Sometimes winners finish last. This phrase could describe the winners of life who managed to complete the Athens Authentic Marathon, a race of 42,2 kilometers.
Although they arrived at the finish line among the last, these two people who ran the Athens Marathon are true winners.
Father Emmanuel, a priest from Lesvos who is currently fighting cancer, found the strength to run 42.2 kilometers. Although he was treated with chemo a short time ago, he never thought not to run.
“It’s faith, without it we cannot do anything,” said teh priest who wanted to offer a message of hope to all those who are facing similar problems.
Watch the video with Fr. Emmanuel at the Athens Marathon below:
Marcei Tsaikovski from Poland, ran the race with crutches as he was operated in his legs after a chronic condition.
“There’s nothing to stop him, he wanted to run the authentic Marathon,” noted Marcei’s wife who also came to Greece to cheer her husband as well as run the Marathon.
Watch Marcei running towards the finish line and an interview with his wife:
Watch this Greek couple completing the Athens Marathon with their one-year-old in the stroller.
This year, the total number of entries to the Athens Marathon reached 43,000 in all races. The men’s winner of this year’s marathon was Greek runner Christoforos Merousis with an impressive time of two hours, 21 minutes and 22 seconds, while Japanese runner Minori Hayakari placed as the first woman to cross the finish line.
The main race of the Athens Marathon was inspired by Pheidippides’ feat more than 2,000 years ago. The soldier ran from the battlefield in Marathon to Athens to announce Greece’s victory over the Persian forces. After he brought the good news, he collapsed dead of exhaustion.
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