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tagged: 2500 anniversary, Athens, classic, Grigoris Lambrakis, Marathon, Pheidippides, Politics, race, Spiros Louis, traffic regulationsAthens: Countdown for Historic 2,500 years Marathon!
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Sports
The countdown for Sunday’s long-awaited Athens Marathon has begun, with preparations underway in and around the Greek capital, as international attention has surged this week on the occasion of the 2,500th anniversary of the eponymous Battle of Marathon.
Start time is at 9 a.m. (07:00GMT) on Sunday just outside the modern-day community of Marathon (east of Athens proper), with the first world-class runners expected to reach the all-marble Panathinaiko Stadium in central Athens after roughly 11:10 a.m.
Panathinaiko Stadium
A five- and 10-kilometre race will be run concurrently with the classical Marathon.
(source: AthensNewsAgency)
More than 12,000 runners, a record number, from Greece and abroad are expected for this year’s race, including several international personalities and increased media attention. There is information that Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou will run as well.
History of Marathon Reace
The modern Athens Marathon commemorates the 40 kilometers (24,85 miles) run of the soldier Pheidippides from the Battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 B.C. Legend has it that Pheidippides arriving in Athens, exclaiming “Νενικήκαμεν” (Nenikékamen, ‘We have won”), then collapsed and died on the spot.
The first Marathon race of modern times was held in 1896 in Greece during the Olympic Games. It starts at Marathon Bridge and ends at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens.
Spiros Louis,a Greek postal worker, won the first modern Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds. Greeks commemorate Spyros Louis in the language through the idiomatic expression “He became Louis” meaning “He run very fast”.
1896 Olympic Marathon
Marathon Race as political expression
Legendary Greek politician and democratic icon Grigoris Lambrakis was a physician and athlete.
On 21 April 1963, the pacifist movement in Greece organised the First Pacifist Rally from Marathon to Athens. The police intervened, banned the rally and arrested many demonstrators (Mikis Theodorakis among them). Lambrakis, protected by his parliamentary immunity, marched alone and arrived at the end of the rally holding the banner with the peace symbol.
Lambrakis marching alone in the Marathon–Athens Peace Rally on April 21 1963.
One month later he was assassinated by far-right extremists. More on Grigoris Lambrakis here
Current World records
Men: Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopia 2h 03:59 Berlin 2008
Women: Paula Radcliffe Gr.Britain 2h 15:25 London 2003
More information on Marathon Race : official website athens classicmarathon.gr and wikipedia
Athens Traffic Regulations
Sunday’s Marathon is expected to cause serious transport disruptions in the capital. Much of the center will be cordoned off to motorists between 7 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. Certain key roads, including Vassilissis Sofias and Vassileos Constantinou streets, will be closed for most of the day as will Mesogeion Avenue. Bus, trolley and tram services will be suspended or rerouted .
(source: eKathimerini )
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