Marathon of Marathons 2010 - PEI Media

Clash of the editors
In the footsteps of Pheidippides | Athens, 31 October 2010 34
Philip Borel, PEI, London
Thanks for
nothing, Hermes!
PEI’s Philip Borel blames the fickle Greek god for his
defeat by his friend and colleague David Snow.
“The course was too hilly.
My socks felt funny.
I didn’t bring my shades.
My marathon bib number was unlucky.
But the most important reason why I completed Sunday’s Marathon of
Marathons in Athens behind my friend and colleague David Snow is
because Hermes let me down.
There I was, running along and feeling good, with just eight kilometres
left to go, when all of sudden I saw Snow running right in front of me – the
one man in this field of 12,000 whose back I didn’t want to see!
I could tell he’d just sneaked past me. He looked fast and in control,
making big, decisive strides. Already a gap had opened up between us,
and it was widening all too quickly.
He hadn’t seen me, so I drew level. “Hello Dave,” I called out to get
his attention. His head shot round and for a moment he stared at me in
disbelief. “Oh you bastard”, he hissed, clearly misreading the situation. I
told him it was I, not he, who had just been overtaken. We checked our
watches, and then we knew for sure: unbeknownst to both of us David
had started the race far behind me and at this very moment, 34,000
metres into the Marathon of Marathons, he was running a full seven
minutes ahead of me.
Seven minutes! No way would I ever catch up to him. Game over for
me. Glory for Dave.
“How’re you feeling?”, he asked
graciously. “I think I’m done”, was all I could
reply. He upped the pace, and then he was
gone, consolidating his lead with every
step and leaving me to ponder where it
had gone wrong.
I felt better the moment I realised who
was to blame: Hermes, patron god of
athletics. Hermes, Schmermes. What an
ungrateful little god. All those offerings
I made, and he couldn’t find the time to
subtract a measly few minutes from my run
time. A wing-footed weasel, if you ask me.
My animal sacrifice to him (lamb kabob
special: €34.95) was clearly in vain.
Do yourself a favour – next time you train
for a marathon in Greece, don’t count on the
help that the local gods will give you come race day.
Down but not out
As for Snow, I wish him a hearty congratulations. His victory was clearly
the result of hard training, an undiminished fire in the belly, and possibly
the inspiration he received from the ‘Best of Bananarama’ playlist I found
on his iPod Shuffle.”
Alternative
Insight