Spartathlon

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Spartathlon is a 246 kilometre (152.85 miles) ultramarathon race held in Greece since 1983 between Athens and Sparta.

Contents 1 Origin 2 The race 3 Entry requirements 4 Records 4.1 Men 4.2 Women 4.3 All-time top 50 performances 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Origin

The Spartathlon aims to trace 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 in The Persian Wars, arrived in Sparta the day after he departed. 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." ^[1]. Based on this account, British RAF Wing Commander John Foden and four other RAF officers travelled to Greece in 1982 on an official expedition to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres in a day and a half. Three runners were successful in completing the distance: John Foden (37:37), John Scholtens (34:30) and John McCarthy in (39:00).^[2] In the following year a team of enthusiastic supporters (British, Greek and other nationalities) based on 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.

[edit] The race

The race starts at 7:00 am, usually on the last Friday each September, at the foot of the Acropolis. It runs out of Athens toward the coast and runs along the coast towards Corinth via Elefsis, Megara, and Kineta. The route reaches the Corinth Canal at 78.5 kilometres and the runners hit the first of six major check points at 81 kilometres.

After Corinth, the race heads toward Ancient Corinth, Nemea, Lyrkia and at 159 kilometres, reaches the top of Mount Parthenio. From there, it continues south toward Nestani and Tegea, before reaching the main Sparta highway just before the 200 kilometer mark.

Runners must pass through 75 checkpoints along the way and each checkpoint has a cut-off time. Runners outside the cut-off may be pulled out of the race although tardiness in the first half of the race is generally tolerated. This tolerance begins to fade after sunset and in the last third of the race, organisers may pull out runners who are either outside the time limit or who display extreme fatigue.

[edit] Entry requirements

In order to run in this race an individual must meet at least one of the following requirements:

1. The individual has finished a race of at least 100 km in less than 10 hours, 30 minutes.
2. The individual has already competed in Spartathlon and has reached the checkpoint "Nestani" ( 172 km ) in less than 24 hours, 30 minutes.
3. The individual has already competed in Spartathlon and reached the finish line.
4. The individual has competed in an event of more than 200 kilometers and has finished the race regardless of the time.

[edit] Records

Yiannis Kouros, who won the first Spartathlon, still holds the record time at 20:25:00. Kouros competed in four Spartahlons, won all four and holds the four fastest times ever recorded. In 2005, he decided to trace the steps of Pheiddipides completely and ran - out of competition - the Athens-Sparta-Athens distance.

In 2007, Scott Jurek won his second straight title, clocking the seventh fastest time in the history of the race. Only Kouros (four times) has run the course faster than Jurek.

The 25th anniversary competition in 2007 had a record 323 starters and a record 125 finishers.

Following are the winners of the Sparathlon

[edit] Men

Year	Athlete	Country	Time
2007	Scott Jurek	United States	23:12:14
2006	Scott Jurek	United States	22:52:18
2005	Jens Lukas	Germany	24:20:39
2004	Jens Lukas	Germany	25:49:59
2003	Markus Thalmann	Austria	23:28:24
2002	Ryōichi Sekiya	Japan	23:47:54
2001	Valmir Nunes	Brazil	23:18:05
2000	Masayuki Ōtaki	Japan	24:01:10
1999	Jens Lukas	Germany	25:38:03
1998	Kostas Reppos	Greece	25:11:41
1997	Kostas Reppos	Greece	23:37
1996	Ronald Vuillemenot	France	26:21:00
1995	James Zarei	England	25:59:42
1994	James Zarei	England	26:15:00
1993	Rune Larsson	Sweden	25:57:12
1992	Rusko Kantiev	Bulgaria	24:15:31
1991	János Bogár	Hungary	24:15:31
1990	Yiannis Kouros	Greece	20:29
1989	Patrick Macke	England	24:32:00
1988	Rune Larsson	Sweden	24:42:00
1987	Rune Larsson	Sweden	24:41:00
1986	Yiannis Kouros	Greece	21:57
1985	Patrick Macke	England	23:18
1984	Yiannis Kouros	Greece	20:25
1983	Yiannis Kouros	Greece	21:53

