University porter Martin Ferguson has completed his goal of running the Athens marathon after his 50th birthday – the same year that Edinburgh Napier celebrated our 50th birthday.
He completed the marathon in 3 hours, 2 minutes and 30 seconds, finishing second in his age category (over 50s) and 136th overall.
The race began at 9am at 20 degrees, gradually getting much warmer which made conditions difficult, but Martin managed to finish just after 12pm.
The runners finished in the original Olympic Stadium of 1896, where the first Olympics took place.
The Athens marathon stands out amongst sporting events as it is the Authentic Marathon, with the feat being completed by a foot soldier in 490 BC following The Battle of Marathon when he was delivering the news of victory to Athens. Unfortunately, the news was his last words. Martin’s first words upon accomplishing the same feat was, however, "I need a drink of water."
This was a great achievement from Martin, not only celebrating his 50th, but also commemorating the birthday of Edinburgh Napier and bringing our half centennial celebrations to a bright and positive close.