Greece is the birthplace of philosophy, democracy and something a bit more strenuous, even in an election year — the marathon.

Worldwide, the Athens Marathon is one of the most prestigious, but also one of the most difficult of the grueling 26.2-mile runs. From its sixth mile until about the 19th, the course is uphill — said by competitors to be the toughest uphill climb of any major marathon, including Boston’s famed “heartbreak hill.”

For four Vicksburg women, however, running in Athens was an unforgettable thrill the difficulty of the course could not diminish.

“The people in Greece could not have been more amazing,” said Debbie Haworth, who with Cynthia Freeny and Lori Jones completed the Athens Classic Marathon — their first — along with fellow runner Judy Skipper, who ran the 10K (6.2 miles) event there.

“The feeling of running into the Olympic Stadium at the end of the race, seeing the Olympic rings, having thousands of people cheering and shouting ‘bravo,’ it was just incredible,” said Haworth, 48, who finished in 5 hours and 11 minutes.

Spectators along the route also waved olive branches and gave sprigs to runners to hold or stick in their hair and hats, and the theme song from the movie “Chariots of Fire” was playing as runners crossed the finish line, Freeny said.

“You feel just like an Olympian,” said Skipper, whose course followed the last six miles of the longer race. “You get a great, beautiful medal, and you feel for that minute that you’re somebody.”

“It was a very difficult course,” Jones said. “We had heard the course was very hilly, but it was a good bit hillier than we expected.” Especially in the middle section of the race, the course would take runners up a hill and then instead of going down, plateau for a short distance before rising again, she said. She completed the race in 6 hours, 27 minutes.

This year’s race, held Oct. 31, commemorated the 2,500th anniversary of the run of Pheidippides from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens, about 25 miles, to announce the Greek victory over the Persians in battle in 490 B.C. After delivering the message, legend has it, Pheidippides fell dead from the effort.

Nowadays, disciplined training goes into a runner’s preparation for a marathon, which was given its modern, 26 mile, 385 yard distance for the 1908 Olympic games in London.

Freeny, Haworth, Jones and Skipper trained for nearly two years as members of Marathon Makeover of Vicksburg, coached by Kim Barnes and her brother, Stacy Walker. About 40 men and women have joined the program each year since its inception in 2009, Barnes said.

The program has created deep bonds between the women.

“None of us knew each other before we started, but now we are good friends,” said Freeny, 50, a local bank officer who joined because she wanted to improve her health and fitness and knew marathoners from her work. “It was my 50th birthday present to myself.”

Jones, Skipper and Haworth also joined to improve their fitness.

“I wasn’t really sure if I’d ever do a marathon or a half-marathon,” said Jones, 35. “I was just joining for the exercise. And I like to be with the group because it keeps me accountable.”

“They never believe they can do it,” Barnes said. “They sign up to buy into an exercise program but never really believe they can run the marathon until they cross the finish line. So we believe it for them.”

Barnes and Walker provide planning and organization for group members over a 40-week training season that prepares them to run a marathon or half-marathon in October. Individual training takes place during the week, and group runs are held each Saturday, with runners getting up as early as 3:30 a.m. during the hot months to train. They build stamina and endurance gradually to minimize injury.

“I never could have run a marathon without them,” said Freeny. “They just provided the discipline we needed to get in shape.”

Skipper, 53, overcame health issues to complete the 10K in 2 hours and 12 minutes. “I really went as support for Cynthia and Lori,” she said. “I knew Debbie could do it because she is so strong.”

Weeks after the race, the women are still teasing Haworth because as she ran, she miscalculated the distance and reached the finish line thinking she still had 7 kilometers to run.

But Freeny said she found herself struggling with nausea and a nagging foot injury at about the 11th mile.

“There were Orthodox churches all along the way — beautiful, gorgeous churches,” said Freeny, a parishioner of Vicksburg’s St. George Orthodox church. “At about mile 17 or 18 I stopped in front of a church and prayed, just to be able to keep going and finish.”

At the 24th mile, she passed a young woman who had stopped and said her feet were so blistered she couldn’t continue. “I held her hand for the last two miles of the race and told her I was not going to let go,” Freeny said. The two entered the stadium together and Freeny crossed the finish line just behind the woman — 7 hours and 49 minutes after the race’s start but with as much pride as if she’d won.

Haworth, Jones and Skipper all were there to offer hugs and help get her shoes off.

Later, the woman Freeny had helped, a resident of Canada, contacted her on Facebook, and an international friendship was formed.

Barnes, not able to make the trip to Greece, monitored the race online and through messaging. After Freeny came in, they got a message: “Kim has just been told we have all finished and she’s crying.”

“Their success stories become like your own,” said Barnes. “You just want to see each one succeed in their goals.”

All of them plan to keep running, and are registered for upcoming marathons in New Orleans, Memphis and Jackson. They’ve even entered a lottery to run the New York Marathon in October.

Vicksburg’s Marathon Makeover will be back for its third season in 2011. Kickoff will be Jan. 15 at Purks YMCA off East Clay Street.