Written by Aykut Celikbas - http://istanbulrunning.blogspot.fr

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."

After last year's race there were two options for me. One of them was not coming back. Since I finished it, this was the easy and maybe also the sensible choice. The second option was to go back and try to prove myself that this wasn't a one time thing and that I could do it again. I always tell people that luck doesn't play a big part in this sport and you get what you put into it. But to be honest, I wasn't completely sure about this one. I really had a tough race last year and I kept thinking about whether I had the guts to do it again.

As always there was only one way to find out. And one of the great things in this sport is that it lets me face the demons in my head. This was a great opportunity for sure. We can make people believe in certain things but can we really convince ourselves? I think that's the main question.

After making that decision, I needed to be sure of my physical condition. I had a hernia operation and couldn't run in the first few months of the year. A 130K race was going to be my first real race after the operation and I was going to make a decision according to that result. When I was leaving home for the race, I got a big envelope coming from Athens. It was the 2014 Spartathlon DVD. It was of course nothing more than a coincidence but in the end, I and all the people in my support crew had very good races. So I chose to take it as a sign from the Greek Gods and finalized my Spartathlon participation.

My training during the summer months mostly went well but I took a really bad fall during a Sky Trail race in August. I got a few stitches in my face and knee but the real problem was the inflammation on my chest which took several weeks to heal. It finally got better and I decided that it wouldn't be an issue.

Elevation Profile with crew access points.

I got to Athens on Tuesday. My roommate for this year's race was Palle from the Denmark team. We had a lot of similarities with Palle. Just like me, he first ran and finished Spartathlon in 2014, said "never again" and of course didn't keep his promise and came back. One thing you absolutely don't need prior to a race of this magnitude is negativity and Palle is one of the most positive people you can find. When we were talking on Wednesday I asked him what would make him stop in this race. He, of course, told me that he would never think of stopping in this race, the race can stop him and he'd be OK with it but he would never stop no matter what. And that's exactly my thinking. He truly understands what it takes to finish this race and I was lucky to have him as my roommate.

2015 Spartathlon Team Denmark was kind enough to present one of their teams buffs to me.  I'll wear it with great pride.

After a short run on Wednesday morning, I went to the registration and saw a lot of familiar faces. Then we had the last meetings with my crew on Thursday and attended the race briefing. We had a lot of experience from last year so I'd say this year things were a lot less stressful.

Friday, 4:30 am. My alarm goes off but we are already awake. This year I was able to sleep almost for 5 hours which is great for me. It's more than twice compared to last year. I have some breakfast while observing the nutrition myths collapse. Carbs, no carbs, fat, no fat, coffee, no coffee, only yoghurt etc. These guys are some of the best runners from their countries and everybody has a different approach to prerace nutrition. It just shows that there's no magic way, no silver bullet. You just have to find what it works for you and that's all.

The busses take the runners to Acropolis and it's 6:30 in the blink of an eye. We take a few photos with my crew and talk about the last minute stuff. My brother Aytug and my friend Suna will support me just as last year, along with my brother's wife Melike. Crewing in this race is a serious business and it'll definitely be a tough 36 hours for them, too.

I tell them that I need to go to the bathroom but in fact I just need a few minutes of quiet time alone. I go up a little at the Acropolis and look at the road ahead as it starts to get light. I have the greatest respect for this course. There are some questions and concerns in my head but I'm not scared. I remind myself that I had waited for a full year to face these concerns and no matter what happens it'll be a great battle. I'm well aware that I'd take a lot of punches and I'll get knocked down at least a few times. All I need to do is get up and continue like last year. I repeat Babe Ruth's quote in my head a few times: "It's hard to beat a man who NEVER gives up". Yes, I'm determined to make the course's job as hard as possible.

With Aytuğ, Melike, Suna just before the start.

RACE 0-80K

The race starts at 7 am sharp. Even if you run this race just once, the experience helps. Descending the cobblestones and going into the busy streets of Athens, everything seems quite familiar. The biggest difference is that it will be much hotter and humid this year, at least for the first day. Even though we run at an easy pace I start to sweat early. But I'm quite ready for these kinds of conditions and it doesn't concern me just yet.

