In Part Two of a two-part series on the Athens Marathon, Emily and Cam talk about what it’s like to participate in the Athens Marathon today. They discuss the first marathon race at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens; the development of the marathon as a marquee sporting event; and the route of the contemporary Athens marathon.

Links:

• Part I of our photo essay on the Athens Marathon;
• Part II of our phot essay on the Athens Marathon;
• A report in the Greek Times about the 73-year-old Cretan runner, Idomeneas Avramakis.

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00:12 - Introduction

01:04 - The First Modern Marathon

• 01:11 - The early Olympic movement: de Coubertin, Bréal, and the push for a long-distance race
• 03:52 - Picking a route: the major routes from Marathon to Athens, in the ancient world and now (with a digression on the Athenian army in 490 BC and the walk of NGL Hammond)
• 08:28 - The first marathon: the achievements of Spyridon Louis and Stamata Revithi

12:40 - Going the distance: 26 miles, 385 yards

• 13:07 - The impromptu conditions of early marathons
• 14:01 - Refinements at the 1906 intercalated games in Athens
• 14:49 - Setting the official distance at the 1921 IAAF Conference and the story of the 1908 London Olympics

17:34 - The “Authentic” Athens Marathon

• 17:45 - The history of the Athens Marathon from 1955 to the present
• 18:37 - Following in the footsteps of Pheidippes, or footsteps of Grigoris Lambrakis?
• 19:49 - The first 8km: the Marathon plain, the ancient Tomb of the Athenians, and the enthusiasm of the spectators
• 21:30 - The next 10km: the road to Rafina, the statue of the Runners, and the lost statue of Pheidippides
• 23:56 - From 18km to 31km: “The Hill”, and the barefoot runner Idomeneas Avromakis
• 26:27 - The final 10km: the Attic Basin, the statue of the Runner, and the finish in the Panathenaic Stadium of Herodes Atticus

32:22 - Final Thoughts

• 32:36 The road from Marathon: an ancient and historic route
• 32:58 - The ancient sanctuary of Tyche and a prayer for better days ahead