Manai'a Explorations
HC SVNT DRACONES

We were very fortunate to travel in Greece with a wonderful group of people connected to the Texas Exes, the UT alumni association. An impromptu 51st anniversary celebration on an Athenian sidewalk Our traveling companions at Philippi. Who's the guy way back by the trees?  Mom explaining her dietary restrictions to the chef. Can you see the sheen of the olive oil in all the pots?   At the Athenian Acropolis  The Texas Exes at the Parthenon  Texas Exes at Corinth  At Mycenae At Nafplio 

I had the idea to run the original marathon while in Greece, so we made arrangements for hotels and a driver when we booked our trip. Our driver, an Athenian named Sotos, picked us up on Thursday in Athens and drove us to Marathon. We asked him to drive the marathon route so that I could survey the course. As we navigated downtown Athens, it became apparent that running through the city would not be practical during the day because of the traffic. The only way to run the last 10 miles of the course would be to run in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. So we modified the plan on the way to Marathon - Friday morning, I would run from Marathon to the edge of Athens and then Sunday morning I would run the last ten miles through downtown Athens. Friday morning, near Marathon The official race course was marked by a blue line painted on the street To my left was the Aegean. As I ran along the asphalt road, I imagined the Athenian soldiers in their armor, runnin...