Spartathlon
Spartathlon is a 246-kilometre (153 mi) ultramarathon race held annually in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta. As opposed to the ahistorical origin story of the marathon, the spartathlon is based on the historical run of Pheidippides, who ran from Athens to Sparta before the Battle of Marathon in a day and a half to seek aid against the Persians. Five Royal Air Force officers attempted the course in 1982 and the competition was started the next year. The winner of the first Spartathlon, Yiannis Kouros, still holds the record for fastest time at 20 hours and 25 minutes.
As the race grew more popular, stringent entry criteria were implemented to ensure participants were fit enough to run the course. The race has 75 checkpoints where race officials disqualify runners who fail to meet time cutoffs or who are too tired to continue.
Origin
The Spartathlon aims to trace the footsteps of Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Pheidippides, according to an account by Greek historian Herodotus, arrived in Sparta the day after he departed.[1] Herodotus wrote: "On the occasion of which we speak when Pheidippides was sent by the Athenian generals, and, according to his own account, saw Pan on his journey, he reached Sparta on the very next day after quitting the city of Athens."[2]
Based on this account, John Foden, an officer of the Royal Air Force and a long distance runner, went to Greece in 1982 with four officers to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres in a day and a half.[2] Three runners were successful in completing the distance: John Foden (37:37), John Scholtens (34:30) and John McCarthy in (39:00).[3] The following year a team of enthusiastic supporters (British, Greek and other nationalities) based at the British Hellenic Chamber of Commerce in Athens and led by Philhellene Michael Callaghan organised the running of the first Open International Spartathlon Race. The event was run under the auspices of SEGAS, the Hellenic Amateur Athletics Association.
Race
The Spartathlon is usually held around late September. Runners have 36 hours to run 245 kilometres (152 mi), roughly the equivalent of six consecutive marathons, between Athens and Sparti, the site of ancient Sparta. Runners have to deal with the Greek heat in the day, the cold of the night, and the mountainous terrain. There are 75 checkpoints along the way, where runners are disqualified for safety reasons if they fail to meet time cut-offs. Many runners have crews that support them during the race, such as helping them resupply at the checkpoints. Any non-finishers are picked up by a bus taken to Sparti together.[1]
The race begins at 7:00 am, roughly when dawn breaks, at the foot of the Acropolis of Athens, near the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the Agora of Athens.[1] The runners head westwards and the first major checkpoint is at 80 kilometres (50 mi), at the Corinth Canal on the Isthmus of Corinth that connects the Peloponnese to mainland Greece. Runners then proceed to the site of ancient Corinth.[1]
Runners ascend the 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) high Sangas mountain pass on Mount Parthenion, and then descend towards Tegea, which is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the start of the race. According to Herodotus, Pheidippides had a vision of Pan at Tegea, in what may be the first recorded case of exercise-induced hallucination. The rest of the race is a 50 kilometres (31 mi) downhill segment to the town of Sparti.[1]
The end of the race is a statue of Leonidas I, the Spartan king who died at the Battle of Thermopylae fighting the Persians ten years after Marathon, which is placed at the end of the main street in Sparti. Runners who finish the race receive a laurel wreath and water from schoolgirls dressed in chitons, and have access to medical tents. The national anthem of the winner is also played.[1]
No monetary award is given to any of the finishers, but winning the race is considered prestigious and generates publicity that is helpful in attracting sponsors. Unlike Pheidippides, none of the runners have to make the return run back to Athens.[1]
Entry requirements
In order to run in this race an individual must have recently performed at least one of a number of qualifying feats, such as:
- Finishing a race of at least 100 km (62 mi) in less than 10 hours (male) or 10 hours 30 minutes (female).
- Competing in an event of more than 200 km (120 mi) and completing it in less than 29 hours (male) or 30 hours (female).
- Competing in Spartathlon within the two previous years and overcoming the mountain to reach the Nestani checkpoint at 172 km (107 mi) in less than 24 hours 30 minutes.
The criteria have been tightened at least once in the past due to an increase in the number of qualifying athletes and there is now a ballot where the event is oversubscribed; however, elite athletes who can exceed the criteria by 20% are able to avoid the ballot and qualify automatically. Entries are now capped at 400 each year with non-automatic qualifiers chosen through a lottery system.
