The name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides (or Pheidippides), the Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "we have won!", before collapsing and dying. Luckily the riders don’t ...
Read moreThe name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides (or Pheidippides), the Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "we have won!", before collapsing and dying. Luckily the riders don’t have to run the distance from Marathon to Athens, but are allowed to use there tempo bikes in the race against the clock.
There’s no one to draft off, no one to gauge your position from and determine whether you are going fast or slow. Just your mind to keep you pushing harder until you are overtaken by someone behind you or manage to overtake someone who began earlier. It’s a mental battle to find the balance between pushing too hard too early and bonking or not pushing hard enough and being too slow.
The rider will follow the modern Marathon-Athens highway, which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then takes a gentle but protracted climb westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of Mounts Hymettus and Penteli, and then gently downhill to Athens proper.
