Pheidippides, bucket lists and Coke:  what a mix!

The Athens Marathon 2015.

The Athens Marathon is rightly promoted as “The Authentic” marathon.

It sits high on marathon bucket-lists because it recreates the original legendary route from 490BC when Pheidippides ran the 42km from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the attacking

Persians. Unfortunately for him it didn’t end well. Legend has it he proclaimed victory then promptly collapse and died. Thank God that didn’t happen to me.

Pheidippides (left) and I (right) now have a lot in common!

This year I was one of 16,000 who took to the course.  Two main memories: the hills (groan) and the finish line inside the Panathenaic Stadium; site of the original 1896 Olympic Games (WOW!)

Here’s my main memories:

1. The early start .... and we're off!

Buses departed Athens at 5.30am and arrived at Marathon 40 minutes later. But the race didn’t start till 9.00am so that’s a long time of doing nothing. And it was cold. And Marathon doesn’t have much going for it apart from its historical connection. So I actually found a spot and had a snooze!

Marathon ... just go up over those hills and you'll be in Athens

The corral system was excellent and the race run on major roads, all closed.

That's me in the yellow Janji singlet ....

Athens ... here we come!

A history reminder .... just in case you'd forgotten!

2.       The hills of Athens aren't easy!

I was not expecting the gradual climb of the course. From the 14km mark it goes up and up and doesn’t stop till the 30km mark. That’s over an hour worth of running – straight up. Oh, the never ending hills (far more Great Ocean Road Marathon than Gold Coast Marathon).

The hills are alive ..... with the sound of groaning ...

3.       The crowds

Who doesn’t love a Zorba dance to lighten your own step! And fans handing out olive tree leaves, constantly calling “Bravo” in thick accents.  Love it.

"Bravo, bravo...."

Spectacular art:  'The Runner'.     Made of sheets of glass

Speaking of crowds, I had to make the Expo/bib collection journey on Saturday afternoon.  Disastrous :(  Huge crowds and an hour to collect your t-shirt. The low point of the weekend.

4.       How smoothly the event was run

It's tough in Greece right now, right?  Yet Athens clearly recognizes  the importance of the event and values us tourists. (For example, there was an airline strike and their efforts to help those runners involved were impressive).

So they deserve a shout out for the organisation. It was as good as any big marathon anywhere. Sure the Expo was painful but apart from that hiccup the event was incredibly well organised. From plentiful coaches at 5.30am to take you to Marathon to drink stations, crowd control etc. Well done Athens!

5.       Drink stations ... time for a Coke!

This was bad. Such waste. At every drink station (and there were plenty) full bottles of water only.  Take a sip and throw it away. Such waste.Such rubbish.

Bottles of water and Powerade - with just sips taken from them added to the litter of the streets. Bad, bad, bad.


And the first time I’ve ever been offered Coca-Cola on a marathon.  It was the only time I’ll ever touch the stuff and, I must say, it was good!  And they served it in cups!

(Also the occasional bananas, gels and sponges)

I can't stand the character Sponge Bob Squarepants, but today I was happy to see him!

Whilst the course itself is relatively uninspiring (and don’t forget uphill), it’s because its tracing the original course and not following the trail of tourist sites (like the Rome Marathon does), but you still see some good sights ....

The ponies cheered us on, but their voices were a little horse!!   (sorry!)

History abounds!  But so do lots and lots of empty shops and businesses - a sign of Greece's struggling economy.

The last 10km are downhill or flat coming into Athens and you can make up time if the hills haven't destroyed you (like they had me!)

6.       Saving the best till last

The finish line is amazing. It's all about the history.

That 200m on the original Olympic Stadium track is worth every cent. The stadium experience is better than running into Australia's own MCG! 

Just 200 metres to go! Curse that British Royal Family for adding that extra 200 metres to the distance!

WOW

WOW WOW.
It was breathtaking (for what little breath I had left!)

Still buzzing. I was captivated by all this history and sat around for hours after soaking it in

Ratings:

Definitely one for the keen marathoners who have a bucket list. 

This is history overload.

How's this for an awesome medal!

Loses points for the Expo arrangements/distance out of town but gains for race day.

And did I say how special it was running into the stadium ....

Summary

One for the bucket list.

Be prepared for the hills.

And drinking Coke!

