Athens Classic Marathon

The Athens Classic Marathon was the final marathon is what has been an incredible five week international adventure. The history of returning to the home of the marathon was a major reason for including Athens in the global adventure and I was not disappointed.

The race started from the city of Marathon with around 5,000 lining up on the start line. Prior to the start I was pulled aside by a television journalist from NovaSports 1 to be interviewed live only minutes before getting under way. I was focused on getting ready for the start of the race so not too sure whether I made much sense or not ...

At the start it was spotted that the pace groups were represented by a single rider on a push bike. The course started by looping through the site of the Marathon Tombs on dirt roads and following this section of the course then lead into endless major roads and motorways that would lead towards Athens. I had been warned by many people that this course was not for the fainthearted and indeed was very challenging with many hills to get over. It was also mentioned that the second half of the course was a little more friendly and that the hills would eventually end so this was always in the back of my mind.

I maintained a respectable pace from the start and it was not until just prior to the 28km mark that I noticed the 4km pace bike surge past me. While extremely frustrated not to maintain my pace I stepped it up and made sure that I would be as close as possible to the 4 hour time.

While the crowds were relatively small compared to the week before in New York City, the common cry of "Bravo" could be heard along the way when I would run through the small crowds of supporters. I could feel the energy and history over the final stages as we approached the site of the first ever Olympics. When I spotted the crowds building I knew that the finish line was not so far away. It was a great pleasure to see that the road towards the finish line was all downhill after struggling through many hills during the run. I made my move and over the final kilometer sprinted it out to overtake a number of competitors. It was a mix of making the most of this historic moment in Athens and also being fully aware that this was my final run in the Marathon Man programme for the year and I wanted to post the best possible time. The energy on entering the Olympic Stadium was incredible and I ended up crossing the line in a new personal best time of 4:02:13!

It was a great way to complete what has been an amazing adventure. By setting a new personal best time by more than three minutes in the fifth marathon over five weeks I guess it shows that the previous training runs over the weeks ahead had been really worthwhile. The Marathon Man international adventures have been beyond expectations and I am now really looking forward to mapping out a very exciting schedule of challenges for the new year. The journey has only just started ...