The simple act of running having brought us all together...
On Saturday afternoon we caught the green bus from Barbati; it wound its way up the road with spectacular views of Corfu dropping away below us; sparkling blue sea, strips of white sand and the lush greenness that we have become accustomed to on this beautiful island.
Thanasis welcomed us to Kassiopi and showed us to our lovely appartment; our new home for a few days.
Kassiopio along with nearby San Stefano and Nissaki are well known resorts frequented by celebrities and British royalty; the area is known as Kensington by the sea!
Kassiopi took its name from the originally Cyrian God Kassios Zeus, Greece adopted him; he built his temple in Kassiopi between the 6th and 4th century BC and then the village built up around it after that ...
Many famous people have visited this land; the emporer Nero built a villa here and sang at the alter of Kassios Zeus's temple; and Tiberius also had a villa here, and Lawrence Durrell gives mention of Zeus in 'Prosperos cell" - in fact Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' was inspired by an island which we can see from where I am sitting with Anadi having just enjoyed my birthday breakfast.
Elani Sarakinous joined us for a coffee and gave me the history of this exqusite part of Corfu; she is the tourist representative of C.V Villas. She told us that essentially Kassiopi has been a 'tourist centre' since the Roman times, as royalty came to visit the village even then...
She said that in the winter we would be able to truly see why Shakespeare was so inspired, as the waves are so high that they cover the little island!
Anadi and I had woken this morning; my birthday morn, after nine - much needed - hours sleep!
Anadi gave me the most beautiful ring; it has a blue moonstone in the middle and two diamonds set in stars either side of the moonstone; wow; what an amazing birthday present !
We made our way (slowly!! quads complaining a little!!) down the steps from our appartment to the Limani bar; we took up home in the corner table we like best, which Elani told us later was a favourite of Princess Margaret; she apparantly used to enjoy sitting here sipping her whisky - a woman after my own heart! I grew up in West Africa with a father who thought of whisky as medicine!
I truly thought for a long time, that everyone on the planet drank whisky at 6pm - the world over - and that it was the cure in hot milk or lemon for every ailment!
We were offered an early coffee by Kostas, Elani's husband who is the chairman of the cultural society of Kassiopi; the society joins everyone together with history, culture, sport; anything that is part of making a community work together and be together... Kostas introduced us to his wife Elani who has written a book about the history of the village; as yet it is in greek, but she brought alive for us the history and depth of this amazing spot on the planet...
The race was thought up by Thanasis Sarakinos, Vassilis Koutsouris, Yiannis Salvanos, Nikos Tsirimiagos and Kostas Arathimos, Kostas talked us through the race the night before; 8k extremely difficult, 5k easy !!! and the rest moderate.... he told us and showed us the route on his colour chart that showed us this ... reaching 8k in the race I looked forward to the moderate and easy!! to no avail :)
At the race information meeting on Saturday night we also had the privilage of meeting Yiannis Kouros who is the Greek ultra running champion who has broken the world record many many times; he keeps breaking his own world record as he is so incredible in this ability to run and run. He holds the record for the prestigious six day race in Australia...
We registered for the race, that would take place in the morning, collecting our number from the Limani bar which was gathering in energy as people were arriving from all over; the race is four years old, born from the idea of these five men of the village which has only 1000 residents. The first year it was more a race of the island, but the unique route has attracted more and more people and from different countries; the reputation of this wonderful race is building!
This year the race attracted the top Greek runners who filled the first three spots in the mens race and the first womens. Nikos Kalofiris won the mens race and in two weeks he is to challenge himself over 24 hours on the track...
The times of the top three men were:
1.59.34
2.00.15
2.10.28
Given that this was 21k, the times reflect the severity of the course!
I felt honoured to be amongst these good runners them and proud to finish fifth in the womens event.
The winner of the race, Maria Kalojirou, spoke to me afterwards 'it is a very technical race' she said 'You are a strong runner - I noticed you were not so good on the downhill' ... this was an understatement!! :)
The times of the first five women were;
2.45.31
2.49.53
2.55.13
2.56.30
2.58.35 (me!)
She invited me to come to Greece at the end of July and run the Zagori race ....
So, all the people gathered on Saturday night, huge vats of delcious pasta with tuna or bolognese sauce appeared; Anadi and I sat on the steps enjoying the atmosphere and the warmth of the May evening in Corfu; a man came up to us 'You must be Julia; I have seen you running in Barbati' - 'Ah the famous Julia' a woman echoed ....
A group of drummers arrived and danced and drummed and we all stood round them appreciating the vibration and the energy and the bringing together of us all...
We slept well on saturday night and rose to a sunny morning; we breakfasted on eggs and toast and croissant and found a cafe open for a coffee by the supermarket....
I was worried about my shoes... I had noticed a couple of days ago that the upper was coming away from the sole! I put this down to having spent a year away from the 'racing track' and so been less focused on my equipment!
We saw a man selling shoes; I picked up a pair of Saucony racing shoes, tried them on, and in an instant honoured my intuitive feeling - the risk of new shoes was less than the risk of my very tired ones... it proved a wise decision; they fitted like a glove and carried me safely over the challenging terrain ahead of me and almost 3 hours of running!
