Spartathlon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

HISTORY

Contents 1 Origin 2 The race 3 Entry requirements 4 Records 5 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 Greek historian Herodotus arrived in Sparta the day after he departed. Based on Herodotus' account, British RAF Wing Commander Jonh Foden and four other RAF officers decided in 1982 to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres in a day an a half. Two of them made their self-appointed 36 hour cutoff time and the following year, the team decided to organise the first Spartathlon.

[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.

Following are the winners of the Sparathlon

Men:

2006 Scott Jurek, USA, 22:52:18

2005 Jens Lukas, Germany, 24:20:39

2004 Jens Lukas, Germany, 25:49:59

2003 Marcus Thalman, Austria 23:28:24

2002 Ryoichi Sekiya, Japan, 23:47:54

2001 Valmir Nunes, Brazil, 23:18:05

2000 Ohtaki Masayuki, 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

1995 James Zarei, England, 25:59:42

1994 James Zarei, England, 26:15

1993 Rune Larsson, Sweden, 25:57:12

1992 Rusko Kantief, Bulgaria, 24:15:31

1991 Janos Bogar, Hungary, 24:15:31

1990 Yannis Kouros, Greece, 20:29

1989 Patrick Macke, England, 24:32

1988 Rune Larsson, Sweden, 24:42

1987 Rune Larsson, Sweden, 24:41

1986 Yannis Kouros, Greece, 21:57

1985 Patrik Macke, England, 23:18

1984 Yannis Kouros, Greece, 20:25

1983 Yannis Kouros, Greece 21:53

Women

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 Lonsky, Germany, 32:43:32

1992 Hilary Walker, Great Britain, 29:49:49

1991 Ursula Blasberg, Germany, 34:42:45

1990 Anne-Marie Deguilhem, France, 34:07:41

1989 Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson), USA, 31:57:23

1988 –

1987 Hilary Walker, Great Britain, 31:23:30

1986 Waltaud Reisert, Germany, 32:21

1985 Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson), USA, 34:10

1984 Mary Hanudel (later Mary Larsson), USA, 34:15:10

1983 Elanor Adams, Great Britain, 32:37:52

[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