Good Ideas Meet Reality

When it comes to things that I would like to write, I have many great ideas. However, these ideas are stored in a box labeled with words like "reality" and "priorities". Occasionally however, I catch myself thinking of what I would do with a lot of free time. One such example is the legend of the marathon. As an avid runner, I thoroughly enjoy the legend of the first marathon.

The story begins in the small city-state of Athens, Greece. This city was not well known for their skill on the battlefield as were their neighbors Sparta. However, when the Persian army came to attack their land, the army of Athens made great effort to protect their city. The water born Persian army landed near the city of Marathon on the east coast of Greece. The army of Athens traveled to battle the Persian army at that point rather than sit and wait in their city. By this surprise move, the Athenians were able to victoriously defeat the superior Persian army.

But things turned quickly when the remainder of the Persian army sought to rush via the ocean around the southern end of Greece and take Athens while the army was away. In order to protect the city, the army needed to return quickly to Athens and let them know that the battle was won so the city would not surrender to avoid destruction. The practical restraint however is that an army cannot move very quickly and thus it seemed that the Persian army would arrive and threaten the people of Athens into surrender.

With this challenge in mind, a young man named  Pheidippides was chosen as a messenger. He set off running back to Athens. The story goes that he ran as hard as he could the entire way form Marathon to Athens, a distance of 26.2 miles. Upon arriving exhausted in the town, he collapsed and announced that the battle was won. With his message delivered, he then died. (Side note: why we choose to run a distance which by legend killed the first person who tried it is beyond me.)

This legend, while possibly not completely true, offers a wealth of wonderful subject matter for a fictional novel. Grand battles waged by two vastly different cultures. Victory followed by anguish. A personal struggle and the subsequent success against the backdrop of a far greater battle. The bittersweet end of success coupled with death. I can even picture in my mind the flow of the story.

The story begins upon a solitary individual running all alone. His thoughts turn back on his life as he pursues the enemy of time. The choices and struggles of his life all laid bare in this single task which he must face alone. The story then turns to one week prior as the leaders of an intellectual city hear warnings of the arrival of a murderous nation. Their quiet life now threatened by a military might whose stories echo of destruction and violence. These two storylines intersect as battles are waged on two fronts, the military battlefield and the mind and will of a solitary soldier giving his own life for the ideals of a greater good.

There is so much there which begs to be explored. The characters await the pen and the issues beg to be argued. Yet, I have committed my life to other causes. And while it would be so much fun, I realize that some things must be laid aside in order to achieve more important goals. But once in a while, it is fun to imagine and to visit in my head the story which will always exist. Because the power of imagination and stories and legends is that their existence burns always in the heads of the dreamers.