Luc and Cassy: Cassy Runs Her First Marathon in Athens, Greece!

At the beginning of 2010, Cassy registered for the Athens Marathon. It was the 2,500 year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon and she decided it would be an amazing first marathon for her. She followed a 16-week training plan that whipped her into shape.

Cassy picks up her number to run her first 26.2 mile race. The stadium in the background is where the marathon would finish.

Cassy and a member of her support crew, Jordana.

Treats at a roadside stand in Athens

Steve and Sara

Classic Athens

Want to have lunch near 2,000+ year-old ruins? Athens is the place.

The day before the race we did a bit of sightseeing. Our big event was a tour of the Acropolis, which served as a place of worship and a defensive position for many groups of people over the years. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times, but lots of the marble structure still remains.

Some views on the way up to the Acropolis, which sits on top of a hill overlooking Athens

Reflection of the Acropolis

Jordana

Cassy and Jordana

One of my favorite shots from the trip. These two kids loved chasing the pigeons away, but the man in the background kept scolding them because he just wanted to chill out and feed the birds.

Temple of the Olympian Zeus

View from our room

RACE DAY

Cassy jumped on a bus that took her to Marathon at 5 in the morning. Jordana and I wandered into downtown Athens and managed to hitch a free ride to the start of the race. We somehow were lucky to find Cassy in the crowd of 13,000 runners at the start line.

The runners started in 7 different blocks.

Cassy wears her plastic bag for warmth early in the morning, which she tore off about a mile into the race.

Of the thousands of runners, these next few shots show a few of my favorite choices for marathon attire.

The legend says that after the Greeks defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, a Greek soldier allegedly ran 26ish miles from the city of Marathon to Athens to announce the victory. He then promptly collapsed and died.

Here Cassy is on the home stretch, with about 100 yards to go. She did not collapse, nor did she die. Actually, she finished strong, felt great, and had no problem walking around town for the next couple of hours.