My event ranking:

Organisation	8	Overall, very good. Not Disney standard but good
Course	6	and 4 of those were for the finish!
Atmosphere	6	History!
Crowds	6	“Bravo”
Expo	3	Really a 7 but for the t-shirt collection & distance away
Medal	9	Wow.  Awesome
Runner’s pack	9	Adidas t-shirt & nice bag. Awesome medal
Injuries	1	1 blister but all toe nails intact!

And a farewell from the Parthenon!!

My running gives water? Really?

My running gives running water? Really?

From swing-tag to tap. How the Janji story works

An interview with George McGraw, Founder and Executive Director of DigDeep.

I’ve got questions.

I’ve just bought some great new running gear and I’ve got questions.

They’re not about the fabrics. The fabrics are great. Not about the style – I love the fact that they are different from most of the normal running brands who, on the whole, follow a cycle of basic palette colors. Red this season, blue the next (which also seem to cycle between the big brands).  

No, my questions are about what’s going on behind the shorts and tee-shirts?  There’s some big promises being made and I want to understand how they live up to them?

The swing-tags on this Janji gear start the claims. Here’s the statement:  “Provides a year of drinking water in Tanzania.”  Nothing about moisture wicking, guaranteed performance improvements, or how you can be ‘just like Mike’.  OK, so somehow I’ve just given a year’s drinking water to someone in a distant country?  Really?  How does this all work? How exactly does my running give running water to someone?

I went on a journey to find out. Rather than ask the Janji guys, I went to the end source: the supplier of the promise. George McGraw is the founder and Executive Director of Dig Deep, a human rights organisation focusing on bringing water to North America, where, much to my surprise, nearly 2 million Americans who don’t have access to water.

George’s introduction to Janji was a classic “friend of a friend” meet up.  “I know someone you should catch up with” was the line. With that meeting of Dave Spandorfer and Mike Burnstein, the Janji founders, the connection began.  “We work with lots of social impact enterprises, says George, but the strongest ideas create niches for themselves. Running is such a strong social good niche. Janji provides a unique way to do that”.

                                          George McGraw, DigDeep Founder

The key thing I wanted to know was how this promise from ‘swing-tag to tap’ works.  George confirms that when I buy the tee shirt Janji gives a portion to partner providers who deliver the water project in specific countries. “It’s simple.  Every time a purchase is made a portion of the wholesale purchase price goes to our water project,” explains George. “The total project (that Janji is supporting through DigDeep) costs US$400,000 which will serve at least 480 people for at least 6 years.”

More specifically, the DigDeep project is building a new water infrastructure.  The project is broken down into construction of a new 2000 feet “tremendously deep” well, a fill station, and a trucked water program. Forget the old open ended concepts of a donation “giving water for life”, this is specific and broken down to minute detail.

It makes so much sense for Janji to exclusively support water projects. Running and water are, of course, synonymous.  Runners know all about the importance of hydration.  At my last marathon water was everywhere, including coming from the skies! Smiling volunteers hand out cups of water to keep me refreshed and the water usage in a race alone would be enormous, but the tangible difference here from your Janji purchase is that “you’ve got a piece of the larger water project”. I think it is more important to focus on this rather than getting hung up on specifics of dollars and cents.  George puts it well, “it’s your gift and it’s giving someone a life that they could only dream of before, and this gift is helping to fundamentally defend their human rights. That’s your piece.” 

Now I've changed my thinking about this purchase from being ‘just another running tee shirt’  to thinking of as contributing a small part of a bigger project, and one that is also changing lives.  Of course, I haven’t forgotten that I also get the benefit of the tee shirt for as long as I wear it. 

Commenting on Janji as a partner George affirmed their involvement: “One thing that I’m really proud of them for, they don’t mess around with numbers. They wanted to be very confident about the water project. And they were quite conservative in their messaging – the true impact of the project will be at least 2 to 3 times that. Transparency is everything. It all goes to the projects. We give really detailed reports.” “We’re excited to work with consumer goods companies like Janji because they have the relationship and the conversation with – in this case – the runner.”

George signs off with an encouragement for anyone considering buying Janji gear:  “You’re going to buy yourself something high quality, responsibly made, and helping with every step you take.”

  

 From this …                                   ……. to this?     Yes!

I had two last questions. What’s this funny sounding word “ Janji” mean? I didn’t need much of a search other than Google:  “Promise” in Malaysian, Indonesian and Phillipino.