[edit] Women

Year	Athlete	Country	Time
2007	Akiko Sakamoto	Japan	31:09:24
2006	Sumie Inagaki	Japan	28:37:20
2005	Kimie Noto	Japan	30:23:07
2004	Kimie Noto	Japan	29:57:40
2003	Akiko Sakamoto	Japan	29:07:44
2002	Irina Reutovich	Russia	28:10:48
2001	Alzira Portela-Lario	Portugal	30:31:41
2000	Hiroko Okiyama	Japan	29:16:37
1999	Anny Monot	France	35:38:08
1998	Mary Larsson	Sweden	28:46.58
1997	Helga Backhaus	Germany	30:39
1996	Helga Backhaus	Germany	29:50
1995	Helga Backhaus	Germany	29:33
1994	Helga Backhaus	Germany	30:41
1993	Sigrid Lomsky	Germany	32:43:32
1992	Hilary Walker	United Kingdom	29:49:49
1991	Ursula Blasberg	Germany	34:42:45
1990	Anne-Marie Deguilhem	France	34:07:41
1989	Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson)	United States	31:57:23
1988	–
1987	Hilary Walker	United Kingdom	31:23:30
1986	Waltraud Reisert	Germany	32:21
1985	Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson)	United States	34:10
1984	Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson)	United States	34:15:10
1983	Eleanor Adams	United Kingdom	32:37:52

[edit] 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	1990	1	34
3.	Yiannis Kouros	21:53:42	GRE	1983	1	27
4.	Yiannis Kouros	21:57:00	GRE	1986	1	30
5.	Scott Jurek	22:52:18	USA	2006	1	33
6.	Patrik Macke	23:08:41	GBR	1990	2	35
7.	Scott Jurek	23:12:14	USA	2007	1	34
8.	Patrik Macke	23:18:00	GBR	1985	1	30
9.	Valmir Nunes	23:18:05	BRA	2001	1	37
10.	Markus Thalmann	23:28:24	AUT	2003	1	39
11.	Kostas Reppos	23:37:00	GRE	1997	1	31
12.	Dusan Mravlje	23:44:00	YUG	1985	2	32
13.	Riochy Sekiya	23:47:54	JPN	2002	1	35
14.	Ohtaki Masayuki	24:01:10	JPN	2000	1	34
15.	Rusko Kantief	24:08:13	BUL	1992	1	34
16.	Ryoichi Sekiya	24:14:11	JPN	2006	2	39
17.	János Bogár	24:15:31	HUN	1991	1	27
18.	Jens Lukas	24:20:39	GER	2005	1	39
19.	Piotr Kurylo	24:29:41	POL	2007	2	35
20.	Patrik Macke	24:32:05	GBR	1989	1	34
21.	Dusan Mravlje	24:39:22	YUG	1983	2	30
22.	Dusan Mravlje	24:40:38	YUG	1984	2	31
23.	Rune Larsson	24:41:46	SWE	1987	1	31
24.	Jean-Dominique Calbera	24:42:00	FRA	1985	3	37
25.	Rune Larsson	24:42:05	SWE	1988	1	32
26.	Jens Lukas	24:46:51	GER	2001	2	35
27.	János Bogár	24:49:19	HUN	1990	3	26
28.	Jens Lukas	24:59:54	GER	2000	2	34
29.	Jean-Jacques Moros	25:03:30	FRA	2005	2	35
30.	Paul Beckers	25:05:48	BEL	1992	2	30
31.	Kostas Reppos	25:11:41	GRE	1998	1	32
32.	Markus Thalmann	25:16:56	AUT	2002	2	38
33.	Masayuki Ohtaki	25:19:12	JPN	2006	3	40
34.	Ryoichi Sekiya	25:27:30	JPN	2001	3	34
35.	Rune Larsson	25:28:48	SWE	1989	2	33
36.	Valmir Nunes	25:30:35	BRA	2003	2	39
37.	Rune Larsson	25:32:55	SWE	1990	4	34
38.	Akihiko Kumasaka	25:34:49	JAP	2001	4	33
39.	Verhagen Gees	25:35:50	HOL	2000	3	40
40.	Valmir Nunes	25:37:40	BRA	2007	2	43
41.	Jens Lukas	25:38:03	GER	1999	1	33
42.	Ronald Teunisse	25:39:57	HOL	1988	2	36
43.	Jens Lukas	25:48:44	GER	2007	4	41
44.	Jens Lukas	25:49:59	GER	2004	1	38
45.	Levente Kalotai	25:52:24	HUN	2006	4	34
46.	Kenzi Okiyama	25:55:00	JPN	1997	2	32
47.	James Zarei	25:59:42	GBR	1995	1	51
48.	Ernő Kis-Király	26:07:00	HUN	1986	2	28
49.	Seiichi Morikawa	26:08:18	JPN	1989	3	45
50.	Kenzi Okiyama	26:13:13	JPN	1998	2	33

^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ Herodtus, The Persian Wars, Chapter 6, paragraph 106
2. ^ Spartathlon 1983-2007, page 23, Published by the International Spartathlon Association, Athens, Greece
3. ^ Spartathlon 1983-2007, International Spartathlon Association, 7 Kodrou street, 10558, Athens, Greece

[edit] External links

• Official Website for Spartathlon
• Rune Larsson's advice to Spartathlon runners
• John Foden's article on how the Spartathlon has changed over the years
• John Foden's article on time spent at refreshment points