As runners, we have the amazing and unique opportunity to see a lot of various towns, cities, and countrysides from the best possible angle – on the ground. We all run in interesting places at times and it is always nice to snap some photos of what we see and take in the beauty of the landscape or cityscape. In that spirit, I am going to start doing some posts of various places that I might run and photos of what I see on the way. If you would like, send me your cities and photos as well for others to see and so we all know what to look for when we run in those places!
On the Run: Athens
The other day, I had to pop down to Athens on business. While down there, I was able to sneak my run in. I had headed out just trying to find a clear route to get the run done on. Given where I was at (or maybe this is all of the city of Athens!), a clear route was not easy to find. I was dodging a lot of cars, pedestrians, dogs, and other things that seemed to keep getting in my way.
Once I started running, I started trying to think of what I would like to see on foot. I pulled up the Olympic Stadium on my phone and saw that Google Maps put it about 5 miles away – by car. 🙂 By foot, only about 3 miles away. I thought it would be cool to see that so I started off in that direction.
On the way, I saw two accidents, got honked at a few times, stopped for water, took an exit ramp by mistake, and got to see a few miles of Athens. When I got closer, I could see the stadium in the distance and it was huge! It is really cool to see stadiums that are used for the Olympics, especially when you consider that the world’s elite marathoners get to see the same structure in the distance on their homestretch of the marathon. Knowing I will never get to experience the cheers and screams of the crowds from an Olympic stadium, I have to settle for the awe of just seeing it and imagining what it must have been like. 🙂
The arches of the Olympic complex
I noticed that the Olympic complex was a very large area and that it was completely empty. It was very nicely situated in the city and had great views from the top of the entire area. It was not hard to imagine the look of the complex when it was first used for the Olympics. It was a great place to run around and enjoy and it was something that I was able to get to and see thanks to running. Driving in that traffic and parking would have been a headache and I think I might not have enjoyed it as much given the hassle of driving there. Running there gave me the long view on approach and allowed me time to meander around and appreciate the structure.
So, what do you see on your runs? Do you carry a camera with you (I always carry my iPhone – that is what these photos are from). Share them so we can all enjoy where you have been!
