Dubrovnik athlete Mario Obuljen ran the Athens Marathon! Mario, a member of the Athletic Club Dubrovnik, ecided to try the legendary, authentic marathon and he made it!
The Athens Classic (authentic) Marathon is an annual marathon road race held in Athens, Greece, normally in early November. The marathon course is based on the legend from which the race gained its name: Pheidippides, a messenger in Ancient Greece, ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks’ victory over the Persians.
The provenance of the competitive race is traced back to the Marathon race at the 1896 Olympics. The Athens Classic Marathon began in 1972 as a joint venture between the Greek tourist board and athletics association and on this year’s race 15 thousand participants were registered. Mario was ranked #542 with a passing time of three hours, 20 minutes and 21 seconds.
‘This marathon was extremely demanding because of the heat and the long ascents and climbs. But I did it! This was a great experience for me. Even a greater honor, besides finishing it, was the moment when I put out the ‘Libertas’ flag, the flag of our Patron, St. Blaise’, Mario wrote on his Facebook.
Congratulations, dear Mario!