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. The spartathlon is based on the 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.

Monument in Sparta with names of Spartathlon winners
The finisher’s medal
The reverse side of the medal

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 (155 miles) in a day and a half.[2] Three runners were successful in completing the distance: John Foden in 37:37, John Scholtens in 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 and taken to Sparta 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 Sparta.[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 Sparta. 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 and a ballot introduced, since the increasing prestige of the race and the gradual increase in the number of qualifying athletes mean that it is now always oversubscribed; however, elite athletes who can exceed the criteria by a large margin (25%, formerly 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 of Hungary hold the record for most finishes with 21 each. Lőw also holds the record for most consecutive finishes with 19.

In 2017, the 35th anniversary competition had a record 264 finishers under the 36-hour cut-off time. In 2018, the later stages of the race were substantially disrupted by the Medicane Zorbas, though almost all runners capable of finishing within the cut-off time were eventually able to do so.

Following are the winners of the Spartathlon:

Men

Time = hours:minutes:seconds

Year1stNationalityTime2ndNationalityTime3rdNationalityTime
1983Yiannis Kouros Greece21:53:42Dusan Mravlje Yugoslavia24:40:38Alan Fairbrother United Kingdom27:39:14
1984Yiannis Kouros Greece20:25:00Dusan Mravlje Yugoslavia23:44:00Patrick Macke United Kingdom24:32:05
1985Patrick Macke United Kingdom23:18:00Dusan Mravlje Yugoslavia24:39:22Jean Calbera France24:42:00
1986Yiannis Kouros Greece21:57:00Ernő Kis-Király Hungary26:07:00Peter Mann Germany26:41:00
1987Rune Larsson Sweden24:41:46Patrick Macke United Kingdom26:41:51James Zarei United Kingdom27:27:16
1988Rune Larsson Sweden24:42:05James Zarei Iran25:59:42Georges Makris Greece26:47:00
1989Patrick Macke United Kingdom24:32:05Rune Larsson Sweden25:28:48Seiichi Morikawa Japan26:08:18
1990Yiannis Kouros Greece20:29:04Patrick Macke United Kingdom23:08:41János Bogár Hungary24:49:19
1991János Bogár Hungary24:15:31James Zarei United Kingdom26:48:50George Stoakes United Kingdom30:50:35
1992[4]Rusko Kadiev Bulgaria24:08:13Paul Beckers Belgium25:05:48Roy Pirrung United States28:33:02
1993Rune Larsson Sweden25:57:12Jean-Claude Lapeyrigne France29:48:00Schutze W.D. Germany29:50:38
1994James Zarei United Kingdom26:15:00Kenji Okiyama Japan25:55:00Peeter Kirppu Estonia26:07:00
1995James Zarei United Kingdom25:59:42Vasilios Chalkias Greece27:49:46Kazuyoshi Ikeda Japan28:12:00
1996Roland Vuillemenot France26:21:00Mravlje Dusan Slovenia27:55:00Roy Pirrung United States27:56:32
1997Constantinos Repos Greece23:37:00Kenji Okiyama Japan25:55:00Rune Larsson Sweden28:11:00
1998Kostas Reppos Greece25:11:41Kenzi(Kenji) Okiyama Japan26:13:13James Zarei United Kingdom26:44:04
1999Jens Lukas Germany25:38:03Jean Pierre Guyomarch France27:08:57Jun Onoki Japan27:16:36
2000Masayuki Ohtaki (Otaki, Ōtaki) Japan24:01:10Jens Lukas Germany24:59:54Cees Verhagen Netherlands25:35:50
2001Valmir Nunes Brazil23:18:05Jens Lukas Germany24:46:51Ryōichi Sekiya Japan25:27:30
2002Ryōichi Sekiya Japan23:47:54Markus Thalmann Austria25:16:56Jeffry Oonk Netherlands26:58:55
2003Markus Thalmann Austria23:28:24Valmir Nunes Brazil25:30:35Jean-Jacques Moros France26:26:16
2004Jens Lukas Germany25:49:59Markus Thalmann Austria26:20:02Martin Juri Australia27:19:15
2005Jens Lukas Germany24:20:39Jean-Jacques Moros France25:03:30Markus Thalmann Austria26:34:42
2006Scott Jurek United States22:52:18Ryōichi Sekiya Japan24:14:11Masayuki Ohtaki (Otaki, Ōtaki) Japan25:19:12
2007Scott Jurek United States23:12:14Piotr Kurylo Poland24:29:41Valmir Nunes Brazil25:37:40
2008Scott Jurek United States22:20:01Markus Thalmann Austria24:52:09Lars Skytte Christoffersen Denmark25:29:41
2009Ryōichi Sekiya Japan23:48:24Lars Skytte Christoffersen Denmark24:32:00Jon Harald Berge Norway25:10:00
2010Ivan Cudin Italy23:03:06Jan Albert Lantink Netherlands23:31:00Jan Prochaska Germany24:56:00
2011Ivan Cudin Italy22:57:40Yuji Sakai Japan24:22:24Michael Vanicek Germany24:55:59
2012Stu Thoms Germany26:28:19[5]Tetsuo Kiso Japan26:36:23Markus Thalmann Austria27:14:25
2013João Oliveira Portugal23:28:31Florian Reus Germany25:29:11Ivan Cudin Italy25:53:44
2014Ivan Cudin Italy22:27:57Florian Reus Germany23:56:19Andrzej Radzikowski Poland25:48:25
2015Florian Reus Germany23:16:44Dan Lawson United Kingdom23:53:05Hansen Kim Denmark23:53:52
2016Andrzej Radzikowski Poland23:02:23Marco Bonfiglio Italy23:36:58Radek Brunner Czech Republic24:07:29
2017Aleksandr Sorokin Lithuania22:04:04Radek Brunner Czech Republic22:49:37Nikolaos Sideridis Greece22:58:40
2018Yoshihiko Ishikawa Japan22:55:13Radek Brunner Czech Republic23:37:25João Oliveira Portugal24:34:30
2019 Bódis Tamás  Hungary 26:29:24 Csécei Zoltán  Hungary 27:16:59 Radek Brunner  Czech Republic 27:26:20

