FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                 

                           The Athens Marathon
           The Old is Now New, The Original Historical Course

In 490 BC, the first battle for democracy was fought at the Greek village 
of Marathon.  Though overwhelmingly outnumbered by an invading Persian 
army, the citizen soldiers of Athens prevailed.

Legend has it that when the battle was won, the Athenian messenger, 
Phidippidies ran twenty-four miles to Athens carrying the news of that 
stunning victory.  The modern marathon commemorates his feat.

Greece, with its rich history offers a lot of fun and interesting things to 
see and do.  Runners familiar with the history and have the desire to run 
the "Original Historical" course have been drawn to it as if it were a 
pilgrimage.

Many runners are not aware that the Athens Marathon is an annual event and 
open to all runners and there is no qualifying time.  The field is 
relatively small in comparison to other major marathons and runners can 
still enjoy its uniqueness.  Especially now with all the new improvements 
implemented by SEGAS (the marathon organizing committee) and the Olympic 
organizing committee for the 2004 Olympics.

One of the nice things that is unique to the Athens Marathon is that it is 
not over commercialized and you will not see any advertising at the start 
or the finish because these are sights if antiquity and no advertising is 
allowed.

When running the Athens Marathon runners should pace themselves and 
conserve their energy and start off slow for the second third of the course 
which is hilly and glide on the final third which is downhill.  If you 
follow this advise you should finish well with a respectable time.

When you run the Athens Marathon you travel in the very footsteps of the 
ancient gods and heroes that gave birth to western civilization.  It's a 
once in a lifetime experience and should be on every runners "to do" list.  

To learn more about the history of the Athens Marathon go to 
www.athensmarathon.com.

Submitted by Paul Samaras, Apostolos Greek Tours, Inc. the Official North 
American Representative for the Athens Marathon



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