Last question then. This Janji swing tag doesn’t say “just do it”, or ‘athletes are awesome’ or ‘reach for the stars’, it says “run for another”. What’s that all about? This time the source is Janji’s own website:  “Our promise (“janji”) is to use the power of running to fight the global water crisis.”

So there you go. I’ve checked it with the main man and got the thumbs up.  Janji = promise. I can promise I’ll think differently about buying running gear from now on.  

Andrew McKenzie

April 2015

http://runninghelps.blogspot.com.au/

When in Rome ..... run their Marathon!

When in Rome ……. run their marathon!

Ten things that make the ‘Maratona di Roma’ a special event

… and my Event Rating!

1.      History

Rome makes Australia looks like a new born! The well-designed course shows off the historic sights of Rome which unfurl before your eyes at every corner. The Forum, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo …. they’re all there. 

This is Piazza Navona... no time to stop for pizza!

2.      History

This is not a mistake, an intentional repeat.  The atmosphere of the event is all about being uniquely Rome. This marathon is a celebration of a city more than most – and the history lesson is the key to its success. For example, running through the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica is unique - and that’s what makes this event so special.

I wonder if The Pope was watching?

3.      The start

The Coliseum is one of those “wow” buildings. For me, up there with the Taj Mahal and Red Square. It’s the starting chute and backdrop for all the great photos.  It’s also pretty chaotic getting to the start line. Once there, the corral system is excellent (and fast corrals are awesome!)

4.      Italian passion!

Roma’s love their running, and 15,000+ turned out for the event. Passion abounded! Runners cheered in Italian at weird times for no apparent reason. The crowds, similarly, cheered and cheered (but not as noisy as American crowds). All of them just passionate energised Italians.

Rain ... not sweat!

5.      Gladiators!

The Romans run like they drive! Its constantly aggressive, with runners cutting in front and not ashamed to push you along or out of the way. Literally gladiators!  Drink stations were like a Coliseum battle! Its also where I lost a lot of time given the chaos. Taking the very last possible drinking cup became the solution.

Speaking of gladiators, Roman soldiers line the finish and grant you welcome to the end. 

6.      Cobblestones smash your feet

If the Gladiators haven’t beaten you up then the cobblestones will!  Cobblestones punish. Wet ones are slippery (it rained most of the day).  Could have been worse ..... I could have been wearing roman sandals!

7.      Ferrari

All Italians love Ferrari – and they run the same way; on the ‘racing line’.

On the many windy crowded streets it made most corners look like the first lap of a Formula One Grand Prix!  I actually learnt that you lost too much time trying to hug the inside line and, in the second half, I went wide, avoided the chaos, and picked up time.

Not a Ferrari .... but so Italian cool!

8.      Post race

Surprisingly there were little celebrations after the event (Unlike US events where runners wear their medals for days). The barriers came down and Roman life went on.       

(You could easily spot the few Americans in Rome … they were the ones saying “well done” to runners after the event.)

Sweet medal

9.      Special people

Each marathon has some special stories … for Rome 2015 I particularly liked;

*   Sigrid Eichner, 74 year old runner of 1,850 marathons! 

         *  Giorgio Calcaterra, Italy’s most famous ultra-runner who ran the marathon, came 9^th, did the drug testing, then ran it again …. Catching the last runner 2km from the end and bringing him over the line!

Giorgio celebrated with a selfie!

One-handed wheelchair. Over the line in under 7 hours.  Wow.  Inspiring. 

10.   Legends

Abebe Bikila won the Rome Olympic marathon in 1960.  Bare foot.

  

A late entrant for the Ethiopian team, the shoe sponsor had no shoes for him so he decided to run  as he had trained. And won. Ethiopian’s have made a proud tradition of taking their shoes off before the finish line to repeat Abebe’s statement of "I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism".

 (Abebe would go on and win gold again in Tokyo in 1964, but later became a paraplegic.)

2 hr 12.

Not 2 hr 12!!

My event ranking:

Organisation	7	Overall, very good. Not Disney standard but good
Course	8	Always interesting
Atmosphere	7	Passion!
Crowds	6	OK, patchy but it was raining (& they’re not Americans)
Expo	7	Bonus point for the free Italian pasta
Runner’s pack	8	New Balance tshirt & backpack
Number of black toe nails!	1

Italian pasta for the runners .... why of course!

Venue of the Expo

Welcome to the Expo!  Getting you in the mood!

Grazie Rome!