A great broken dream: The Greek runner who died in the gates of the Barcelona Marathon

In a small society, a town with few neighborhoods, a modest city where dimensional intelligence is not abundant, thirsty for heroes and defenders, the loss of a notable is a chronic and incurable wound. The essence of useful life escapes, diffuses, and is the source of energy that animates these small nuclei of people fed by a few branches of wisdom, courage and enthusiasm as in the amateur marathon runner and of daily exploits Mesologgi lost one. sad and dark night in January of the year 2023.

The collapse before the pandemic, Vasiliswhich is what our hero is called, issued tickets to participate the wonderful marathon celebrated annually in the month of March in the city of Barcelona. His enthusiasm was so great that he also invited two of his children to join him on his adventure to participate in a race under the watchful eye of his friends in Barcelona. There are more than five months left before the trip to Barcelona, ​​​​​​enough time to train thoroughly and finish his fifteenth competition of 42 kilometers and 195 meters, honoring Pheidippides, his country and his beloved city, the sacred city of Greece where he had no truth. left his last breath Lord Byron.

However, just a few days before the event came the announcement of the pandemic and confinement. In two years the dream of the marathon turned into a nightmare and the long and tiring wait was only possible thanks to daily training, from home to the island of Turlida, which is what the curlew is called This nest, in an amazing route, is preparing. for a chance in the future and the return to enthusiasm, participate again in his dream marathon.

The announcement of the reopening of activities and the expected announcement of the celebration of 2023 Marathon Last September he had him get new tickets for himself and three of his four sons and daughters who wanted to join him in fulfilling the old promise to participate and finish the desired career in Barcelona. He intensified his daily efforts in training to reach the full March, devoting a little more of his time, but not neglecting the rest of his civic and cultural activities that earned him respect of the population of Mesology and surrounding towns. Until a shadow with a scythe, that incomparable executioner, unjust for the just, ambushed him in the middle of his daily training run and threw him to the asphalt, weak and shocked by the cruelty of his violent that sentence. More than a month before seeing his dream come true, at the age of fifty-two, the silent hero succumbs to cruel fate, leaving his family and the orphaned city of one of his favorite sons in grief and longing.

In a society, there are always people who stand out in various ways, but sometimes they get lost in the mass of success and rarely make their presence noticeable in the small circles of provincial cities. On the other side are the common people of the town in their daily and daily concerns who do enough to live with dignity, not without effort and sacrifice. But among them all, quiet, educated, helpful and brave, unknown heroes appear from time to time who, without noise, without individualism and greed, with healthy pretense and legitimate aspirations, emerge from the crowd to become main characters of everyday life. , to the animators of routine and the educators of intelligence, understanding, civility and coexistence.

One of these regular workers is Vasilis. Prominent member of the cast of celebrities of the minority community of Mesology of the twenty-first century.

There are no more marathons to run in this world, but he will surely try to run behind the clouds to eternity, where the people he loved and cherished in life live and he cuts their satin ribbon early before crossing into finish line winner. His mourning is not only in his native country, in the friends he made on earth, in the marathons he did not run and did not win, but also in the great metropolis Barcelona,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ a gladiator of her exploits, a preacher of her charms, an admirer of her charms and a devoted lover of her friends.

Although his absence is not noticeable to passers-by, his breath can be felt next to the runners when they cool off on the big city roads or when they descend with ease on the steep descent of the plateau. He, incorporeal but present, will achieve his dream, even if he has no material backbone and registration. Those of us who knew him have saved him a front row seat, crouched and waiting for the long-awaited final start of his last marathon. The Barcelona Marathon, which materialized a large part of his dreams, will start this year of 2024 without him. Without his athletic gear! But perhaps in his dynamic and tenacious spirit that travels with firm steps the kilometers from the bustling Paseo de Gracia to the Arc de Triomphe. He never thought to carry a torch or baton with the Greek flag or ribbons and bibs of famous sponsors. Nor did he dream of trophies and statues. He just wants to walk with the flag of his city, the one he always carries in his heart, on the streets of expansion, on the hill called Montjuïc where the boat of Ulysses ran aground and on the Venetian towers of the old exhibition of 1888. same exhibition where the Arc was built, which this year will be the goal of the final marathon, The Arc de Triomf! An arch that was not made to celebrate any bloody victory, or a coup d’état of the rulers, or an abuse of royalty, but, as in his case, to enjoy a simple human event signs of joy, royalty and life.

I did not have the opportunity to know him closely and we may have met many times in the streets of our small town, two strangers, but the opinions of his countrymen and the opinion of his friend Víctor were united. and the rest of the people of Barcelona about His value and his invaluable generosity are enough to mourn his loss, a loss that leaves our city, our cities, even more orphaned and unprotected in the face of the mediocrity that we the masses are used to.

This is new Barcelona marathon the approacher will not know about that unknown candidate He did not fulfill his dream of runninghe will not miss him, he will not hide his number or crown him with an olive branch, but I believe and I wish that from the space where he travels he will enjoy the tour and this beautiful city that is not lucky to invite him. in his final 2023 marathon race.

About this article

This text has been expressly provided by the author for publication in Mundo Deportivo. You can read the original version here, published in the Greek newspaper Aixmi (Mesologgi).