Team Peace Corps/Armenia has successfully finished the Athens Classic Marathon!!! With times from 3:25 to 5:00, we are very happy with our performances. The marathon was easily the most difficult physical event I’ve ever endured. After talking with some of the others who ran this race, they suggested the Athens’ course is one of the more difficult. The race includes a 7 mile uphill run, which is just not fun and wears you out. After hobbling home, we ordered pizza and laid in bed for most of the day. The marathon was a great experience, but is certainly not on the top of my to-do list in the near future!
The race itself was very interesting and fun; we arrived at 6:30 am, loaded onto buses to ride the route, and finished around 3:00 pm this afternoon. A long day! From the get-go, we had balloons and a band, and there were about 8000 very excited people there. Among them were a couple in French berets, a man dressed in a toga carrying a torch, and a man in full armor with a sheild and spear. Of course, all of these people finished ahead of me, along with many 70+ year olds, and a baby being pushed in a stroller. Such is life, right? There were also lots of interesting characters we met during the race, including “complaining guy”, “enthusiastic guy”, and Peace Corps Bulgaria, Albania, and Moldova. Here are some of my favorites:
I have posted the remaining pictures up of the marathon in the photo gallery. Take a look! My official time, photographs and certificate will be posted on the Athens Classic website within the next 10 days so I will post that when I get the chance. Tomorrow, assuming we can walk straight, we’re going to start our actual vacation by going to the National Archeology Museum, and buying tickets for the ferry to Santorini (Thira) Island for a few nights. When I return home this weekend I’ll try and post more about my trip – until then, thanks again for your support!
Update (9:45 am): Thanks to a last minute donation from a great friend, I have raised the last $100 for my Push to the Finish program!! The total I’ve raised is $2010 (when the corporate matching comes in)!! Thank you again for all your help!!
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2 Responses:
November 4th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Glad to hear you all finished….hopefully in good shape. Oddly I woke up last night just at the time you all would have been starting (it’s a thing we Mom’s tend to do) and thought of all of you…….I’m sure you’ve all “crashed” by now and will look forward to pictures and more information about the trip. I’ve only watched a marathon and just seeing the pain the runners are in at the end was enough for me.
Congratulations to all of you for accomplishing such a feat (or should I say feet – as I’m sure yours are sore)!
Mrs. Z
November 5th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Kyle! congrats on the marathon! I’m sure you are very proud of your accomplishment. Thank you for all your hard work on behalf of Push!