The first 15K goes smoothly. I chat briefly with the people I know from last year. After a while someone turns back and shakes my hand saying that he'd read my 2014 race report and it was very helpful for him. This happens quite a few times before and during the race and I'm surprised to see that people know me. I learn that he's Nikos Petropoulos, one of the top Greek ultrarunners who would go on to finish under 28 hours as the fastest Greek. We run for 15 minutes, Nikos picks ups the pace and I wisely continue at my own pace.

With Nikos, around 25th kilometer. School children are out to cheer for us.

School children are out to cheer for us at the half marathon point. I run the first marathon in 3:45, just like last year. No need to stop here, just a quick water refill and I continue. Last year we had some heavy rain at this point but now it's getting quite hot. I take short walking breaks on the uphills in order not to increase my heart rate. I planned that 8 hours for the first 80K would be more than enough which is 1.5 hours faster than the cut-off at Corinth.

The crew having fun in the first section.

A quick pit stop after the first marathon.

From 50K to 65K, it's a tough section for me psychologically. This happened last year, too. You still have some work to do until the 80K, there's not much shade and the heat starts to really bother you. Since listening to music is not allowed in this race, I came up with a plan this year. I wrote some quotes on cards and asked my crew to present a random one when they see me at the crew access points. I thought this would help me to occupy my mind at least for a while. Now I look at one of the cards which has a quote from Bruce Lee and it reads "Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." 

After a mentally challenging 40 minutes I run through the Corinth Canal at the 77th kilometer and then reach the 80K CP in 7:47. It's 2 minutes slower than last year but certainly better considering the hotter conditions. More importantly, I feel much better this year as my quads are not shot like the last time. After a quick toilet stop, I have some soup and rice. 2 marathons down, 4 to go.

80K Corinth. Yes, crewing is a serious business.  Photo: Pavlos

80-160K

Now the race gets quieter when we get to the rural roads. It's 3pm in the afternoon and I take sponge baths at each CP. We still have 2-3 hours until it cools down and then it'll all be OK. I pass the 100K mark at 10:17. In most races, reaching triple digits normally boosts the morale as you start to smell the barn but I guess this is not one of those races. It's not even half way yet and I try not to think about it.

I guess this is somewhere between 100 and 110K.

After a while I sign autographs for the kids who are waiting with pens and papers. It cheers me up like last year. The weather finally cools down, too. I'll get my headlamp at the next CP which is the Halkion village at 112K. The last kilometer before this CP is uphill and as I'm power hiking I see someone on the right. I know this guy. I haven't met him in person but I know him. I walk towards him and say...

-Seppo?
-Yes?

I reach out my hand and say, "We haven't met before but it's an honor to meet you". Shaking hands, he says "I remember you; you are the Turkish guy from last year, right?"

For those who don't know, Seppo Leinonen is a true Spartathlon legend with 15 finishes. He's here this year to support another Finnish runner. I thank him, get my headlamp and meet my crew. When I'm eating a few things Seppo comes back and tells me that I'm doing great in terms of time and provides some tips about the next section. We take advantage of this moment to have a picture. We'll see Seppo a few more times until the end of the race and he'd always provide encouragement and valuable tips.

We now have a legend in the crew!

The section from 123k to 140K feels quite hard for me. I chat briefly with Sharon from Scotland but when she stops for a minute I continue. It was good to talk with someone after the lonely hours but if you want to finish this race you need to run your own race. The last downhill kilometers before Malendreni Village CP (140K) is tough on my legs. Somehow I don't remember this section very well from last year. I guess knowing the course has its advantages for sure but it cuts both ways. If things are not going good and you feel bad then your mind remembers all the hard parts in the upcoming sections. And it gets harder to continue when you know you'll suffer more. Much more.

I lose almost 20-25 minutes in Malandreni just like the Ancient Nemea CP (123K). I can feel that my crew is getting anxious but I need to take longer breaks to settle my stomach. I can only eat some bread and cheese with coke which is not helping at all. Other than that it's just a waste of a lot of minutes. It's always funny how fast the time passes when you sit down.

