As part of visiting to all the Summer Olympic sites, I chose to commit to running a race. Athens is an amazing place to start, because not only is it the site of the first Modern Olympic Games, it is also the site of the very first marathon. The Athens Marathon is WHY marathons are run. The legend of the history of the marathon stems all the way from the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. What better way to start this Olympic journey than with THE marathon? I was sold on this idea, and signed up.

This marathon will be the seventh one that I have done. After completing six, I still haven’t perfected the art of training. I’ve always said that the most difficult thing about a marathon isn’t actually the marathon itself, it’s the training. Training for the Athens Marathon is no different. It takes time and commitment nearly every day to find time to devote to running. Wake up early and run or come home early and run after work? And as I increase mileage, it gets more and more difficult. Finding time to run eight miles is sure more difficult than finding time to run just two.

I started training for this marathon several months ago. I chose a gradual approach because I thought it would be better. As it turns out, there is no difference. In this case, I just had to maneuver through typical running issues for a longer period of time – blisters, injuries, aches, pains, etc.

Now with less than a month before the actual marathon, I’m faced with sub-par training. I could make excuse after excuse as to why it hasn’t gone as I had hoped, but the reality is that excuses don’t matter. I’m not as prepared as I had hoped to be.

However, there is a positive outcome to this story. This marathon has the longest time limit of any marathon I’ve ever done. It has an eight and a half hour time limit. To me, this is unheard of. This could mean one of two things – it could either mean that this marathon is exceptionally difficult, OR it could just mean that it is meant to be enjoyed. I’m hoping for the latter.

Marathon training is nearly over for this race and travel accommodations are booked. Next stop – Athens, Greece, site of the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics.