The marathon at the Olympics in Athens this month is fearsome, so grueling that even an elite athlete is liable to feel at least a moment of trepidation. The 26-mile, 385-yard course includes, among other body-bashing stretches, a 13-mile hill so steep it has been described as the equivalent of running up a five-story building every mile.
Your everyday, normal sort of runner, like me, will be breathless just watching. But many of the Olympic runners will make it look easy.