After the Lyrkia CP at the 149K mark, the course goes uphill. This is the place I feel the worst in the whole race. It's like someone is drilling my stomach. I can't eat anything for hours, my energy levels are down and I'm getting very sleepy. I don't want to start the climb in this condition so I get a massage on my quads while waiting for the stomach to settle.

When I'm leaving the CP, I'm thinking that this would now be as hard as the last year. My crew would tell me later that they had thought of the same thing and that they get ready for a 35+ hour race. Suna gives me another card with my quotes which is the famous Ann Trason one: "It never always gets worse". Good job Suna, that's exactly what I need to hear at this point. I know at some point it'll get better. Or at least it won't get any worse. I just need to wait patiently. My legs are fine, I just need to hold on.

Tough hours with a bad stomach. Wasting a lot of time by doing nothing. I guess, it's always the darkest before it gets light.

I hike the whole road up to the 160K CP just like last year. You can definitely run it if you have the energy but to me it's not worth it when I still have a 100K to go in this condition. I reach the Mountain Base in 19:22 which is half an hour faster than last year. Now it gets windy and cold. Last year I wasted almost 50 minutes in this CP. This year I tell my crew that I'll leave in 10 minutes at most. I put on warm clothes and glance at my watch. If I leave in 5 minutes I'll be about one hour faster than last year.

160K -172K

Of course, I'm sure you know by now that things rarely go according to plan in this race. As I take a few sips from the soup, I start throwing up. I throw up three more times in the next few minutes. Deja vu. I've puked only twice in all the races I've ran and both of them happened in this race, in this same section.  I suddenly have no energy at all but at least my stomach feels better. I take some bread and cheese with me to eat at the top as the rain starts to fall.

The start of the mountain climb. Photo: Spartathlon.com

Mountain Base, 160K. In just a moment, I'll take a few sips from that soup and throw up four times.

Last year, I didn't think the climb was that long. This year my legs are definitely better but I have trouble climbing up with an empty stomach. I even stop a few times to catch my breath. I already made my decision. I'll reach Nestani at 172K and try to sleep for 25 minutes. I don't want to run the last 80K like a zombie this year. The summit is almost 1200 meters up from the sea level. The rain with the wind has a chilling effect which I think is magnified because of my empty stomach. I don't want to stop at the top but I know there's a runnable section until Nestani. I need to run to get warm and I need calories to run. Two cups of coke with a small bar and I start to go down in the mist. Most people are walking but I can run this downhill quite well. There's another guy who can run pretty well so we go down together really quickly.

When we finally reach the road again I learn that he's Thanasis from Greece. He's great guy and we talk about a lot of things. And at the same time we run almost all the way until Nestani except for the few short uphill sections. I'm now 3 hours ahead of the cut-off and determined to sleep here for some time as I have spent all of my energy. I first eat some pasta and potatoes and then lie down but when your body works in overdrive for 20+ hours, it's hard to shut it down with just one button. I can't go to sleep for 25 minutes but at least I get some rest by closing my eyes. I lose almost 40 minutes here but I don't care. I have enough time and I'm not stressed at all.

With Thanasis just before Nestani. No, we haven't seen a ghost or something. We're just really tired, that's all.

172K - 246K

When I'm leaving the CP I glance at my watch. It's 5:10 in the morning and we have about 1.5 hours until it gets light. Now there's a long flat section for almost 25 km and then we'll have the long gradual climb from 198K to 203K. I want to make up some time on this flat section. I also have to run because I got cold while lying down. My legs still feel relatively OK but I can't say the same thing for my toes and nails.

I run all the way to the 186K checkpoint with minimum walking breaks and I'm still about 2:45 over the cut-offs. It's been 24 hours since the start and it finally gets light. I have 60K to go but the difference from last year is that I'm very relaxed and my confidence grows with every kilometer. I'm on pace to finish in 8 to 11 hours. Yes, it's still a long way to go but this year I know I'll finish if I keep on moving which takes a big weight off my shoulders. This relaxed approach also helps my communication with the crew. Last year I was running in a bubble, this time it's much different.

