When Jeremiah Thompson toes the start line of the Athens Marathon today, he’ll do so with his grandfather on his mind.
The 36-year-old Vancouver man and his longtime friend, 31-year-old Dimitry Makhanov, flew more than 6,000 miles to run the original marathon — a 26.2-mile trek from the city of Marathon to Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece. This will be the first marathon for Thompson, who is dedicating the run to his grandfather Dewey E. Clark, who died last year at age 89.
“This is going to be the defining moment of paying homage to my grandfather,” Thompson said.
Three years ago, while on his honeymoon, Thompson saw the finish of the Athens Marathon. He had never heard so much cheering as he did when runners, dressed as warriors wearing breast plates and carrying shields, ran into Olympic Stadium toward the finish line. They were reliving history, following the course a foot soldier from ancient Athens took to deliver news of the Greeks’ victory over the Persians during the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
“That was just awe-inspiring,” Thompson said.
Thompson had never been a runner — he preferred mountaineering — but after his grandfather died in July 2015, Thompson felt for the first time a desire to take up the sport his grandfather loved.
Thompson’s grandpa ran his first marathon, the Tri-Cities Marathon, in 1980. In 1992, however, a prostate cancer diagnosis meant he had to give up his marathoning. Clark beat the cancer but was never able to run another marathon. He did, however, continue to run shorter 5K and 10K races until about 2000.
The years of conditioning meant that after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2009, Clark’s heart, though weakened, kept pumping and his lungs never filled with fluid, Thompson said.
Clark was given just six months to live, but those six months came and went, followed by six years.
“He said his motivation was to keep grandma alive,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in December 2014 and died in February 2015. His grandfather died five months later.
But before his death, the heart failure diagnosis prompted Clark to revamp his diet — sticking to simple, whole foods — in order to maintain a healthy weight. The lifestyle changes — both while running marathons and in his later years — resonated with Thompson.
“Since his passing, I’ve taken some of those attributes,” Thompson said. “The most life-sustaining is marathons.”
When Thompson decided to embark on his marathon journey, he turned to his longtime friend Makhanov.
Makhanov got into marathon running under similar circumstances. He ran his first marathon after his father died. Makhanov was sad; marathon training gave him something to focus on.
“I wanted to do something that wasn’t in my wheelhouse,” Makhanov said.
He ran his first marathon — the Portland Marathon — in 2012. He ran the marathon two more times in the years after.
“I know for a fact he would be like, ‘Good job,’ ” Makhanov said of his dad. “The hardest thing for me was finishing that first marathon and not having him there. He enjoyed watching us succeed in whatever we did.”
After running his most recent marathon two years ago, Makhanov said he was done with the 26.2-mile races. He checked the feat off of his bucket list. He didn’t need to do it again.
But then Thompson came calling.
“When he asked me to do another marathon, I said ‘no,’ ” Makhanov said.
“The only reason I’m doing this is because of who you are, who your grandpa was and what he meant to you,” Makhanov told Thompson.
So the two friends — as well as Thompson’s wife and Makhanov’s girlfriend — set out to Athens last week. They’re planning to spend some time in Europe after the race, traveling and taking in the sights.
When Thompson decided to run a marathon, he couldn’t think of any better place than the historical Greece course. But the Athens race won’t likely be his last. He also plans to run the Tri-Cities course his grandfather ran so many times over the years.
“I think he would be proud I’m trying to live up that lineage,” Thompson said.
