19 March 2010 | 2010 marks the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon in Ancient Greece, which gave its name to the athletic long-distance endurance race. On that occasion, Greek authorities intend to focus on the Athens marathon through a series of connected cultural events aimed at attracting more participants.

“As of last year, the classical marathon in Athens has been renovated on a global level and is included in the Golden Marathons list, which is an acknowledgement and confirmation of the flawless job of the competition,” Leonidid Efthimou, head of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism representative office in Bulgaria said, quoted by the Focus Information Agency.

“Our goal for this year is for the classical marathon in Athens to gather more participants than before and for the marathon to be accompanied by a series of parallel cultural events,” he added.

The Athens marathon, as well as all such long-distance athletic races around the world, received its name from the legend of Pheidippides, a young and agile Greek soldier, who was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the outnumbered Athenian army had miraculously defeated the Persians in the 490 BC Battle of Marathon. It is said that Pheidippides ran the entire 42-kilometre distance to the capital without stopping, but moments after proclaiming the victorious message, he collapsed and died from exhaustion.

This year, in its 28th edition, the Athens Classical Marathon will take place on October 31. There are usually about 4,000 runners who participate in the event, which allows them to enjoy the thrill of running atop 2,500 years of history under their feet. For those who wish to experience history without having to do a 42-kilometre run in hilly Attica, the Athens Classical Marathon also features 5 and a 10-kilometre runs. The less athletically inclined, on the other hand, can walk the entire marathon route if they start out 2 hours before the runners begin.

The Athens Classical Marathon course is rather challenging, with the start line near the sea and the finish line in central Athens at 110 metres above sea level. Along the way, runners have to climb a number of hills, including the base of Mount Pendeli. The marathon ends in the Panathinaiko Stadium, which was built entirely in white marble for the first modern Olympics in 1896 on the site of the remains of the ancient stadium used for the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece were excavated.

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