I reached Marathonas at 6.45am by bus from Athens. It was too dark to read my map so I backtracked the route the bus did until I reached south of Marathonas. I started the walk at 7.20am averaging 5km per hour for the first half marathon.
I had
to detour from the Marathonas Avenue to walk around the "Tomb of the Marathon Warrior" which was the 5km mark. At 10km it was through Nea Makri and at 15km I hit the first hill near the Rafina Junction. There were a number of hill climbs, some quite long.
When I reached half way at Pikermi I stopped at Baronburger for an orange and water. I was feeling great, fitness wise but my feet were beginning to become sore especially the heel of my left foot.
It was quite a boring course with few interestung features. There were
an abundant number of car sales. I decided to drink lots of water because I did not want to become dehydrated or suffer heat stroke. I was walking by myself although there were lots of people around once I reached halfway. I had to be innovative in finding appropriate toilet stops.
My first challenge came at 30kms when the two laned highway became four lanes. The two inside lanes went to Athens while the two outside lanes beside the footpath I was walking on detoured to the left onto a major highway "642". I had to cross the busy road onto the Athens lanes and then walk along a concrete lip about a metre wide. I was not sure if I was breaking the law or not. It was a relief to see the street sign Mesogeoin Avenue. As I neared Athens I had to do a similar thing again.
to detour from the Marathonas Avenue to walk around the "Tomb of the Marathon Warrior" which was the 5km mark. At 10km it was through Nea Makri and at 15km I hit the first hill near the Rafina Junction. There were a number of hill climbs, some quite long.When I reached half way at Pikermi I stopped at Baronburger for an orange and water. I was feeling great, fitness wise but my feet were beginning to become sore especially the heel of my left foot.
It was quite a boring course with few interestung features. There were
an abundant number of car sales. I decided to drink lots of water because I did not want to become dehydrated or suffer heat stroke. I was walking by myself although there were lots of people around once I reached halfway. I had to be innovative in finding appropriate toilet stops.My first challenge came at 30kms when the two laned highway became four lanes. The two inside lanes went to Athens while the two outside lanes beside the footpath I was walking on detoured to the left onto a major highway "642". I had to cross the busy road onto the Athens lanes and then walk along a concrete lip about a metre wide. I was not sure if I was breaking the law or not. It was a relief to see the street sign Mesogeoin Avenue. As I neared Athens I had to do a similar thing again.
At the 30km mark my feet were very sore and I lacked enthusiasm to take photos or stop. All I wanted to do was finish. I should point out the temperature was the coolest we had struck over our three week stay in Greece. It was around 23 degrees and it became hotter once in the main part of Athens (27 degrees).
As I walked through the suburbs of Chalandri and Chalargos the intensity of the traffic was noticeable. At the 39- 40km mark Mesogeoin become Vas. Sofia Ave. After 41.5km you turn into Irodou Attikou which is a narrow street behind the Greek Parliament an
d where the Greek President resides. The street was blocked off to traffic and there was a high police and military presence. This may be due to recent civil unrest regarding the new austerity measures put in place by the government.
d where the Greek President resides. The street was blocked off to traffic and there was a high police and military presence. This may be due to recent civil unrest regarding the new austerity measures put in place by the government.At the bottom of this street Denise was waiting for me. We walked together through the Panathenaic Stadium and on the track to the end. It was a great feeling to have completed my first marathon and in particular the original marathon course. I finished the walk at 5.10pm
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