Yes, I know this is late…again. This race recap is from our November 2022 trip to Athens, Greece. Actually, when my wife I got back from Greece I put together a video recap which I included at the end of the post so the memories are still fresh.

Let me start by saying this should be a bucket list race for any marathoners out there. Is the the best course ever? Probably not…Is it the fastest course? Definitely not…Would it contend to be a world major?…Nope. So why the bucket list race? Because of the history. It’s not Boston and it doesn’t have the prestige or longevity of that race but what it does have is ‘Authenticity’. You also get to finish the race in an Olympic stadium. This is the home of the modern day marathon. It was here in Athens, Greece that the modern day marathon race was created and introduced to the world at the first modern day Olympic Games in 1896. The Boston Marathon would not appear until 1897.

So why Athens? In 2022 I celebrated a big birthday and my wife and I decided to do a big trip to celebrate. As we are both runners we thought about a destination race. We both have very busy work schedules and there a plenty of school activities we need to manage for our two boys. The timing of this race and the lead time to plan all the logistics made this our pick. Also, come on, it is the ‘Authentic’ marathon. How many people are going to be able to say they did this?

The race itself starts in the town of Marathon and runs to Athens and is inspired by the route that the Ancient Greek legend Pheidippides who ran to bring news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490BC (yes, I looked that up, not from memory). We will skip over the part where he collapsed died after completing the distance and sharing the news of the victory!!!

First of all, let me say that this trip would not have been as amazing as it was without the help of Paul and his team at Apostolos Greek Tours. They put this whole package together and also provided some advice for us as we travelled on after the race. Paul and his whole team treated us to first class service and made this trip so memorable for us. They have three tours. Race support only, which is a group that stayed in Athens and only dealt with the race logistics, and a 6-day and 12-day tour. We opted to do the 6-day tour but added an extra day with the group before heading off for our own private vacation.

We flew out of New York/JFK and arrived (via Paris) early Thursday before the race. The team from Apostolos Greek Tours met us at the airport and provided transport to our hotel in Vouliagmeni. This was approximately 45 minutes outside Athens itself on what is considered to be the Greek Riviera. A beautiful location away from the hustle and bustle of Athens itself. After checking in and a brief introductory meeting with our host Paul we had the rest of the afternoon and evening to ourselves. We found ourselves a great restaurant along the beach and did our best to try and stay awake as long as possible to manage our jet lag and stay awake long enough to talk to our boys back home with the 7 hour time difference….spoiler alert…we didn’t make it and called it a night.

The next morning our tour group headed out for an early morning shake out run before heading back for an amazing breakfast and then heading into Athens for a day of sightseeing on a private tour of the Acropolis. Before we arrived at the Acropolis we stopped outside the Panathenaic Stadium, home to the first modern day Olympic Games and the finish line of the race on Sunday.

After the tour and a group lunch at a tavern at the base of the Acropolis we headed over to the race expo. The team from Apostolos had registered us as part of our package registration and handed out to everyone our race registrations so we could go inside the expo and pick up our race packets. Each runner was provided with a small race backpack (a proper backpack which has come in very handy) and a race shirt (good quality Adidas shirt). In the backpack was small towel with the race logo and an envelope with our race bib, bag check drawstring bag and numbers to tag the bags. The envelope had the race map and course elevation details.

The expo itself was a decent size and a mix of both international brands and lots of local vendors. It was set on two floors of the arena. Outside the expo there was a timer counting down to the race start where we were able to take some pictures.

Following the expo we headed over to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center were we saw a documentary about and saw the actual silver cup awarded to the winner of the first Olympic Marathon, Spyridon Louis.

After that it was an evening on our own where we found another great restaurant and got an early night before our tour the next day to Cape Sunion and the Temple of Poseidon.

Following lunch at a beachside restaurant we had some free time back at the hotel before a pre-race briefing where we went over the next day’s logistics, how to pace for the race and an overview of the course. This was followed a pre-race pasta dinner put on at the hotel for the group.

Flat ‘Me’ getting ready for race day.

Up early the next day. The hotel started breakfast early for us as we had to leave early for the nearly hour long ride to the town of Marathon and the start of the race. We met downstairs in the lobby for some pictures and final words of encouragement before heading off for the day. Each of us was given a small blue ribbon to wear so the tour group team could recognize us during the race. They had arranged to have their own pit stop for runners around the midpoint of the course to allow runners to drop off items or pick up anything they needed. And then we were off.

We arrived just outside the football stadium in Marathon where we followed a sea of runners into the stadium. We were lucky enough to arrive early enough to see the torch lit at the stadium. We even got to pose with the torches used to light the flame. Cool experience.

