I RAN MY FIRST MARATHON (why is it 26.2 miles?)

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I'm shaking right now.

It's officially started. I'm running a marathon.

5Km in 22km.

It's hard to breathe with this thing in my mouth.

There it is, the stadium.

This is called a foam roller and I think it's supposed to make my muscles less sore. I don't know if it's working, but it sure does hurt. So two weeks ago we flew to Athens on a last minute flight that we found for $300 round trip on Fair drop. We were only supposed to be here in Athens for a week and then we were supposed to fly back home to Nashville. That was until we were on a tour and the tour guide briefly mentioned that the original marathon, like the one that inspired all the modern day marathons we know today, was originally run here in Greece 2500 years ago. And that planted a seed.

2021 has been the year of physical challenges here on the channel. So it may not surprise you that I've been considering running my first marathon. And I thought, what a better place to run my first marathon than on the route. This inspired every other modern day marathon. As luck would have it, the actual Athens Marathon was taking place here in two weeks. So I canceled my flight home. I was supposed to stay put here in Athens, but some friends talked me into flying down to Morocco and climbing the highest mountain in north.

This is incredible. What a crazy journey that was four days ago.

And it was a terrible idea.

I am a very messy person.

I am not denying that.

But this apartment doesn't have a dryer.

And that's why there's clothes everywhere right now.

All right, so I'm heading down to the Expo center to pick up my bib and my tracking chip and whatever.

Else you need to run marathon. I'm telling you, I signed up for this at the last minute as I tend to do with most things on this channel. So I'm unprepared.

But we'll make the best of it.

It's about a two mile walk, so I debated whether or not this was a good idea. But I'm thinking this will be my last physical activity before tomorrow morning.

I've already messed it up, but this is the route from Marathon through the mountains back into Athens. A number 17, 140. This little thing on the back is my tracking chip. I'm so excited about this. This man just gave me a gift. There's no way this is making it home in one piece.

History isn't usually a strong point on this channel. But I've been doing a lot of research because I want you to understand why this route is so special. The story goes back to 490 BC, when the Greeks were fighting the Persians in the city of Marathon. The outnumbered Athenians ended up winning an unexpected victory over the pers, marking the end of the first Persian invasion in Greece. This is where the marathon part comes in. After the battle was won, a soldier wearing full armor ran back to Athens as fast as he could to deliver the good news. And legend has it that when he arrived, he delivered the message, niki, which means victory. And then he collapsed and died. And that is the run that inspired the modern day marathon. Hopefully, that's not how my marathon ends tomorrow.

Okay, I need an appropriate backdrop to tell the next part of this story.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome to the first ever modern day Olympic stadium. Built in 1896. The next evolution of the marathon took place in this exact location over 2,300 years later. The last event of the 1896 Olympics was a 24.85 mile running from the city of marathon to this stadium in Athens. And that, to my knowledge, is the first time that the marathon entered modern day racing.

But if you were paying attention, the.

Distance of that marathon falls short of what we know a marathon to be today by about a mile and a half. The oddly specific distance of 26.2 miles. Which begs the question.

Okay, so the last thing I have to do is get all this camera stuff set up, because not only am I attempting to run my first marathon, but I'm also attempting to film it, which should be interesting. Okay, back to the story. In 1908, the Olympic Games were being held in London. And the British thought it would be nice if the marathon started in front of the Windsor castle and then ended in the white city stadium in front of the royal family's viewing box. The distance between those two places turned out to be 26.2 miles. And even though that was longer than previous marathons, I guess they just decided, hey, let's just go with it. No one will notice. Well, that led to 16 years of heated discussion in the running community about how long a marathon should be. Then, in 1924, the Olympics were being held in Paris, and they officially established the marathon to be 26.2 miles. And based on all my research, it's been that way ever since.

Do we think this is going to be too heavy to run with tomorrow? I think yes. But it's also all app, so.

Sam.

Normal.

I'm doing It. Today's the day. Since the marathon isn't a loop, we have to go get on a bus and get shuttled to the start line, which requires waking up very early.