New day, new hopes. I'm running well and everyone's happy.

The 5K uphill section starts at 198K. I power hike most of this climb. I pass the 200K mark at 26:05 which is one hour faster than last year. But the more important thing is I feel much better physically and psychologically. I knew a lot about the race even before running it last year as I read and watched everything about it. Still, it was like diving into the abyss. This time I really know what awaits me. I'm prepared for the physical pain and the mental struggle.

At the end of the climb I notice a familiar face. It's Thanasis who we got separated at Nestani. To be honest, he doesn't look good. He says his quads are shot and he just can't run anymore. I know what's going on in his head, I was exactly in his shoes last year. I tell him the truth and nothing but the truth: "It's not going to be easy. Actually, it's going to hurt a lot but you have so much time left and if you don't stop you'll finish for sure. And when you finish, everything will be worth it." He promises to go until the end and we shake hands to see each other in Sparta.

I run well for a few kilometers and then I see Andrei who is most likely the biggest Spartathlon ambassador in the US. He's running for his third consecutive finish. I ask him if it's OK if I try to run with him for some time. He says sure and off we go. He is someone who has finished more than 20 consecutive 100+ mile races with his `never quit` attitude. I'd say that's the type of person you want to run the last section of this race with. We run all the descents and flat sections at a respectable pace while talking about a lot of stuff.

Last year I had the worst imaginable quad pain I've ever experienced in this section and couldn't run more than a few hundred meters without stopping. This time I almost enjoy some of it. Well, I don't know if "enjoying" is the right verb for that sensation but at this point of time if you can take a step without hating the whole world then I guess it's quite enjoyable. My stomach is not great but not terrible either. The only stuff I eat in the last 50K are coke, some bread, a small bar and a cup of soup. Who knows, maybe I should keep things as simple as possible.

It's now 15 or 16k to go and I look at my watch. I calculate that if I can run the last part under 95 minutes then I can go below 31:30 which would be almost a 2.5 hour improvement from last year. I tell this to Andrei who's having big stomach problems of his own. I want to give it a go when I have the opportunity. We shake hands and I try to go faster at a sustainable pace. A few kilometers later I notice another Spartathlon legend, Malinowsky from Poland who's going for his 12th finish. I try to keep up with him for some time and when he's having a walking break I continue on my own. I'll learn later that I ran the 10K section from 233 to 243K in 52 minutes which includes a shirt range and two stops for coke at the CPs. Yes, it's downhill and it may not look very impressive to you but if you'll excuse me I may declare it as my best 10K performance!

236K Chekpoint

Checkpoint 72. Two more of these and the third one is King Leonidas!

After what I went through last year, to be able to run this last section is total redemption for me. A few moments later I spot the "Sparti 4km" sign ahead. I run hard for another kilometer and finally believe that I can now easily go under 31:30. I tell myself to relax and enjoy the last few kilometers. After all the hard work the best part is about to come. I pat myself on the back, somehow I did it again. The kids on their bikes guide me through the busy streets of Sparta while people cheer for us.

Turn right, go for 650 meters and turn right again. Then you have the greatest 500 meters of road ahead of you. I get my flag from my brother and run the last steps to deliver the message. I just can't describe that feeling, you'll understand what it feels like when you get there. (or just watch the video at the bottom which gives a good idea).

Getting congratulated by a legend.

Suunto Ambit 3 Peak, one second recording. Used a portable charger twice for 4o minutes each while running.

My legs were relatively good after the race but my toes and nails were as if they had gone through a meat grinder. That's actually a very small price to pay. I had to lie down for some time for my stomach to settle and then I got better. I took a quick shower at the hotel and went to a restaurant by the finish with my brother. Since half of the finishers come between 17:00 and 19:00, I was able to witness the finish of a lot of friends and familiar faces including my roommate Palle. I somehow missed him at the finish when I went to the bathroom but Thanasis who looked really bad at 205k also kept his promise and finished under 35 hours. I was able to see and congratulate him on Monday night at the dinner.