Records
Yiannis Kouros, who won the first Spartathlon, still holds the record time at 20:25:00. Kouros competed in four Spartathlons, won all four and holds the four fastest times ever recorded. In 2005, he decided to trace the steps of Pheidippides completely and ran—out of competition—the Athens–Sparta–Athens distance.
Hubert Karl of Germany and András Lőw hold the record for most finishes with 20 each. Lőw also holds the record for consecutive finishes with 18.
In 2017, the 35th anniversary competition had a record 264 finishers under the 36-hour cut-off time.
Following are the winners of the Spartathlon:
Men
Time = hours:minutes:seconds
| Year | 1st | Nationality | Time | 2nd | Nationality | Time | 3rd | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Aleksandr Sorokin |  | 22:04:04 | Radek Brunner |  | 22:49:37 | Nikolaos Sideridis |  | 22:58:40 |
| 2016 | Andrzej Radzikowski |  | 23:02:23 | Marco Bonfiglio |  | 23:36:58 | Brunner Radek | | 24:07:29 |
| 2015 | Florian Reus |  | 23:16:44 | Dan Lawson |  | 23:53:05 | Hansen Kim |  | 23:53:52 |
| 2014 | Ivan Cudin | | 22:27:57 | Florian Reus | | 23:56:19 | Andrzej Radzikowski | | 25:48:25 |
| 2013 | João Oliveira |  | 23:28:31 | Florian Reus | | 25:29:11 | Ivan Cudin | | 25:53:44 |
| 2012 | Stu Thoms | | 26:28:19[4] | Tetsuo Kiso |  | 26:36:23 | Markus Thalmann |  | 27:14:25 |
| 2011 | Ivan Cudin | | 22:57:40 | Yuji Sakai | | 24:22:24 | Michael Vanicek | | 24:55:59 |
| 2010 | Ivan Cudin | | 23:03:06 | Jan Albert Lantink |  | 23:31:00 | Jan Prochaska | | 24:56:00 |
| 2009 | Ryōichi Sekiya | | 23:48:24 | Lars Skytte Christoffersen | | 24:32:00 | Jon Harald Berge |  | 25:10:00 |
| 2008 | Scott Jurek |  | 22:20:01 | Markus Thalmann | | 24:52:09 | Lars Skytte Christoffersen | | 25:29:41 |
| 2007 | Scott Jurek | | 23:12:14 | Piotr Kurylo | | 24:29:41 | Valmir Nunes |  | 25:37:40 |
| 2006 | Scott Jurek | | 22:52:18 | Ryōichi Sekiya | | 24:14:11 | Masayuki Ohtaki (Otaki, Ōtaki) | | 25:19:12 |
| 2005 | Jens Lukas | | 24:20:39 | Jean-Jacques Moros |  | 25:03:30 | Markus Thalmann | | 26:34:42 |
| 2004 | Jens Lukas | | 25:49:59 | Markus Thalmann | | 26:20:02 | Martin Juri |  | 27:19:15 |
| 2003 | Markus Thalmann | | 23:28:24 | Valmir Nunes | | 25:30:35 | Jean-Jacques Moros | | 26:26:16 |
| 2002 | Ryōichi Sekiya | | 23:47:54 | Markus Thalmann | | 25:16:56 | Jeffry Oonk | | 26:58:55 |
| 2001 | Valmir Nunes | | 23:18:05 | Jens Lukas | | 24:46:51 | Ryōichi Sekiya | | 25:27:30 |
| 2000 | Masayuki Ohtaki (Otaki, Ōtaki) | | 24:01:10 | Jens Lukas | | 24:59:54 | Cees Verhagen | | 25:35:50 |
| 1999 | Jens Lukas | | 25:38:03 | Jean Pierre Guyomarch | | 27:08:57 | Jun Onoki | | 27:16:36 |
| 1998 | Kostas Reppos | | 25:11:41 | Kenzi(Kenji) Okiyama | | 26:13:13 | James Zarei | | 26:44:04 |
| 1997 | Constantinos Repos | | 23:37:00 | Kenji Okiyama | | 25:55:00 | Rune Larsson |  | 28:11:00 |
| 1996 | Roland Vuillemenot | | 26:21:00 | Mravlje Dusan |  | 27:55:00 | Roy Pirrung | | 27:56:32 |
| 1995 | James Zarei | | 25:59:42 | Vasilios Chalkias | | 27:49:46 | Kazuyoshi Ikeda | | 28:12:00 |
| 1994 | James Zarei | | 26:15:00 | Kenji Okiyama | | 25:55:00 | Peeter Kirppu |  | 26:07:00 |
| 1993 | Rune Larsson | | 25:57:12 | Jean-Claude Lapeyrigne | | 29:48:00 | Schutze W.D. | | 29:50:38 |
| 1992[5] | Rusko Kantief |  | 24:08:13 | Paul Beckers | .svg.png){kind=small} | 25:05:48 | Roy Pirrung | | 28:33:02 |
| 1991 | Seppo Tapio Leinonen |  | 24:15:31 | János Bogár |  | 30:25:07 | George Stoakes | | 30:50:35 |
| 1990 | Yiannis Kouros | | 21:57:00 | János Bogár | | 24:49:19 | Rune Larsson | | 25:28:48 |
| 1989 | János Bogár | | 24:15:31 | Rune Larsson | | 24:42:05 | Seiichi Morikawa | | 26:08:18 |
| 1988 | Rune Larsson | | 24:42:05 | James Zarei |  | 25:59:42 | Georges Makris | | 26:47:00 |
| 1987 | Rune Larsson | | 24:41:46 | Patrick Macke | | 26:41:51 | James Zarei | | 27:27:16 |
| 1986 | Yiannis Kouros | | 21:51:00 | Ernő Kis-Király | | 26:07:00 | Peter Mann | | 26:41:00 |
| 1985 | Patrick Macke | | 23:18:00 | Dusan Mravlje | .svg.png){kind=small} | 24:39:22 | Jean Calbera | | 24:42:00 |
| 1984 | Yiannis Kouros | | 20:25:00 | Dusan Mravlje | | 23:44:00 | Patrick Macke | | 24:32:05 |
| 1983 | Yiannis Kouros | | 20:29:04 | Dusan Mravlje | | 24:40:38 | Alan Fairbrother | | 27:39:14 |
Women
Time = hours:minutes:seconds
| Year | 1st | Nationality | Time | 2nd | Nationality | Time | 3rd | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Patrycja Bereznowska | | 24:48:18 | Zsuzsanna Maraz | | 25:43:40 | Aleksandra Niwińska | | 26:28:48 |
| 2016 | Katalin Nagy | | 25:22:26 | Smith Pam | | 27:11:53 | Maraz Zsuzsanna | | 27:44:01 |
| 2015 | Katalin Nagy | | 25:06:05 | Alyson Venti | | 26:50:51 | Szilvia Lubics | | 29:18:44 |
| 2014 | Szilvia Lubics | | 26:53:40 | Katalin Nagy | | 28:55:03 | Eva Esnaola |  | 30:52:41 |
| 2013 | Szilvia Lubics | | 28:03:04 | Antje Krause | | 30:07:15 | Heike Bergmann | | 30:22:03 |
| 2012 | Elizabeth Hawker (also 3rd overall that year)[1] | | 27:02:17[4] | Leonie van den Haak | | 28:42:36 | Szilvia Lubics | | 29:45:56 |
| 2011 | Szilvia Lubics | | 29:07:39 | Ruth Podgornik Res | | 32:17:19 | Mimi Anderson | | 32:33:23 |
| 2010 | Emily Gelder | | 30:17:03 | Heather Fouwdlink-Hawker | | 32:43:00 | Yoshiko Matsuda | | 33:31:00 |
| 2009 | Sumie Inagaki | | 27:39:49 | Yoshiko Matsuda | | 31:16:00 | Lisa Bliss | | 32:27:00 |
| 2008 | Sook-Hue Hur |  | 30:03:22 | Stacey Bunton | | 31:25:59 | Heinlein Marika | | 31:39:19 |
| 2007 | Akiko Sakamoto | | 31:09:24 | Vrigitte Bec | | 31:56:03 | Kimie Noto | | 32:11:05 |
| 2006 | Sumie Inagaki | | 28:37:20 | Takako Furuyama | | 31:40:31 | Mary Larsson-Hanudel | | 31:41:56 |
| 2005 | Kimie Noto | | 30:23:07 | Elke Streicher | | 32:19:59 | Anke Drescher | | 32:52:23 |
| 2004 | Kimie Noto | | 29:57:40 | Hiroko Okiyama | | 31:01:17 | Anke Drescher | | 32:55:26 |
