OCTOBER RUNNING TAT OF THE MONTH

Airick La Pratt,
A marathoner true to its roots

Click to enlarge.

Not only does this tattoo pay homage to the marathon, it can prove whether or not you are truly Greek. Airick has yet to meet a Grecian who doesn't understand the tattoo, but has yet to meet someone from elsewhere who knows what's up. In case your wondering, the word is "Nenikekamen (Nay Nee KEE' Kah Men) and is what Pheidipides (Fee Thee PEE' Deez) said after running the 'first' marathon. According to Airick, "we all know that the story and history of that event has been totally disproven, but it doesn't change why we run marathons. It translates to a few things, all of which hint around 'We won!'".

The line is the route of the very first Marathon ever on the Modern Olympic Games in 1896, won by Spyrydon Louis. It travels from the top right to the bottom left (from Marathon to Athens, Greece).

The thought of doing a 26.2 tat didn't interest him, because he hasn't ruled out ultra marathons. The more traditional running figure wasn't in his best interest. He's been known to take years off at a time from any and all physical activity, and he didn't want to mix fat and lazy with a running guy on this leg.

The design came to him shortly after his first marathon, and it took him three years to go ahead and put it in ink. While he does have streaks of laziness, he appears to be willing to seek balance. This winter he plans on three marathons - Jacksonville in December, Disney in January, and the Maraton di Roma in March.

Best of luck to him!

Congrats to Airick on earning a $15 gift certificate to the CRC and to Evolved.

Do you want to be the running tat of the month? Send us a picture at info@columbusrunning.com or stop by the store. Please let us know why, how, and when you got the tattoo...

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