Red plastic fencing, rubble and bulldozers are the scenery along the first half of the Marathon route nine months before the 2004 Games. International marathon runners competing in 2004 will tread on a “new” ancient Marathon-Athens route. They’ll probably pay more attention to the arduous initial uphill than the road’s smoother surface and broader width. Yet much of the urban 42.195km course will have been redone by the time the world-class athletes arrive. When the November 2, 2003 Athens Classical Marathon doubled as an Athens 2004 test event, the project was 50% done, according to the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning & Public Works .

Marathon road project
While ancient Pheidippides gave new meaning to the word “marathon” by sprinting between Marathon and Athens, over the past 30 years, Marathonos Avenue had become overburdened with roadside development and traffic. Milena Kontou, Head of the Construction Department of the Special Service for Attica Transport Projects, explains that the condition of the road varied, depending on municipalities’ improvements.

In preparation for 2004, her team has been assigned by the Public Works ministry to upgrade the first 26 kilometres of the course. Expanding and rebuilding the road according to two-lane highway specifications and accommodating 50 intersections is no small project. The road is being widened to a standard 21 metres including sidewalks, with only a 20-30cm deviation at certain points. (Also newly constructed on the Marathon route is the Pallini-Stavros stretch, undertaken by a different state organisation.)

Runners note: the improvements will make the notoriously difficult Athens Marathon course… a little easier. Kontou says that the road used to follow each natural bump and contour. The revamped stretches of Marathonos Avenue will be more streamlined.

After initial delays, the 72-million-euro construction project is now steamrolling ahead. Construction was stalled for seven months, due to local resistance to the project, which required the state’s acquisition of roadside property. Work started in July 2002, though the legislation was signed in July 2001 and amended in January 2002. Another early challenge was moving and updating underground utilities and improving drainage systems in that flood-prone area. There were also archaeological finds, now on display at the Marathon Archaeological Museum ).

As the test event approached, 350 workers were hard at work – many on weekends and third shifts. Eighty bulldozers and other heavy machinery were employed by the two contractors, Olympia Ellas ATEBE (Marathon-Nea Makri portion, including the Timvos memorial loop) and Europaiki Techniki AE (Nea Makri-Pallini, kilometres 9-26).

For the 2003 Athens Marathon event, work on the right lanes (in the Marathon-Athens direction) used by runners was nearly done; only the top layer of asphalt remained. Meanwhile construction and final utility work (mostly rainwater drainage) was underway on the other side of traffic. “The hardest work is done,” notes Kontou, whose office oversees 17 other road projects. The civil engineers of the Special Service for Attica Transport Projects believe their 26kms will be ready as early as April 2004 and certainly in May. Until then, sections of the road will be gradually opened to the public.

Without proper sidewalks and islands, a main challenge for the November 2003 marathon was how to mark the lengthy construction site for safety reasons. Meanwhile, the finish line was also a work-in-progress. The entrance to the historic Panathinaiko Stadium , Athens marble stadium was like a medieval fortress with its temporary metal walls. Inside, marble chunks from the historic stadium awaiting cleaning and repair were scattered to the sides.

Testing the route
Besides the roadwork, there were plenty of other differences between the Athens Classical Marathon and the Olympic event. Notably over 3,000 runners signed up for the 2003 marathon, versus the exclusive 80 men and 60 women expected in 2004. The November 2, 2003 race encompassed the 2nd International Blind Sport Federation’s World Marathon Championship , the Greek National Marathon Championship and a popular 10km race. Yet the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association (SEGAS) marathon offered The Athens 2004 Organising Committee (ATHOC) a chance to troubleshoot logistics.

For a second year, Athens Marathon participants were timed by wearing Dutch company Championchip electronic chips. The 150 some athletes competing in the National Championship Marathon helped out ATHOC by wearing a second chip by official 2004 timekeeper Swatch . The test event also tried out a big screen scoreboard at the finish line, as well as an eco-friendly electronic car that traveled ahead of the runners. Another notable test was that of the Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) wireless communication system, used to relay all traffic, security and other information instantly along the 42kms.

ATHOC used the event to study Athens traffic flow and practice rerouting it. With only one lane per direction in use (versus two lanes in 2004), traffic was closed along the entire route for six hours (as opposed to 3.5 hours during the Games’ marathons). Refreshment stands and two health centres (with 45 medical professionals) were put to the test too. There were 350 volunteers on hand, versus 800 in 2004. The road cleaning skills of municipalities along the route were also probed.

In preparation for the Games, a team from IAAF measured the improved route before the test event to make sure it was the standard length. While the August 2004 races (August 22 for women and August 29 for men) will be faster – and probably much hotter – than the test event, the 2003 Athens Marathon gave a taste of what is to come.

The results
Tanzanian Bavo Zerebayo broke the Kenyan winning streak at the 21st Athens Classical Marathon in 2:16:59 on November 2, 2003. Braving humidity and high temperatures, Zerebayo approached Athens’ Panathinaiko Stadium side-by-side with Kenyan Stephen Rugut, before taking the lead in the final 600 metres. In both 2001 and 2002 Kenyans won the Athens Marathon. This year, they claimed positions 2-6. Seventh-place local favourite Nikos Pollias became the first Greek man to win the Panhellenic Marathon Championship seven times. Among the women, Dutch Nadja Wijenberg won in 2:43:18. Over two minutes later, Greece’s Yeorgia Abazidou came in second. Kenyan Margaret Karie took the third spot. Italian runner Andrea Cionna triumphed in the parallel 2nd International Blind Sport Federation Marathon Championship (2:56:15).