The runners had gathered in the square, music was playing, the sun was shining; I felt good... Anadi and I ran about a bit and then it was announced that there was 3 minutes to go...
the final 10 seconds were counted down in Greek and we were off....!
155 runners....
While we were running activity was still happening in the village; a childrens' race over 1200 metres, which attracted 46 children ranging from 6 - 14 years old and and an open 5k for all ages which took the runners two laps around the fortress of Kassiopi saw 76 people taking part....
Meanwhile having left the main square behind us where we started; we were climbing up up up, to discover the tracks and the route that has been being worked on and designed all through the winter; the race is designed to promote the immense beauty of the area; we ran through the hamlets of the Sinies area; these hamlets exist because the people were under attack from pirates for 5 centuries; and so the hamlets were created where they were hidden from view, so that they could safely live in their cultivated land; the footpaths that we now ran along were created so that they could move easily from one area to another.
I am not sure I would descibe my movement as easy! The first 8k which took us to Tritsi was the hardest running I have ever done; and I have run mountain races in Switzerland that have taken me up to 3000 metres in altitude and over very rocky terrain; but in truth this race needs to be run to be understood!
The land is so beautiful, the energy of the place bathes you in its magic and power; and the land asks that you surrender to her and be with her and let her absorb you in her power. The uphills were steep, at one point there was a sign warning us of a 36% climb ahead! Ropes were strung bewteen the trees so that we might haul ourslves up at the most difficult parts and the same with the incredibly steep downs...
This was were I struggled with my lack of 'technical ability' - I slipped and slid and tottered my way down the mountainous land!
I stood aside to let others pass; who I passed on the ups 'your turn now' they laughed, as we played cat and mouse along the route...
I was sure Anadi would be nearby as he is a mountain goat; so after one steep descent I looked behind me and there he was 'Anadi'. I called.... and then I was off up a hill; I almost welcomed the steep inclines !!!
Towards the end of this very tough 8k, which took about an hour and 20 minutes for me to cover, I heard Anadi again
"I recognise that sexy ass'....
And then the running got a little easier - a little!! but not much...
We covered the next 4k more downhill than up through Meggolas and Cremithas... and then on down to San Stefanos.
From 12k to 17k we ran throuh Erimitias, passing three beautiful lakes; at one point we ran along a path with the sea to our right and a lake to our left...
Elani told us that this area is known as forest land; it is a truly beautiful area with nine beautiful beaches, three lakes two hundred and twenty species of birds and rare wild orchids growing; and families of otters live there too...
The people of the land want to maintain this beauty and this special place; they strongly feel that the European heritage needs to be preserved for the future of their chidren; for two and a half years now the local communities have been fighting the government who want to buy the land to build hotels and make residential areas.
It is making the local people cry and they are determinded this will not happen
'there are plenty of other places where hotels can be built'...
But they are fighting and they have taken the government to court - and they are optimistic that they will win.
As we emerged from Erimitias we ran for 2k along a long beach and then a track back to Kassiopi; where we ran through the Byzantine fortress which was built in the 6th century AD and is the oldest standing fortress on the island; we reached this point with 1k to go.
I could hear the drums beating heralding the finish...
My legs were tired; I was tired. There was not one moment when it was possible to lose concentration; each footfall had to be considered and measured. It was a pure meditation on the move; nothing to be done but take the next step and the next and the next and allow the next to take care of itself when I was in it.
I could not have run a second quicker; each moment was one of concentration and focus. My body felt strong and willing and my energy levels stayed high; the course was brilliantly marked with read arrows and dots and streamers and marshalls along the way; there were many drinks stations which gave us much needed fuel as we ran; water to begin and then juice and coca cola and bananas and nuts... the organisers had thought of all our needs ...
the equivalent of red cross people were also stationed along the route for our safety.
We were so well looked after; all we had to do was embrace this land, run this route and be in the step...
Down some steps from the fortress we raced and back onto the road we started; the streets were lined with crowds cheering, the clock ticked the time away and I ran under it in 2 hours 58 minutes....
I got a bottle of water and then suddenly saw Ajara waving to me !!
Ajara and Jalal are friends of Anadi - my friends too now! We had met them on Monday at a birthday party for Puyna over in Arillas which Anadi and I had travelled to.
Jalal and Ajara both run and they has said they might come across to cheer us over the finish line ... and there they were!
I was so delighted to see them..
I took my electronic chip off and handed it in and went to join them; at 3.08 Anadi appeared.. looking strong and still with a spring in his step...
NB: Anadi has just read this and said "I might have looked strong with a spring in my step, but I was outta juice man..!'
He saw me there cheering and turned to me as he crossed the line
smiling, his bright energy alight
'I love you' he said ... as he crossed the line
We had such a happy afternoon
Jalal, Ajara, Anadi and I lunched by the sea in a beautiful Greek taverna that had opened just one month before...
The simple act of running having brought us all together to share an afternoon in beautiful Kassiopi, on the island of Corfu....
