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4:30 AM Runs, Stray Dogs, and Ditching Diet Culture 🇬🇷
The Rundown
September 24th, 2026
What does it really take to train for 26.2 miles in Athens, Greece?
In our latest Your Story, Your Why feature, global runner Inga Dengel gives an unfiltered look at distance training overseas. Born in Russia, holding a German passport, and living on the top floor of a multi-generational house in Athens with her Greek in-laws, Inga's path to the marathon starting line is full of grit and unexpected plot twists.
After stopping running in her twenties due to severe back pain, Inga spent six years focused purely on heavy lifting. Returning to running in Greece to balance her mother-in-law's incredible cooking, she accidentally stepped into a 10K bib, progressed to the half marathon, and completed the 2024 Authentic Athens Marathon.
SHATTERING DECADES OF DIET CULTURE
Stepping up to the marathon distance didn't just transform Inga’s physical endurance; it fundamentally rewired her relationship with food and body image.
Having started her first restrictive diet at just 11 years old, Inga spent decades viewing exercise primarily through the lens of calorie burning. However, as her weekly volume climbed to 60 kilometers (~37 miles) while training for Athens, the old mindset completely collapsed.
"For the first time in three decades, weight became totally out of the equation. It was no longer about wanting to lose weight. I actually realized I needed to eat more just to survive my long runs and avoid crashing. It’s the first time since I was a child that I don't consciously restrict or obsess over food." — Inga Dengel
This mental release became her primary "Why." Distance running shifted from a restrictive punishment into a celebration of functional fueling.
THE RAW REALITIES OF TRAINING IN ATHENS
While non-runners often imagine running in Greece as a scenic jog past ancient ruins, the day-to-day training reality is far more rugged.
Athens presents serious environmental friction for distance runners:
Infrastructure: Sidewalks are rare, forcing runners onto narrow roads with aggressive drivers.
Summer Heat: To beat peak summer heatwaves, Inga routinely sets 4:00 AM alarms to start running before sunrise.
Stray Dogs: After suffering a dog bite during a long run, Inga bought her husband a marathon bib as a gift to recruit him as her dedicated training partner.
DITCHING AI APPS FOR OLYMPIC PHYSIO STRENGTH
When severe IT band syndrome and shin splints threatened her mileage, Inga moved away from automated AI coaching apps to seek help from Dimitris, a high-level physiotherapist working with Greece's national track team.
His directive was simple: fire the app, prioritize load management, and commit to five non-negotiable compound strength exercises done twice a week.
"If you want to continue training for marathons, you need to do strength training. Running creates a level of mental space that I don't get from any other activity—it helps with idea generation, processing thoughts, and structuring my work." — Inga Dengel
LISTEN & READ MORE
Ready to hear how Inga built an injury-free strength routine and embraced local Athenian running?
Keep moving forward,
Letty Lundquist
Editor-in-Chief, Marathon Journal