| 2003 | Akiko Sakamoto | | 29:07:44 | Sumie Inagaki | | 29:38:54 | Barbara Szlachetka | | 31:50:23 |
| 2002 | Irina Reutovich |  | 28:10:48 | Hiroko Okiyama | | 30:25:49 | Mayumi Okabe | | 31:33:35 |
| 2001 | Alzira Portela-Lario | | 30:31:41 | Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) | | 33:49:17 | Heike Pawzik | | 34:41:10 |
| 2000 | Hiroko Okiyama | | 29:16:37 | Mary Larsson | | 30:56:16 | Helga Backhaus | | 31:35:24 |
| 1999 | Anny Monot | | 35:38:08 | Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) | | 35:41:31 | - | - | - |
| 1998 | Mary Larsson | | 28:46.58 | Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) | | 29:32:21 | Helga Backhaus | | 29:53:49 |
| 1997 | Helga Backhaus | | 30:39:00 | Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) | | 33:36:00 | Heike Pawzik | | 33:46:00 |
| 1996 | Helga Backhaus | | 29:33:00 | Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) | | 33:36:00 | Heike Pawzik | | 33:46:00 |
| 1995 | Kimie Funada (later Kimie Noto) | | 29:32:21 | Helga Backhaus | | 30:41:00 | Miyako Yoshikoshi | | 35:40:31 |
| 1994 | Helga Backhaus | | 30:39:00 | Kazuko Kaihata | | 34:12:17 | Miyako Yoshikoshi | | 34:33:21 |
| 1993 | Sigrid Lomsky | | 32:46:17 | Marie Bertrand | | 33:47:12 | Miyako Yoshikoshi | | 34:18:00 |
| 1992 | Hilary Walker | | 31:23:30 | Mary Hanudel-Larsson | | 33:47:00 | Miyako Yoshikoshi | | 33:47:52 |
| 1991 | Ursula Blasberg | | 34:42:45 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1990 | Anne-Marie Deguilhem | | 34:07:41 | Pascale Mahe | | 35:08:03 | Mary Hanudel-Larsson | | 35:31:30 |
| 1989 | Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) | | 31:57:23 | Monika Kuno | | 34:10:00 | Eiko Endo | | 34:36:49 |
| 1988 | - | ||||||||
| 1987 | Hilary Walker | | 31:23:30 | Waltraud Reisert | | 35:31:56 | - | - | - |
| 1986 | Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) | | 31:46:45 | Waltraud Reisert | | 33:21:00 | - | - | - |
| 1985 | Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) | | 34:10 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) | | 30:27:00 | Marcy Schwam Lorna Richey (later Lorna Michael) | | 34:15:10 | - | - | - |
| 1983 | Eleanor Robinson (formerly Adams) | | 32:37:52 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
All-time top 50 performances
| Athlete | Time | Country | Year | Place | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Yiannis Kouros | 20:25:00 | GRE | 1984 | 1 | 28 |
| 2. | Yiannis Kouros | 20:29:04 | GRE | 1983 | 1 | 27 |
| 3. | Yiannis Kouros | 21:51:00 | GRE | 1986 | 1 | 30 |
| 4. | Yiannis Kouros | 21:57:00 | GRE | 1990 | 1 | 34 |
| 5. | Sorokin Aleksandr | 22:04:04 | LTU | 2017 | 1 | 36 |
| 6. | Scott Jurek | 22:20:01 | USA | 2008 | 1 | 34 |
| 7. | Ivan Cudin | 22:29:29 | ITA | 2014 | 1 | 39 |
| 8. | Radek Brunner | 22:49:37 | CZE | 2017 | 2 | 42 |
| 9. | Scott Jurek | 22:52:18 | USA | 2006 | 1 | 32 |
| 10. | Ivan Cudin | 22:57:40 | ITA | 2011 | 1 | 36 |
| 11. | Nikolaos Sideridis | 22:58:40 | GRE | 2017 | 3 | 36 |
