Spartathlon 2017
Where were you at 15:48 on Saturday, September 30, 2017? What were you doing? Maybe many of you do not remember that detail, but I remember that minute with incredible clarity and I am sure it will not be possible for me to forget it for a very long time, maybe my whole life. At that minute, I was running along Konstantinou Palaiologou Street towards the Leonidas statue in Sparta, Greece. The street was crowded and everyone around was applauding and cheering. That 500 meters run on the street was the end of the 246-kilometre run which I started in front of the Acropolis ruins in Athens the previous morning. I reached the statue, resting my arms on its left foot and my head on my arms, thinking about the last six months and the effort I made in these months for 5-6 seconds. I will not hide, my eyes were wet. Yes, the race itself was long and tough but the preparation period was even longer and more difficult. That foot was a symbol of a very long term goal and I had reached the foot, I had finished the Spartathlon. It was okay to let myself go now.
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