The Authentic Marathon – Athens, Greece

I traveled this past weekend to Athens, Greece to meet up with a friend and run the 2017 Athens Marathon. The Authentic Marathon. This race traces the footsteps of Pheidippides, Athenian messenger, who in 490 B.C. ran from Marathon to Athens to bring news of victory from the battlefield of Marathon. After he announced the victory, the legend says he collapsed and died. Our goal was to not die.

The Athens Marathon has a pretty much epic finish – it concludes inside the Panathenaic Stadium, the birthplace of the Olympic Games and a classic emblem of Greece constructed in the 4th century B.C. The Panathenaic Stadium was used to host events to celebrate the city of Athens, the “Great Panathenaia”. 

My trip pretty much consisted of three of my favorite things: running and walking, taking pictures, and eating. Who can ask for anything more?

We had all day Saturday to enjoy the pleasant November weather in Athens. Since I’ve been to Athens before, and my friend is a native Athenian, we bypassed the ruins (which are actually very worthwhile when you have more time) and instead spent our day in the Monastiraki and Plaka neighborhoods. These are said to have the prettiest streets in Athens, and I’m inclined to agree. Monastiraki Square was buzzing with tourists, lunch-goers, balloon sellers, pigeons, children playing. We sat outside a café and ordered a salad (Greek, of course) and souvlaki.

(Side note: while in Greece I ate souvlaki every day. Literally. I did not get tired of it).

We roamed the streets, stumbling over ruins and museums at every turn. By the time we headed back home, we had walked more steps and climbed more stairs than is advisable the day before a marathon. Oops.

That night, in the childhood apartment where my friend grew up, her mom cooked us dinner, and then we slept in the living room on the couch. You know, like a slumber party. Except we’re both adults with children of our own. We even washed the supper dishes. Just goes to show that when parents are around you’re automatically re-relegated to child status, no matter your age.

Sunday morning we woke oh-so-early, 5:00 am, donned our matching blue and white running shirts and black capris, applied our Greek flag temporary tattoos, and braided our hair. We hopped onto the shuttle that would deliver us to the race start, in Marathonas, and then we waited. The Athens Marathon doesn’t start until 9:00 am, which is quite late for a race. To kill time, we did another inadvisable thing, and walked some more, throughout and around the stadium. Marathonas is a great spot to inspire; there is a statue of Nike, goddess of speed, strength and victory, a representation of the Spirit of Hermes, by Masaaki Noda, and the Marathon Flame, which is lit at the Tomb of the Battle of Marathon the day before the Athens Marathon every year.

I had heard that this would be a tough race. The first half is one long, slow incline, and the heat is a surprise if you’re coming from a typical chilly autumn locale – it was 70°F for our race, compared to my typical 45-50°F. Clouds and a consistent breeze kept the heat at bay, although I did complete my visit to Greece with a surprising sunburn. Outside of the warmth and the hills, the run from Marathonas to The Panathenaic Stadium is fully on asphalt, and just feels long. I remember thinking at 6 miles, ‘how am I going to run another 20 of these?’- that’s not generally a welcome thought to a seasoned marathoner. Miles 8-16 are really a bit blurry, we ran, drank water, ran, drank a sports drink, ran. But by mile 16 we were feeling the exhaustion, and another 10 miles sounded quite far away.

The crowds were excellent – music played, kids high fived, people on all sides shouted “Bravo! Bravo!”. It felt great to have all these cheering happy people rooting for you, especially knowing that running isn’t so common a sport in Greece, and the idea of running a marathon is a bit odd to many of the locals.

We trudged on, running and walking along with the other marathoners. By the end, almost everyone in our vicinity was walking the hills, and it was clear that sheer perseverance was propelling them forward. The 0.2 miles following mile 26 felt infinite, and then, all at once, we were running into the Panathenaic Stadium, marble gleaming in the sunshine, Greek flags waving in the wind, crowds cheering. It was worth it, this feeling of truly being ‘the authentic’.

Now for a little more souvlaki…