Stubbington Green Runners

Athens Classic 5km

WHERE: Athens, Greece

WHEN: Sunday, 31st October 2010

THE RACE.

The enjoyable course started in front of the Panathinaikon Stadium and took us through the historical centre of Athens past the Greek Parliament, Hadrian’s Arch, the Acropolis and the columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus before returning to a most memorable finish inside the stadium.

RUNNERS.  1331 Men. 1196  Women

FIRST MAN:  Merousis Christorous 15:25

FIRST WOMAN  Mihailova Valentina 19:40

STUBBY:  Anne Fairhurst 1297th 34:55 1st F(64-69) of 12

Total finishers 2527   Slowest finishing time 1-12:43

Comment. Glitter showered down and a multitude of balloons rose up into the clear blue sky to signal the starts of the 5 and 10k runs. Unfortunately there was a lack of organisation in those races. With the huge number of runners and walkers there should have been some time zones for the start. As it was, I stood about half way back and was unable to reach my target pace until about 1km. On entering the stadium I sprinted to break the 35minutes and was thrilled to find I had won my age group.

After a freshen up at the hotel I returned to watch the marathon runners finish. A crowded stadium cheered them in as they entered hands aloft – many dressed as Greek warriors while traditional Greek music played in the background. It was great to see Roger and then John come in before they were expected, both exceptionally happy. There can never be a repeat of the 2500th anniversary of “The Marathon”. 

Athens Classic Marathon

WHERE: Marathonas to Athens, Greece

WHEN: Sunday, 31st October 2010

THE RACE.

The Marathon Race started in the City of Marathonas and was more or less flat for the first 7 km including a loop near the Marathon Tomb. The course continued uphill for the next 10km, downhill for 1 then uphill for 14km reaching highest point at about 32km. Then downhill to the end except a short uphill bit at about 40km. The spectacular finish was in the Panathinaikon Stadium, which was built for the 2004 Olympic Games.

RUNNERS.  7751 Men. 2333 Women

FIRST MAN:  Raymond Bett (Kenya) 2-12:40

FIRST WOMAN:  Rasa Drazaukaite (Lithuania) 2-31:05

STUBBY:  John Fairhurst  3439th  4-10:52 (PB). 19th M(64-69) of 135

FORMER STUBBY: Roger Fairhurst  409th  3-14:57.  70th M(35-39) of 1130

Total finishers 10084   Slowest finishing time 8-08:51

Comment.  This 28th Athens Classic Marathon celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. In 490BC, despite being outnumbered 3:1 the Greek Army of 20,000 defeated the 60,000 Persian Army in arguably one of the most important battles in the history of western democracy. The details are somewhat shrouded in the mists of time but after the battle a Greek soldier (possibly Pheidippides)ran to Athens, announced the good news of the victory, declaring  Νενικήκαμεν  (Neneekeekamen "We have won") and collapsed and died on the spot from exhaustion. This was the original marathon and the course was used in the first modern Olympics in 1896 and recently in 2004.

The sun shone brightly and the atmosphere was marvellous. The announcer almost lost his voice in encouraging the runners to deposit their bags in time and then proceed to their starting zones. We were split up into 7 blocks, each one sent off at a specified time interval after the previous one. Greek music played, runners chatted, stretched and applied various ointments and then the gun went off, balloons flew up, glitter showered down and Block 1 was away. The air was cool at the 9.00am start. However, it was not long before the hot sun meant that the 15 drinks stations along the route with a variety of water, sponges, isotonic drinks, bananas, fitness bars and gels became most welcome.

All along the route children were holding their hands out for “High Fives”, spectators were cheering, clapping and shouting “Bravo” and I even heard one lady call out “Νενικήκαμεν”.

Being less than 2-02 at half way suggested sub 4-10 would be a fair target but the heat and the rest of the hill up to 32km took their toll. Arriving in sight and sound of the stadium was a wonderful boost and a final effort gave me a PB. A marvellous way to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the event which started this all off and as the official poster put it, become part of history.