Rin and Ken at Athens Marathon
By Ken Pungente
Hello all! Here are my thoughts and experiences about marathons. First, my own bucket list of marathons which will now only happen virtually as I'm getting too old to risk another actual one:
1. Istanbul Marathon that goes from Asia. This is one of my virtual marathons this month as I run along West Coast Rd. & pass into Sooke from Otter Point - that's me going from Asia to Europe. https://worldsmarathons.com/marathon/istanbul-marathon
2. Midnight Marathon in Tromso, Norway. It is one that I was planning to do with one of my angels, Leigh Walters but never happened, so again this is my second virtual marathon this month because I'm still waiting for it to warm up here. When I left Sicily at the end of January, it was in the high teens to low 20s. I talked to a friend there 2 days ago and it was about 35C. https://www.msm.no/en/
3. Budapest Marathon, Hungary https://marathon.runinbudapest.com/
4. Great Wall of China Marathon, but you only do about 2km on the Wall https://great-wall-marathon.com/
Ken and cousin Ronan
In reality, I've done two marathons. My first was in Dublin 2009, three years after I had open heart surgery with 5 by-passes, which I did with my cousin Ronan, which was also his first. Okay, Okay, first I have to stop here to tell you something about myself. Although my last name is Italian as is my father, my mother was born in Dublin, Ireland, which made for a pretty fiery youth for me. The Dublin marathon is very picturesque, relatively flat and a full circle. You leave the heart of Dublin and pass over the famous Liffey River (2 blocks from where my grandmother was born) and head out towards Phoenix Park. One thing about a full circle or point to point marathon, as apposed to an out & back is when your my age, you don't have to watch the elite runners heading home when I've still got 2/3 of my race to finish. So, if some of you are waiting to do your first take that into consideration. The other thing I noticed at the start of the race was here I was in my shirt and shorts and I see all these people with expense jackets, gloves, water belts, timing gadgets & I felt like a amateur. But when I got to the 34 to 35km mark I saw all that fancy stuff thrown of to the side of the road to shed weight, because that last 8km all comes from inside you and that's where your training will kick in. The year I ran it 12,000 registered, but 10,437 finished.
My next and last marathon was in Athens the following year, 2010, which starts in the town of Marathon and ends in the Olympic Stadium in Athens. It is where the concept of the marathon comes from, following the path of the soldier Pheidippides who was sent from Marathon to Athens to announce the winning of the battle against the Persians. For this marathon I was joined with a good friend Rintge Raap, a fellow STARR who I trained with for years who has ended his path last year. In this run Rin caught up with me around the 33km mark. We ran for a couple of kms together but I was feeling sick in this race so he went ahead & greeted me at the finish. Although it is a hard marathon going uphill from 10km to 30km the finish is worth the effort. The last 100 or so meters is in the oval Panathenaic Stadium first built in 144AD & renovated for the 1896 modern day Olympics which is made of all marble. I believe it holds about 80,000 people. This is where I slowed right down and tried to imagine the stands full of people cheering me on (as I've said before it's all about the accolades, I've got lots of hardware). The results? In 2010, 12,000 registered, 10,371 finished. A marathon is no easy task so if you've done one be proud, unless your one of those people who dress up in firemen or military gear, or carry a ball & chain or dress like a marijuana leaf, but those are the same people who do those Ultras & for them it is like a walk in the park. We know your names.
Stay hungry. Stay foolish,
Ken P.
