We had a pasta dinner the night before, and Paul had the hotel set up the breakfast buffet early that morning so we could get something to eat before we left. The race didn’t start until 9 am, so I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn like with races in the States. We slept until about 6 a.m. and then got breakfast (mmm Greek yogurt!).  I got on the bus to head towards the small town of Marathon around 7. The 10K started near the modern Olympic stadium, which was my finishing point, so Eric’s bus left at 7:30.

Like a virgin… touched for the very first time…

Madonna was blaring over the loudspeaker as runners from several different countries stretched and nervously chatted about the upcoming race.  I was standing next to Jeff Galloway, former Olympian and the Run/Walk Method master, who was on the trip with us and was leading a 1 min. run/1 min. walk group with a goal of 5 hours.  I looked at the road and there was a faded blue line, from the Olympic marathon in 2004.

After taking an oath that translated to something about having fun and running a fair race, the starting gun popped!  Jeff wanted the group to start after everyone else had gone, so for the first time ever in a race, I started dead last. There were a few thousand runners there, putting us about 5 minutes behind clock time. The temperature at race start was 61 degrees with the wind at our back and lots of cloud coverage, practically perfect marathon weather.  The wind eventually died down, but luckily the clouds and cool temps stayed with us.

After the first couple miles, we started the loop around the tomb of the Athenian soldiers who fell during the war between the Persians and the Athenians.  The next few miles flew by, and the 1/1 run/walk method was part of the reason.

Eric and I had looked at the course map before the trip and I didn’t expect much trouble from the hills.  What I forgot to consider was the angle of the road, and by mile 7 my knees started bothering me.  I tried to ignore them, after all I was in Greece – no time for knee problems!  Nevertheless, they continued to bother me and ended up hurting for 3 weeks after the race.

Running through the countryside brought cheers of “Bravo!” and “Calimera!” (good morning) coming from both sides of the road as we passed people who were outside cheering us on our way to Athens. Around mile 16 we started to get into the suburbs of Athens and see more buildings. This was also about the time that I started to lose the group.  After I stopped at a medic tent to get some cream for my knees, I slowed my pace down considerably for the next 3 miles and they pulled away.  By now I was really looking forward to seeing Eric at mile 24, who had completed his race and agreed to pace me for the end of mine.

I can do anything for a minute.

Before I fell behind, another member of the group who was starting to struggle as well said, “I can do anything for a minute.”  I tried to keep this in mind as my right hamstring started to cramp around mile 20.  If I could just run for 1 minute, I would be able to walk for 1 minute.

I came to about mile 23.75 and there was Eric – I had almost made it! I wasn’t crashing, either, which was awesome.  Eric was surprised to find me in a good mood, and I was kind of surprised to be in a good mood. Maybe it was the spirit of Phidippides and the olive branches in my visor.

A little after mile 25, both my hamstrings started to cramp and my quads, too. I had never cramped in my legs before, so it was definitely a new and unpleasant experience for me.

As I was “sprinting” to the finish, EVERYTHING cramped, even my left big toe.  I glanced over my right shoulder and saw a stray dog jogging in a few feet behind me, which made me laugh and I actually forgot about my cramps for a second…

And then I was done.  I was in the white marbled Olympic Stadium with the olympic rings high above the stands (which we hiked up to right after the marathon), the Acropolis and the Parthenon in the distance.  One might call it the experience of a lifetime.

And my final time was 5:14, a PR by approx. 5 minutes.

in the stands with the Acropolis in the distance

my medal

freezing with Jeff Galloway before the race.

some serious hot chocolate in Madrid

Finally it was time to go home I had a lot of fun in Europe, and wish we could’ve stayed longer in Madrid, even though it was cold.
Short recap, but in conclusion I love international flights because they serve you actual meals.
I’ll post some of the pictures later/tomorrow/this weekend (I have a thesis to turn in!), they’ll do a better job showing our trip than I can explain in words!

Find pictures of Greece here, and Madrid here!

Photo Credit – Eric Lang