Mediterranean, Winter Sun, Aphrodite

Tickled your interest ? Well I did it again…ran my 54th marathon...

So my legs were getting itchy and with the warm winter this year, I was trying to find a marathon at the last minute in an interesting place but also available on short notice. → Enter Cyprus into the picture. An island that has so much history disproportionate to its size, a booming economy and a very diverse population.

Cyprus is one of those islands in the Med, that was strategically very important to control the flow of trade through the 11,000 years it has been in existence (yea way too ancient). Its relative importance is clear as the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Ottomans, the Romans, the Byzantines, and why leave out the Brits :: all ruled the island at one time or the other. As an aside it was leased/sold even to the merchants of Venice for a period. Not to be left behind, even Alexander the Great had his digs on the island. Weird coincidence for my Swiss friends, when Cyprus eventually gained independence from the Brits, the treaties were signed in Zurich. Well fast forward to now - and pretty much it is the winter playground for European Affluent irrespective of the nationality.

The marathon was on the western edge of the Island in a town called Paphos. Well legend has it that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty was “born” near the rock “Petra Tou Romiou”. Trust me the rock does not look like the birthplace of anything let alone the goddess of passion. But then who am I to argue a 11,000 year myth. Anyway this town is a schlep to get from Zurich with two flights + a 2 hour drive. Hey but it is a drive along Med, so who is complaining. Dinner was Lamb Souvlaki (I cannot figure out this carb loading thing but then again my whole marathon process is weird) and an early night.

The marathon day starts bright and early at 4 as there are buses that take the participants to the Aphrodite rocks (starting point) from Paphos. As I get on the bus bleary eyed, everybody seems to be in their own zone. After a drive, the bus drops us off next to a cold mountain, the moon is still out, and the air is chirpy and still. This is when I curse pretty much the bus driver, the pilot who flew me here, Tim Cook for making sure the alarm rings on time and for good measure a few others. But all kidding aside, it is an amazing scene to see the limestone white cliffs, the half moon, the rocks in the foreground and the waves rocking the beach.

As more and more people start to come in, I can hear a bunch of languages - Polish, Russian, Greek, Turkish, German, Spanish, even Bulgarian and obviously English. Languages unify people, they give an identity, a sense of belonging, a cornerstone of culture and most importantly listening to all these sounds is so beautiful. That's the beauty of Europe. I wish more of us Americans understood the allure of being exposed to different tongues. Yea I know I suck at learning languages but I can still love them ;).

The marathon starts on time at 0700 and we have I think about 250 participants all rearing to go. The first 7-8 kilometers is a bunch of hills but all along the med. Well after Swiss hiking where 800-1000 m ascent is considered medium, I should not complain about the hills of Cyprus. The sun slowly starts to peak and everybody is huffing and puffing as the body adjusts to this weirdness of a heart rate of 170 early in the morning. We navigate our way through the fields full of Oranges, Citrus and the pungent and sweet smell of being harvested. I see many farmers fill their pickups with the fresh produce and I dare enough to ask one of the guys where he takes them - Sunday market in the next village. I was too lazy to grab my phone but it was a super cool visual to see the farmers, the fields, the fog, the ocean - an enchanting mix.

Cyprus exports a ton of Citrus, Olive Oil, Fish and the most famous of them all Halloumi Cheese. If you haven’t tried it, you are missing out. Cyprus also has a robust shipping industry and a majority of the GDP comes from services. And for my friends who are thinking about a second passport/residency, Cyprus welcomes you with open arms (+ € 300K cheque).

Not surprisingly I see a lot of women sharing the run. Women tend to run in groups of more than 2-3 whereas men are usually loners or a pair. Not sure why but may be safety in training? And most of them are quite disciplined in their pace, and race etiquette. Around 15 KM, looks like the volunteer who was supposed to be guiding us, was busy on his cell phone and we all end up adding 4 KM to the run. You cannot imagine the consternation this caused. I am like “Dude/Dudettes chill. It is not like we are in the Olympics. It is a bunch of us that didn’t want to eat the Sunday roast and watch football, but instead showed up on this island to punish ourselves. You are already running 42, a couple more won't make the gods angry.” But anyway some people tend to take this seriously ;).

Slowly we wind our way into the residential part of Paphos. Most look like AirBnB OR homes designed for the Med weather. Minimalistic look, huge windows, the invariable solar panels and a Volvo in the garage. It starts pouring rain right about now. The puddles quickly form and the run takes on a dancing form as we all fight a losing battle to keep our feet and socks dry. Oh well who cares about a couple of more blisters. The rain lasts an hour and it is a welcome respite to wash away all the salt of the face and a bit of relief from the sun.

Not much music on this run other than the lone 10 year old kid who took it on himself to practice his drums at 32 KM. Bless you dude.

From the residential part, we get into the industrial part of the town. Nothing much to see here and is a good motivation to pick up the pace and turn on a podcast.

Eventually around km 36 we turn to the ocean again and the last few kilometers are along the ocean promenade. The end feels almost touchable. The breeze kicks in and my quads and calves start to scream. Podcast isn’t cutting it (Sorry Anya Nutakki ) ;) and out comes the play list with Beyonce. Now it is pretty much zombie mode and trying to get as close to PB as possible. As we get to KM39, the ocean promenade now has a bunch of seafood restaurants. Which evil planner thought 3 miles of running through mouth watering seafood cuisine in the last stage would be a great idea ? Anyways at least the crowd is into it, and they interrupt their grilled sea bream, fried octopus, and baked cuttlefish. As the Paphos comes into view, energy comes back, Rihanna kicks into gear and I finish close to the PB other than that silly 4 km detour (but who's counting ;) ).

As I conclude this one a few thoughts : Even though I have run 54 of these, it never gets easy. I dread it every time before I start the race. I run to affirm myself :: can I push myself through hell to finish it? It certainly gives me the confidence that if I can do this, then I can trojan horse my brain to teach that I can stay in a place of discomfort longer :: which is invaluable in many personal and professional situations. Helps me to respond and not immediately react. As a marathoner, it teaches me discipline, time management, and deep understanding of my limits :: all attributes I tend to rely on every single day.

I know that there are few things more obnoxious than a marathoner evangelizing about running a marathon, so I shut up here.

I head to the airport and the middle of the night schlep back home. Since I have very interesting followers I want to pose a question.

Help me choose : (use comments to recommend)

(Option 1) :: Run 2 more marathons this year in other interesting places

(Option 2) :: Finish the Annapurna Circuit of 230 KM passing 5000M Thorung Pass

Thanks for spending the time to read my wild ramblings.