It's not very often that you come across a 2500-year anniversary. The Athens Classic Marathon taking place this Sunday (October 31) may be just marking the 28th occasion of this sporting event, but the historical event it is commemorating (the run of Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens after the victory of ancient Athenians against the invading Persian army) took place 2500 years ago, in 490BC.
Twenty thousand runners have joined to run the Athens Marathon and the associated 5k, 10k and Power Walking races. Most races will end at the Panathinaikon Stadium, in the center of Athens, on Sunday morning / noon. I plan on being there and taking some hopefully interesting pictures, so I may post some here.
Some related books that may be of interest are:
Marathon: The Battle That Changed Western Civilization by Richard A. Billows
The Battle of Marathon (Yale Library of Military History)
by Peter Krentz
26.2: Marathon Stories, by Kathrine Switzer and Roger RobinsonThe Battle of Marathon (Yale Library of Military History)
by Peter Krentz
(26.2 is the distance of the Marathon race in miles. In kilometers it is 42.195).Here is the race's official site.
P.S. 2010-10-31 I didn't have the courage to get up this morning so I just watched the finish of the race online. There was a good number of people (but not too many) in the Panathinaikon Stadium, where the finish of the race(s) takes place, and it was a sunny day, but not hot, good for running (I guess :) ). To make it up to you I am posting a couple of photos from an earlier celebration that took place in the Panathinaikon Stadium, in 1996.
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| Olympic Games Winners Reception, 1996-08-06 |
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| Olympic Games Winners Reception, 1996-08-06 - Kind of a similar situation today (2010), only with fewer people in the stands. |
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