Women

[6]

Time = hours:minutes:seconds

Year1stNationalityTime2ndNationalityTime3rdNationalityTime
2019 Zsuzsanna Maraz  Hungary 30:16:18 Irina Masanova  Russia 31:18:08 Natasa Robnik  Slovenia 32:15:31
2018Zsuzsanna Maraz Hungary27:05:28Kateřina Kašparová Czech Republic27:47:16Teija Honkonen Finland28:36:08
2017Patrycja Bereznowska Poland24:48:18Zsuzsanna Maraz Hungary25:43:40Aleksandra Niwińska Poland26:28:48
2016Katalin Nagy United States25:22:26Smith Pam United States27:11:53Maraz Zsuzsanna Hungary27:44:01
2015Katalin Nagy United States25:06:05Alyson Venti United States26:50:51Szilvia Lubics Hungary29:18:44
2014Szilvia Lubics Hungary26:53:40Katalin Nagy United States28:55:03Eva Esnaola Spain30:52:41
2013Szilvia Lubics Hungary28:03:04Antje Krause Germany30:07:15Heike Bergmann Germany30:22:03
2012Elizabeth Hawker (also 3rd overall that year)[1] United Kingdom27:02:17[5]Leonie van den Haak Netherlands28:42:36Szilvia Lubics Hungary29:45:56
2011Szilvia Lubics Hungary29:07:39Ruth Podgornik Res Slovenia32:17:19Mimi Anderson United Kingdom32:33:23
2010Emily Gelder United Kingdom30:17:03Heather Fouwdlink-Hawker United Kingdom32:43:00Yoshiko Matsuda Japan33:31:00
2009Sumie Inagaki Japan27:39:49Yoshiko Matsuda Japan31:16:00Lisa Bliss United States32:27:00
2008Sook-Hue Hur South Korea30:03:22Stacey Bunton United States31:25:59Heinlein Marika Germany31:39:19
2007Akiko Sakamoto Japan31:09:24Vrigitte Bec France31:56:03Kimie Noto Japan32:11:05
2006Sumie Inagaki Japan28:37:20Takako Furuyama Japan31:40:31Mary Larsson-Hanudel United States31:41:56
2005Kimie Noto Japan30:23:07Elke Streicher Germany32:19:59Anke Drescher Germany32:52:23
2004Kimie Noto Japan29:57:40Hiroko Okiyama Japan31:01:17Anke Drescher Germany32:55:26
2003Akiko Sakamoto Japan29:07:44Sumie Inagaki Japan29:38:54Barbara Szlachetka Germany31:50:23
2002Irina Reutovich Russia28:10:48Hiroko Okiyama Japan30:25:49Mayumi Okabe Japan31:33:35
2001Alzira Portela-Lario Portugal30:31:41Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) Japan33:49:17Heike Pawzik Germany34:41:10
2000Hiroko Okiyama Japan29:16:37Mary Larsson United States30:56:16Helga Backhaus Germany31:35:24
1999Anny Monot France35:38:08Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) Japan35:41:31---
1998Mary Larsson Sweden28:46.58Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) Japan29:32:21Helga Backhaus Germany29:53:49
1997Helga Backhaus Germany30:39:00Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) Japan33:36:00Heike Pawzik Germany33:46:00
1996Helga Backhaus Germany29:33:00Kimie Funada(later Kimie Noto) Japan33:36:00Heike Pawzik Germany33:46:00
1995Kimie Funada (later Kimie Noto) Japan29:32:21Helga Backhaus Germany30:41:00Miyako Yoshikoshi Japan35:40:31
1994Helga Backhaus Germany30:39:00Kazuko Kaihata Japan34:12:17Miyako Yoshikoshi Japan34:33:21
1993Sigrid Lomsky Germany32:46:17Marie Bertrand France33:47:12Miyako Yoshikoshi Japan34:18:00
1992Hilary Walker United Kingdom31:23:30Mary Hanudel-Larsson United States33:47:00Miyako Yoshikoshi Japan33:47:52
1991Ursula Blasberg Germany34:42:45------
1990Anne-Marie Deguilhem France34:07:41Pascale Mahe France35:08:03Mary Hanudel-Larsson United States35:31:30
1989Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) United States31:57:23Monika Kuno Germany34:10:00Eiko Endo Japan34:36:49
1988-
1987Hilary Walker United Kingdom31:23:30Waltraud Reisert Germany35:31:56---
1986Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) United States31:46:45Waltraud Reisert Germany33:21:00---
1985Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) United States34:10------
1984Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson) United States30:27:00Marcy Schwam
Lorna Richey (later Lorna Michael)
 United States
 United States
34:15:10---
1983Eleanor Robinson (formerly Adams) United Kingdom32:37:52------

