Athens Marathon is run in Afghan Burkha

In November 2003, Mark Squirrell (Squiz) headed over to Athens to compete in the Athens Classic Marathon. The course being quite significant as it takes competitors over the original route that was taken by Pheidippides, the Greek soldier who in 490 BC ran from the town of Marathon to Athens in order to bring news of a Greek

victory over the Persians. Pheidippides collapsed at the end of his run and died on the spot. A feeling that surely was felt by Squiz as he ran the course wearing an Afghanistan Burkha. It was quite a warm day and so the Burkha certainly didn't make the arduous 42 km's feel any easier.

Squiz didn't wear the Burkha to prove a point or express his desire to dress up as a woman but thought it would be an opportunity to actually take something from one culture and physically present it to those in another. All too often the images of hardship and oppression are briefly viewed on TV without actually registering anything more than a momentary thought. During the marathon competitors and spectators had the chance to see first hand exactly what the infamous Afghan Burkha was like first hand.