We were assigned a group based upon our pace and assembled on the field in individually roped off areas until we were released to the start line. There was so much going on it was easy to be distracted and this helped pass the time. It had already started to warm up and there were no clouds in the sky. It was going to be a warm sunny day. You can see on our video how busy the pre-race staging location was.

Once were were off we were pretty tightly packed but that would open up as we progressed through the course. One big change for us was that the race was measured in kilometers instead of miles. It actually felt good to see race markers more frequently, although there were many more of them.

The first part of the race took you around the tomb of the Spartans. It is a quick out and back that adds the extra 1.2 miles that was added to the marathon distance in 1908 (the Queen’s mile). The spectators were great and they were handing olive branches out to runners along the route. We grabbed a few and stuck them in our hats.

The first water stop was at the 5 kilometer mark. It was needed as it was warming up. Luckily the water stations were closer the rest of the race. About 2 miles between each.

The course was a series of rolling hills but nothing too demanding from about the 5k (3 mile) mark until mile 10. After that the course was uphill, pretty much with no breaks until mile 20. The day was warming up and the trick was to stay hydrated. At each water station we grabbed a bottle of water (no cups of water) and drank a bit, poured some over our heads and then kept the bottle to keep sipping until the next water station.

Just before the halfway mark (mile 13/kilometer 21) there was a minibus with an Apostolos Greek Tours sign. There we were able to get a quick rest where we met up with a couple of other runners. We drank a cold can of Coca-Cola between us before setting off for the rest of the race. This tour operator really went above and beyond for our group.

With beautiful blue skies it was hot but we buckled down and kept running…uphill. We did take some regular walk breaks to allow us to stay on track. Many runners were down at the sides of the road for taking it too hard. Hey, we still had a vacation after this so we decided to just enjoy the views and the experience. Not to do any harm to our ourselves for the rest of the trip.

The small towns we ran through were all out to cheer us on. We were smiling despite the hills.

Finally around mile 20, we reached the top of the hill. You definitely know when you are there. There is no more ‘up’ left. From there it was downhill all the way to the finish. We were in Athens itself by then and it was definitely more of a city vibe with less crowd support. As we got closer to the finish line the crowds started to pick back up. The runners were well spaced apart at this point and so with no crowds it was pretty quiet other than the sounds of feet hitting the pavement.

As we headed closer to the finish line we started seeing some of the sites in Athens proper. We passed the Presidential Palace and the famous Presidential Guards and also past the amazing ‘Dromeas’ (The Runner) statue.

As we approached the stadium we could hear the crowds roaring. As we entered the stadium and ran the track to the finish line we held our hands high. What an amazing finish line and what an amazing experience.

Once across the finish line we followed the track around to receive our medals and make our way out from the stadium. From there we picked up our checked bags and met back up with the Tour group as they were able to set up a tent right by the side of the finish line. It was a place to sit and catch up with everyone we had met on our trip as well as have some food and drink while we waited for someone to take us back to the bus for our trip back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel we were able to shower and relax before heading down to have celebration dinner with the group. Everyone was celebrated and we were all awarded a small Greek amphora (urn) and a laurel wreath similar to the original Olympic athletes. This was followed by some traditional greek dancing with a local dance troupe and then a disco. Such a fun group and a fun night. The wine was flowing. You would never have believe any of us had been up since the crack of dawn and had run a marathon. This was a highlight of the tour.

The next day the tour took us to back to Athens for a tour of the Agora and some time in the Plaka. We decided that would be an opportunity for us to leave the tour for the day and then make our way back to our hotel by ourselves later in the day. We said goodbye to our tour guide as the 6-day tour was over and enjoyed time by ourselves shopping in the Plaka and a dinner reservation at a restaurant overlooking the Acropolis.

The next day we stayed with the tour for the extra day to visit the islands of Poros, Hydra and Aegina. We spent a lot of the on the ferry between the islands and caught up with the people we met on our trip. It was a long but relaxing day.

The next morning the 12-day tour people got up early and left the hotel for the duration of their trip. We got up for an early run, had a relaxing breakfast and said our goodbyes to everyone before heading off to finish our vacation on the island of Santorini. It really is a picture postcard location. We loved it.

What a great trip. What a great tour operator. What a great experience. Put it on your bucket list!!!

Here is my recap video. While it documents our whole vacation (I am not forcing you to watch it all, the Expo is from 3:25 to 5:25 and the Race is from 7:07 to 25:47). It was an amazing trip.