| 12. | Andrzej Radzikowski | 23:02:23 | POL | 2016 | 1 | 35 |
| 13. | Ivan Cudin | 23:03:06 | ITA | 2010 | 1 | 35 |
| 14. | Patrick Macke | 23:08:41 | GBR | 1990 | 2 | 35 |
| 15. | Scott Jurek | 23:12:14 | USA | 2007 | 1 | 33 |
| 16. | Florian Reus | 23:17:31 | GER | 2015 | 1 | 31 |
| 17. | Patrick Macke | 23:18:00 | GBR | 1985 | 1 | 30 |
| 18. | Valmir Nunes | 23:18:05 | BRA | 2001 | 1 | 37 |
| 19. | Yoshihiko Ishikawa | 23:20:56 | JPN | 2017 | 4 | 29 |
| 20. | Markus Thalmann | 23:28:24 | AUT | 2003 | 1 | 39 |
| 21. | Joao Oliveira | 23:29:08 | POR | 2013 | 1 | 36 |
| 22. | Jan Lantink | 23:31:22 | HOL | 2010 | 2 | 52 |
| 23. | Marco Bonfiglio | 23:36:58 | ITA | 2016 | 2 | 39 |
| 24. | Kostas Reppos | 23:37:00 | GRE | 1997 | 1 | 31 |
| 25. | Dušan Mravlje | 23:44:00 | YUG | 1985 | 2 | 32 |
| 26. | Ryōichi Sekiya | 23:47:54 | JPN | 2002 | 1 | 35 |
| 27. | Ryōichi Sekiya | 23:48:24 | JPN | 2009 | 1 | 42 |
| 28. | Dan Lawson | 23:53:32 | GBR | 2015 | 2 | 42 |
| 29. | Kim Hansen | 23:54:37 | DEN | 2015 | 3 | 40 |
| 30. | Florian Reus | 23:57:13 | GER | 2014 | 2 | 30 |
| 31. | Ohtaki Masayuki | 24:01:10 | JPN | 2000 | 1 | 34 |
| 32. | Radek Brunner | 24:07:29 | CZE | 2016 | 3 | 42 |
| 33. | Rusko Kantief | 24:08:13 | BUL | 1992 | 1 | 34 |
| 34. | Ryōichi Sekiya | 24:14:11 | JPN | 2006 | 2 | 39 |
| 35. | János Bogár | 24:15:31 | HUN | 1991 | 1 | 27 |
| 36. | Jens Lukas | 24:20:39 | GER | 2005 | 1 | 39 |
| 37. | Yuji Sakai | 24:21:29 | JPN | 2011 | 1 | 49 |
| 38. | Piotr Kuryło | 24:29:41 | POL | 2007 | 2 | 35 |
| 39. | Sebastian Białobrzeski | 24:30:07 | POL | 2017 | 5 | 28 |
| 40. | Lars Christoffers | 24:31:45 | DEN | 2009 | 2 | 37 |
| 41. | Patrick Macke | 24:32:05 | GBR | 1989 | 1 | 34 |
| 42. | Dušan Mravlje | 24:39:22 | YUG | 1983 | 2 | 30 |
| 43. | Dušan Mravlje | 24:40:38 | YUG | 1984 | 2 | 31 |
| 44. | Rune Larsson | 24:41:46 | SWE | 1987 | 1 | 31 |
| 45. | Jean-Dominique Calbera | 24:42:00 | FRA | 1985 | 3 | 37 |
| 46. | Rune Larsson | 24:42:05 | SWE | 1988 | 1 | 32 |
| 47. | Jens Lukas | 24:46:51 | GER | 2001 | 2 | 35 |
| 48. | Patrycja Bereznowska | 24:48:18 | POL | 2017 | 1F | |
| 49. | János Bogár | 24:49:19 | HUN | 1990 | 3 | 26 |
| 50. | Sagan Lukasz | 24:51:00 | POL | 2017 | 6 | 34 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The lunacy of the long-distance runner". The Economist. 22 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- 1 2 Herodotus, The Persian Wars, Chapter 6, paragraph 106
- ↑ Spartathlon 1983-2007, page 23, Published by the International Spartathlon Association, Athens, Greece
- 1 2 "Finishers". Spartathlon. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ↑ File:Spartatalon finishers 1992.jpg
- ↑ http://www.spartathlon.gr/en/results/finishers.html
- ↑ Spartathlon 1983-2017, International Spartathlon Association, 7 Kodrou street, 10558, Athens, Greece
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spartathlon. |