My Tryst with History
Part 2
Why do I say that?
Well, to start with, there are several other factors apart from the Marathon itself, which by themselves are enough to make a trip to this wonderful tourist destination worthwhile.
Like the great cuisine , the vibrant atmosphere of the city of Athens, its charming and amazingly warm Greek hospitality, visiting one of the many beautiful and famous Greek islands amidst pristine waters, innumerable world class museums [based on almost every theme you can think of], the visits to historical and archaeological wonders like the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, the temple of Olympian Zeus, the ancient Agora, Mount Olympus, the ancient stadium at Olympia......
The list of things to do is so long, that it will take a separate post just for these "side attractions" to visit while in and around Athens !
However, as the major focus of a Marathoner's Athens visit is going to be the Marathon itself, lets first come back to our main topic of interest :
I believe there are two major aspects that make this race stand out from the crowd :
1] Historical [ and Philosophical ] perspectives surrounding the event.
2] The Actual Race experience.
1] The History behind the Athens Marathon
[which is indeed the history of the Marathon itself]
How the Marathon event itself was born :
Long distance races of various distances had been held since antiquity in various parts of the world, usually called the Go-as-you-please races, which meant you could alternatively walk and run in these recreational races.However, the term MARATHON was applied to a running event for the first time only in 1896, when the first Modern Olympics were organised.
The Ancient Olympic games were staged every four years, starting in 776 B.C. until 393 A.D., when they were abolished by a decree of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I.
The movement for reviving the Olympic games became very strong towards the end of the 19th century, finally culminating in the First International Olympic Games of the modern era after a long hiatus of 1503 years !
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| Alfred Jules Michel Breal [the man who conceptualised the Marathon Race] |
As part of the preparations, it was proposed by the Frenchman Alfred Jules Michel Breal, that a new Race be introduced, in order to revive the feelings of Antiquity and History associated with the Olympic games,especially because the first Modern Olympics were to be staged in Athens, Greece, with its rich historical connections to the ancient Panathenaic and Olympic games.
Breal wanted to increase the enthusiaism and effort of the Greeks for the event to be successful and also to honour the contribution of Greece to civilisation and athletics.
He was excited at the prospect of having a long distance race along the route followed by the ancient runner Pheidippides from the town of Marathon to Athens. The distance worked out to be approximately 40 kms, [ although the course designed for the event was not essentially the exact route on which the ancient messenger was believed to have run, over 2386 years ago]
Another interesting fact is that the Olympic marathon wasn't in fact the first marathon ever held!
 Harilaos Vassilakos |
| [ The First Marathon Champion ] |
The First ever Official Marathon was held on March 10,1896 in order to identify /qualify 6 Greek runners as the official entrants for the actual Olympic Marathon.[to be held later on 10th April 1896,on the 5th day of the Athens Olympic Games]
It was won by Harilaos Vassilakos, who won it with a time of 3hrs and 18 minutes.
However , due to popular demand for more athletes to be given a chance at Olympic glory, a second Marathon race called the International trial for the first Olympic games was held,[although no foreign runners turned up ] from which another 6 Greeks were selected for the actual Olympic marathon. The date was 5th April 1896, one day before the start of the Olypmic games and only 5 days before the actual Olympic Marathon !
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| Spyros Louis [ the 1st Olympic Marathon Winner ] |
The interesting and most amusing bit is that the person who almost didn't qualify, Mr Spyros Louis, [ as his timing was about 27 seconds short of the qualifying mark,based upon the winning time of Harilaos Vassilakos ], actually ended up becoming the First Olympic Marathon Champion !!! He was strongly recommended by Major Georgios Papadiamantopoulas [ try memorising that name :) ] ,who had personally recruited and encouraged Louis to participate. Also, a strong argument in his favour was that he had competed under far worse weather conditions than the original qualifying race. The winner of the trial races, Mr.Vassilakos, came in second.
The Starting point
The Marathon race starts from the town of Marathon, which was the site of the famous battle between the Persian and Greek forces in 490 B.C.
The actual place where the very first races including the Olympic marathon started has been a much debated issue, with conflicting claims by different authorities.
Fortunately,during the renovation of the area during the preparations for the Athens Olympic games of 2004, the Famous actual Road marker at "Kilometer 40 on the road from Athens to Marathon", [ which was present in 1896 ] was discovered next to the bridge over a stream, just outside the village, marking the start of the Authentic marathon course.
It has been placed there again , in the area of the new starting line very near its original location, eternal proof of the authenticity of the race.
As part of the preparations for the Athens Olympics of 2004, the starting area saw the building of an altar, a stage and a special stand for the lighting of the Marathon flame [ a special ceremony held one day before the race] Overall , a mighty impressive site (as well as sight ), completely befitting the start of the most historic and most symbolic Marathon on Earth.
The actual place where the very first races including the Olympic marathon started has been a much debated issue, with conflicting claims by different authorities.
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| The 40 km stone marker |
Fortunately,during the renovation of the area during the preparations for the Athens Olympic games of 2004, the Famous actual Road marker at "Kilometer 40 on the road from Athens to Marathon", [ which was present in 1896 ] was discovered next to the bridge over a stream, just outside the village, marking the start of the Authentic marathon course.
It has been placed there again , in the area of the new starting line very near its original location, eternal proof of the authenticity of the race.
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| Lighting the marathon flame |
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| The flame being carried from the Tomb to the Start venue |
As part of the preparations for the Athens Olympics of 2004, the starting area saw the building of an altar, a stage and a special stand for the lighting of the Marathon flame [ a special ceremony held one day before the race] Overall , a mighty impressive site (as well as sight ), completely befitting the start of the most historic and most symbolic Marathon on Earth.
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| Handing over the marathon flame |
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| The guard of honour |
The Finish area
The Panathenaic Stadium, where the Athens Marathon ends, provides an unmatched and dreamlike venue for a marathon runner - no other marathon in the world has its finish line at such a highly regarded and famous World Heritage Site ; which was the venue of the first Olympic games and the finishing point of the world's first ever Marathon race as well as the first Olympic Marathon.
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| The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. |
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| Yours truly at the entrance to the Stadium |
The course itself
From the starting point located at an elevation of 34 metres, after covering about the first few kilometers, [Approx at Km 4 to 5 ] runners go around the memorial of the fallen warriors of the ancient Persian- Greek war.
Called the Tumulus [ tomb ] of the Marathon warriors, it is hard to resist imagining the sounds of the famous battle as it happened centuries ago. Indeed , some locals living in the area still claim to hear the sounds of horses and swords clashing in the dead of the night !
The tumulus was discovered in 1890 and has a diameter of 50 metres and a height of 9 metres.
It holds the remains and memories of the 192 Athenian warriors and their commander General Miltiades, who was buried there later.
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| Aerial view showing the course winding around the Tomb |
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| The tumulus [ tomb ] of Marathon |
From here , the course goes through several towns and suburbs , to reach the finish point in the Panathenaic stadium in Athens.
The course is uphill from 10th Km onwards until Km 31[ approx 21km steady uphill ]
Thats why it is considered one of the toughest courses among Major marathons in the world.
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| 'Dromeas' a..k..a The Runner |
Another important landmark to notice along the course is the Glass sculpture named The Runner, just after the 40th km mark.
When I finally finished one of the toughest marathon races of my life, and saw the Panathenaic stadium as I approached the finish , it seemed like the ghosts of the many runners and Marathon winners of the past were there to welcome me, applauding my efforts !!!
In my next post , I will cover my actual experience of the Race itself. That is quite a story, believe me !
