I was sitting in the Courtyard lobby taking an office video call. Noticed the gentleman sitting a bit ahead of me – also on a video call. What got my attention was his T-shirt.

He got done with his call first. As he was walking by me, I asked the folkd on my call to hold on and started talking to the gentleman.

Turns out he had gone for the 2016 Original Marathon – in Greece. It retraces the path of Phidipiddes from the beaches of Marathon up the mountains for 32 km and then 10 km down into the valley and finish off in the first Olympic stadium in Athens. The race bills itself as the “Authentic Marathon!”

I told him that I was there too – except it was the previous year. We talked for some time about running in general before I got back to my call.