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??)

The Royal Landscape - October 4, 2008

Also known as the 'Windsor Great Park' or locally as just the "Great Park" is the Queen's garden. It is absolutely beautiful. William the Conqueror first claimed the area around 1100 when he built what was to be the beginning of a growing royal residence at Windsor that is still in use today, 900 years later. At the time, it wasn't actually called a park, it was gigantic and reserved for royal hunting for food. Now days it is 5,000 beautiful acres (still pretty big) and is open to the public. There is a lake, streams, manicured gardens, beautiful bridges, a totem pole, an Egyptian obelisk, and some Roman ruins that I mentioned in an earlier post a few months ago.

We are quite fortunate to have an entrance close to us. Our kid's school is across the street from it. I get to run here three times a week.

To get to the Great Park, we simply walk out the front door, take a right and then the first right, and the entrance is 1/2 mile down Watersplash lane. When the Queen comes to Ascot for the races, this is how she get here. The park runs right up to her door (as you will see).
It is a great place to run, walk, bike, ride horses and ride carriages, as many, many people have discovered long before I did.

On my run today, I took pictures. Here's a quick tour of what I saw today ...

The first picture is the end of Watersplash lane, looking to the left you see the entrance to the Great Park. Looking directly across the road, you see that we are six miles from Windsor. It is an automatic gate, for those with the proper electronic tag. But there's just a button to get out. As you can see, one of the horseback riders pushed the button to open the gate.

After about a half mile run, you get to the more formal gate with the house of one of the Park Rangers. There's little traffic coming in this gate, I occasionally see a car or two, and some walkers and joggers. It really gets busy further along. The first picture below is the first time you see Windsor on the run. If you click on the shot you can see both the castle, the city, and the "Windsor Wheel" - the ferris wheel.

(you can see it's called the "Prince Consort's House)

The next gate a mile or so farther in the park is a deer gate. As you will see, the Queen likes her deer. There are a ton of them.


About a half mile past this gate, you get to a left turn which is called "The Long Walk." It runs right up to the castle and is constantly full of people doing any and every activity allowed. I've seen races for both full sized and shetland pony sized horses and carriage. The carriage riders and horses all wear matching outfits. Cool! A week or two ago I ran right into the middle of a women's half marathon. And every week I see walkers, biker riders, horseback riders, and many joggers. This is the most popular part of the park because of the deer. At the top of the hill facing the Long Walk is a statue of George III on horseback. Looking the other way you see the Long Walk leading right up to Windsor castle.


And then there are the deer, hundreds of them, oh deer, oh deer ... There's just something about deer that makes you feel good. I know they can get scary if threatened, but they are graceful and in this particular case, not really afraid of humans because this has been a sanctuary for them for many generations of deer.




Then about a mile and a half or so down the Long Walk, you get to Windsor castle.
The first shot is taken about half way down the Long Walk, the next is the gate house. You can see that the right side of the building is designed to match the exterior of Windsor Castle but the left side just looks like a regular building.

Then there is the gate itself. There are four guys in tuxedos having their picture taken for some reason. I'm guessing a wedding. I have seen a bride and groom having their picture taken there too. The picture on the left are 'bollards', they raise and lower as needed to either keep out the 'nasties' or to let the royals drive out.

The first picture is the view from the gate, as you can see I am pretty close. The second is zoomed in to see the royal guard in his booth, in all his red jacketed, fuzzy hatted, splendor.


From the gate, I turned around and ran back up the Long Walk. Another three miles along and you get to the royal Polo fields. Prince Albert loved his horses, polo and the park, his statue is beside the practice field. He was Queen Victoria's husband and she loved him dearly. When he passed away she was so saddened that she hardly came out in public ever again. There are at least three polo fields. The one in the near ground is a practice field on which I've seen them playing on many Saturdays. In the background is the grandstand where the formal matches are held. And then off to the left of the grandstand is another practice field.

Then there are acres and acres of beautiful scenery, reminding you that the whole, giant thing is a garden.


And then you get to the opposite end of the road I have chosen (there are many), this is one of the gates coming in from the Windsor side. The pink gate houses are sort of a standard, you see them at most of the entrances. All shaped and painted the same. When I see them, I think of a crown. The whole run to this gate, including the Long Walk, is 10 1/2 miles.

Now I have to go back ...

The Royal Mail

Our mail man's "truck" - note it says "Royal Mail" on both the saddle bag and the slanted cross bar & is painted the Royal Mail color. It may be hard to read but the model of the bike (on the horizontal bar just above the pedals) is called a "Mailstar." He's a nice guy, and got a good laugh out of my taking a picture of his 'noble steed.'