Okay, we've made it to marathon. I feel like riding in that bus.

For the last hour is the first.

Time I've been able to put 26 miles in perspective.

I cannot believe I'm about to run.

What we just drove for an hour.

Thank you.

The amount of cream that I've seen people rubbing on their bodies is very concerning. On their nipples, down their pants, under their R's. I mean.

It's like trying to use those fruit bags at the grocery store.

I guess you poke your own holes.

Okay, so apparently, this plastic bag is supposed to keep me warm for the next hour until the race. Thank you. We just had to drop off all of our clothes so they can get shuttled back to Athens while we run.

I've been looking forward to this waffle all morning. I'm going to be honest. I don't know if you can see all the people running around the track behind me, but I really don't understand that. Isn't that what we're about to go do for the next five hours?

Okay, I'm in the starting block.

In two minutes, the 38 marathon of oven will begin.

I'm shaking right now. I don't know if it's because I'm cold or nervous, but it's probably a combination of both. All right, my block is making its way to the starting line now, and it seems like a good time to tell you that the furthest I have ever run in my Entire life is 13 miles earlier this summer. And that was with a donkey. And there was a lot of walking. Literally pulling a donkey down a hill. I mean, I run for fun, like, to stay healthy.

Healthy and stay in shape, But I.

Don'T think anything I've done could be considered training for a marathon.

30 seconds.

Good evening from Dallas, Texas. It is about one am I sleeping on the floor of my nephew's nursery, and I stayed up to see Nate start the race. I have this app where I can track his progress. I wish I could just sit here and watch the whole thing and keep up, but babies are tiring, Nate. It makes me so sad that I'm not there to cheer you on, But I know you're gonna do so well because you always do. You're amazing, and I love you, and I can't wait to wake up and hear about it in the morning.

Wendy, Tessera, triya, dio ena vivame. Okay, we're doing it. It's officially started. I'm running a marathon. I know this is gonna hurt. I just don't.

Wow.

I have so much adrenaline right now. Enjoy. Bravo.

Okay, we're out of earshot of the announcements and the music. All you can hear is just the pounding of people's feet on the pavement. This is gonna be my life for the next five hours.

Right now. It doesn't hurt yet, and I just. I can't stop smiling. I'm actually doing it.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

So I'd been eagerly awaiting to announce the completion of my first mile, and then I realized we're in Greece. There are going to be mile markers. So I just passed kilometer three. I'm going to have to reframe how I narrate this marathon today. I'm not running 26.2 miles. I'm running 42 kilometers. Oh, thank you.

It's hard to drink water. Run. It feels so weird running around other people. I found myself running slow behind some people, and then every time I pass somebody, I'm like, oh, no. Am I starting too fast? There's so many questions in my head right now. I'm just pumped to be running, if you can't tell. I'm also talking a lot right now because I figure the further we get into this, you know, Good work, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Five kilometers. Yeah. Feeling good. Maybe I shouldn't drink that water.

Wow, look at that. Now, that's inspiring. If she can do it, I can do it. Way to go, seven. Okay. I learned another fun fact about the course this morning. This is actually the exact same course that they ran in the 2004 Olympics. This is the guy that won. So I don't know what my time is going to be, but I know it's going to be slower than that. Also, I think I'll be just as happy as him if I finish, no matter what the time is. 8, 9. Let's go.

Okay.

10K.

That's about how far I'd run if I was just going out for a jog. So feeling good, having so much fun. About to try to squeeze the first goo down my throat.

That's kind of good. 11. I didn't realize it, but the first 10km were all on perfectly flat ground. And now we're hitting the hills.

12. Over a quarter of the way went by so fast.

This is so great. What are the olive leaves for? This is for peace.

Just for peace.

And have a good road thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Have a good one.

There have been a lot of people along the route handing out olive branches. He said it was for peace. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I usually don't drink any water when I run. This is great. Good luck. Hey, appreciate it. Yeah. What's up? How are you, buddy? Have you ever run a marathon before? No, never. Oh, okay. Me either. No, we're on the same page. Nice. Good luck, buddy.

