to a clever tactical move on their part, and a strategic mistake on the part of the Persians. The Persians were so comfortable in their significant numerical advantage that they sent part of their Army by sea to attack Athens.
That part is true, the 'legend' is that once the Persians were defeated, the Athenian general dispatched a soldier named Pheidippides (fi-DIP-uh-dees) to run from the battlefield to Athens to report the victory. The distance was about 25 miles. When he arrived, he shouted "We were victorious" and collapsed and died. That legend is so popular that after the race, on two separate occasions, Greek men who saw me wearing the medal, told me the story. ("Was that cool or what? Told the legend by Greeks!!") Also funny is that when they saw the medal they asked, "Did you win?"
The real story is that Pheidippides was dispatched to ask Sparta for help against the Persians BEFORE the battle. (And that ended his part of the story) (and his name may have been Philippides, but what's a consonant or two among friends?)
Later, after the victory, the entire Athenian army ran from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens (25 miles) fearing the city would be attacked by that Persian group that had been sent from the battlefield. When they got there they found that the Persians, having heard of their army's defeat, sailed away. The two stories got confused, resulting in the legend of Pheidippides' run.
In 1896, when the first modern Olympic games were being organized, the organizers wanted a signature event that tied back to Greek history. They loved the legend of Pheidippides' run and decided that would be the event. So they created the race called the 'marathon' with it beginning in Marathon and ending at the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens. The original race was the same (approximate) 25 miles the soldiers ran. A couple of Olympics later, when held in London in 1906 (not sure why it happened 10 years later instead of 8 or 12), they decided to start the race at Queen Victoria's statue outside the gates of Windsor Castle (everyone who has been here has seen this statue - big lady, small crown) and end it at the Olympic stadium at Shepard's Bush in London. When the runners arrived at the stadium, they ran one lap ending in front of the Royal Box. That was 26.2 miles, and was later deemed the official distance for all marathons.

The announcer at our race said, "World wide there are over 15,000 marathons held each year including between 4 & 5 million runners. And it all started right here ..."

(goose bump moment)

At about 7:00 AM we (15,000 runners from 50 countries) arrived at Panathinaikon Stadium (the same stadium that hosted those first Olympics) for our 30 minute bus ride to Marathon. The sun was just peeking over the top of the stadium so the pictures are dark. The stadium is made entirely of marble and seats 60,000. They say it is the only marble stadium in the world. You can see the Olympic rings in one of the 'too dark' pictures.

The starting line in Marathon was a mixture of excitement and ceremony. There was a small brass band, dignitaries, a helicopter hovering overhead filming us for the news, and a mass of balloons being released at of the start of the race. The whole 4-day event starts with a torch run, to light the flame at the beginning of the race. You can see the flame in the picture where I'm wearing a plastic bag to keep warm. (wearing the shirt Christina made me) They handed the plastic bags out at the clothing drop-off. The wind was pretty chilly. In the first few hundred meters of the race there were thousands of shredded plastic bags where everyone tore them off and dropped them.

There was a small track next to the starting line where people warmed up. (not me, I needed all the energy I had, and some I didn't)

Along side the track at the start was the marker where the 1st ever marathon race started. You can see it says '40' on it for 40 kilometers, which is about 25 miles, the original approximate distance. (measurements were not exact back then)

Sights During the Race
All the kids wanted to high five the runners. And you can see we did.

She is dressed like a Greek Goddess, he like a Greek soldier. (It's a body stocking, she isn't naked under that toga looking thing)

This guy in the picture below, sitting in the chair at the end of the table, is dressed as Pheidippides. He ran in armor the entire route. He finished with a burst of speed and got to the finish line a few minutes ahead of me. He stopped for medical aid several times but never dropped his spear, shield, helmet or armor. He was one of several I saw losing their lunch along the way.

(check out the shoes on the ceremonial guard)

The race itself was great, until the second half. The first 11 miles were warm and moderately flat. Then things got out of control and it started uphill, almost constantly for the next 9 miles. The thing is, there are mountains between Marathon and Athens!!!! (no wonder he died) We only ran through the foothills, but even so, the hill just did not stop. Imagine running uphill for 2 hours! People started dropping out big time. There was a bus following the runners, picking up the drop-outs and taking them either for medical aid or to the stadium, or both. I must admit at one time I felt sick myself, but walked until I got over it. The last six miles was downhill, but by that time you'd just finished 9 miles uphill so the downhill was nearly as miserable.

Results
My first half was 2:28, the same as the half marathon I ran last year. I am very proud of that first half. Unfortunately the second half was 3 1/2, so I ended up at 6:01. (I'm calling it "5 and change") But I finished! I think the half marathon is more my distance for future races. But I finished!

From the Athens Classic Marathon Web Site (the day after the race)
The Athens Classic Marathon is one of the toughest courses in the world, but Paul Lekuraa, a Kenyan from the Masai Mara shrugged off fatigue, a splitting headache, a late arrival prior to the race, and the close attentions of colleague Julius Kiprotich, to break the race record by nearly two minutes this morning. In an enthralling finish in the Panathenaiko, the marble stadium built for the 1896 Olympics, Lekuraa, a 35-year-old in only his second marathon, out-sprinted his rival, to win in 2:12:42, with Kiprotich given the same time...
“I only arrived yesterday (Saturday 8),” said Lekuraa, “because of a mix-up with my visa date, and I wasn’t feeling well, I had a bad headache most of the race. I thought of dropping out at one point, but I just waited ‘til I felt comfortable. In the end, I felt relaxed, and thought I could win with a sprint.”
His discomfort wasn’t evident during the early stages of the race, which includes the toughest mid-race climb – it’s uphill from 10k to past 31k - in any major marathon. But given the history of the race, from Marathon to Athens, ie the original marathon course, and the provenance of the race’s name, the runners just have to get on with it.

2:12:42 in his second marathon and he wasn't feeling well!!!!!
(Did I mention that I finished??)