All-time top 50 performances

AthleteTimeCountryYearPlaceAge
1.Yiannis Kouros20:25:00GRE1984128
2.Yiannis Kouros20:29:04GRE1990134
3.Yiannis Kouros21:53:42GRE1983127
4.Yiannis Kouros21:57:00GRE1986130
5.Sorokin Aleksandr22:04:04LTU2017136
6.Scott Jurek22:20:01USA2008134
7.Ivan Cudin22:29:29ITA2014139
8.Radek Brunner22:49:37CZE2017242
9.Scott Jurek22:52:18USA2006132
10.Ivan Cudin22:57:40ITA2011136
11.Nikolaos Sideridis22:58:40GRE2017336
12.Andrzej Radzikowski23:02:23POL2016135
13.Ivan Cudin23:03:06ITA2010135
14.Patrick Macke23:08:41GBR1990235
15.Scott Jurek23:12:14USA2007133
16.Florian Reus23:17:31GER2015131
17.Patrick Macke23:18:00GBR1985130
18.Valmir Nunes23:18:05BRA2001137
19.Yoshihiko Ishikawa23:20:56JPN2017429
20.Markus Thalmann23:28:24AUT2003139
21.Joao Oliveira23:29:08POR2013136
22.Jan Lantink23:31:22HOL2010252
23.Marco Bonfiglio23:36:58ITA2016239
24.Kostas Reppos23:37:00GRE1997131
25.Dušan Mravlje23:44:00YUG1985232
26.Ryōichi Sekiya23:47:54JPN2002135
27.Ryōichi Sekiya23:48:24JPN2009142
28.Dan Lawson23:53:32GBR2015242
29.Kim Hansen23:54:37DEN2015340
30.Florian Reus23:57:13GER2014230
31.Ohtaki Masayuki24:01:10JPN2000134
32.Radek Brunner24:07:29CZE2016342
33.Rusko Kadiev24:08:13BUL1992134
34.Ryōichi Sekiya24:14:11JPN2006239
35.János Bogár24:15:31HUN1991127
36.Jens Lukas24:20:39GER2005139
37.Yuji Sakai24:21:29JPN2011149
38.Piotr Kuryło24:29:41POL2007235
39.Sebastian Białobrzeski24:30:07POL2017528
40.Lars Christoffersen24:31:45DEN2009237
41.Patrick Macke24:32:05GBR1989134
42.Dušan Mravlje24:39:22YUG1983230
43.Dušan Mravlje24:40:38YUG1984231
44.Rune Larsson24:41:46SWE1987131
45.Jean-Dominique Calbera24:42:00FRA1985337
46.Rune Larsson24:42:05SWE1988132
47.Jens Lukas24:46:51GER2001235
48.Patrycja Bereznowska24:48:18POL20171F
49.János Bogár24:49:19HUN1990326
50.Sagan Lukasz24:51:00POL2017634

[7]

References

  1. "The lunacy of the long-distance runner". The Economist. 22 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  2. Herodotus, The Persian Wars, Chapter 6, paragraph 106
  3. Spartathlon 1983-2007, page 23, Published by the International Spartathlon Association, Athens, Greece
  4. "Spartathlon 1992 Results". Official Website. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  5. "Finishers". Spartathlon. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  6. http://www.spartathlon.gr/en/results/finishers.html
  7. Spartathlon 1983-2017, International Spartathlon Association, 7 Kodrou street, 10558, Athens, Greece
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