All right.

Have a good one. 13. Unfortunately, that's in kilometers and not miles, so we're not halfway. That's 14.

First banana the trip. This doesn't feel super hygienic, but I think my body needs. It's hard to breathe with this thing in my mouth. 15.

This is a serious hill.

After the mountain climb a few days ago, the downhill hurts the legs worse than the up.

18. Where are you from? Greece, from here. Have you done this before? Once, twice? Three times. Three times. Wow. You're an inspiration.

19.

You've run in those before in those sandals? Yeah. They are called ranches, and I did a lot of. A lot of marathons and ultra marathons using these shoes. Wow. Well, I like your outfit. Have a good race. And you. Thank you very much. Kilometer 20. That feels like a nice number.

21. Oh, that's halfway. And I think I'm almost exactly two hours. This is going way better than expected. I think this right here is actually exactly halfway. 22km. This is officially the furthest I've ever run in my entire life. But it's all about perspective, because I guarantee if I was running a half marathon, I wouldn't have a single ounce of energy left in my body. But because I know I have to do all this again, I'm barely even tired. I feel like the people around me that know at the end of a marathon really feels like laughing at me right now. But that's how I feel. But this is why I push myself to do hard things. Because every step after this, I learned something about myself. I learned how much more capable I am. And then that leads to something bigger and better. At the end of this, I don't know what it'll be, but a new realm of possibilities will be open. It's 23.

What was your name? He watches the videos.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too.

They're friends, and they've done the marathon like this three times. And they've been ahead of me the whole time. I had to run as fast as I could to catch up with them. Good job, guys.

26. I think I actually like tracking this in kilometers instead of only having 26 wins. I get 42. It's like a little accomplishment a lot faster.

27. I think we're starting to get in to the city of Athens right now. And this is the energy I needed. Still smiling on the outside. Those are not exactly smiling.

28.

The first sign to Athens. 29. Banana number three.

Bravo. Bravo.

Kilometer 30.

Oh, wow.

This is a big hill from just under three hours. Have had this terrible idea for a while now, but I haven't wanted to say out loud. But I think if I kill myself for the next hour, I can go under four hours total, and that would be a pretty awesome way to end my first marathon. 31. I'm channeling Charismato right now. Future Nate loves past pain. Future Nate, well, it's fast pain. The next hour is gonna suck, but I'm gonna remember this forever, so I'm gonna push it.

Love the energy. It's so mental. At this point in the race, let's just say I'm a little uncomfortable, but I got this. I'm multiplying comfortable by 10.

And you probably know how I'm feeling. At this point, I was having trouble.

Putting together cohesive thoughts.

What I was trying to say was I wanted to tell you how bad my body was hurting, but the same time, I. I just couldn't admit it to myself out loud.

Downhill.

That side. Said it's all downhill from here, but it feels uphill.

That's 33 single digit kilometers left to go. 34.

36. I think they're getting longer. 37. Just one more.

5K left to.

Four. Four.

Hello, American Embassy? Really need some help right now.

42 more.

Okay, I'm gonna admit it to myself. I'm gutting it out right now. It hurts so bad, but let's go.

Last kilometer. I'm either gonna throw up or die. I'm not sure which.

There it is, the stadium.

100 yards to go.

Wow.

What an incredible opportunity. I'm doing my best to enjoy through the pain.

Oh, I did it. I did it. Oh, I ran my first marathon, Mickey.

I don't think I made it in under four hours. No matter what, I'm proud because that was all I had to give.

This is the current state of my legs.

I am a broken man right now.

Thank you. This is the hardest I've ever worked to earn anything. Oh, it kind of feels surreal right now. Wow. I know it's not a gold medal, but feels like one to me.

I did it.

I finished. I love you. I can't believe I just did that. This is Nick and Allie, and they're the reason that I have footage. That's not me just going.

So thank you guys so much. I appreciate it.

Absolutely.

Thanks for all the encouragement as well.

Absolutely.

It.