The race ends on Saturday evening but the celebrations go on for two more days. We had the lunch in Sparta on Sunday and went to a great location for the official awards dinner where all the finishers got their medals and certificates.

2015 Turkish Spartathlon Team. A small but proud team. Aytuğ, Aykut, Melike, Suna

With three time Spartathlon winner Ivan Cudin.

When I look back at my race, I can say that I sticked to my plan and didn't go faster than last year. Actually, the first 80K was the same. I was 25 minutes faster at the half point and one hour faster at 200K. After suffering with stomach problems through the night, I got much better in the morning and actually ran the last 50K quite well. In the end, it was 2.5 hours faster than last year which was something I never dreamed of. Dealing with the stomach problems in the second 80K was tough. I need to think about the reasons and find some solutions. I know some of this stuff may be unavoidable but it doesn't mean I won't try to fix it. That's part of the fun, right?

The below graph shows my position in various checkpoints. I think it summarizes quite well what I actually experienced in the race. A stable 80K followed by a section which went from bad to worse. Things then started to get better after Nestani (172K) and I was able to make a lot of time in the last 50K. Considering the quality of this field, it may very well be my strongest finish.

My race position at the chip timing points.

Here's the Strava link of the whole race.

I'm really glad that I was able to prove myself that I can finish this race once again. I wouldn't say it was easier but I was much more relaxed and prepared for the physical and mental struggles. The thing is when you come back to this race everything starts from zero and it doesn't care about who you are and how many times you finished. You need to have the mindset of an ancient warrior and if you show any sign of weakness it will chew you and spit out. But that's the beauty of it, right? That's why people come back year after year to test themselves.

I'd like to take a moment to thank my great support crew who helped me throughout the race. This is a team effort and we did it together. My brother and my friend Suna were here for a second straight year and they totaly understand the spirit of this race. I want to extend my gratitude to the great volunteers of this race who supported us with great care until the city of Sparta. The Spartathlon organization committee is second to none and it's easy to see how much they work to keep this race close to its roots. Thank you for organizing another flawless race. Last but not least, I want to thank all of my fellow Spartathletes who I shared this journey with. No matter what the outcome I salute you all.

So what about next year you ask, huh?

Well, let's just not ask that question yet. But I'll tell you this for sure: This race has all the ingredients that I like about this sport and in the future I'd like to participate either as a runner, supporter or a volunteer for sure. It's just too good, too epic to be missed and that's all I'm going to say at this moment!

So, yes, there are no shortcuts to any place worth going. And there are definitely none when you're going to Sparta. It's quite a long way, too. You first have to dream big and then make sacrifices to prepare, plan and execute. But when you get there, when you run towards that statue...

I promise you everything will worth it in the end.

Everything.

Click for all the results

Written by Andrei Nana - http://www.internationalultrarunning.com/

One of the paintings in our bedroom is an original piece by famous European Artist, Valerian Paraschiv. It is called Masks. The symbolism behind the painting is the truth of everyday life. We all have many masks which we wear in different circumstances. We have one mask for our family, we have one mask for our work, we have one mask for friends, and so on… The explosion of social media sites makes it easy to distinguish and understand an individual’s ability to juggle multiple masks and to balance their use. There is absolutely no one in today’s society who is 100% authentic. We all use those masks with or without ill intent to better function in a group and to just move forward. We use those masks to make ourselves believe that somehow we are more (x) or more (y) depending of what we want to accomplish.

Nevertheless, even in a world where truth has so many nuances, there is an absolute truth. Some people call it God, others “the Holy Spirit.” For me that truth is the Spartathlon. It is an ultrarunning race, considered by almost everyone who ran it, the most elite in the world. It involves running from Athens to Sparta, a distance of around 153 miles/246 kilometers in less than 36 hours. It was created based on one of the most pure and selfless actions. An Athenian soldier was sent to Sparta to ask for military help from King Leonidas following a sudden/unexpected attack of the city by the Persian Army. Pheidippides, the messenger-soldier, ran to Sparta and delivered the message. There was no entitlement, no complaining, no glory. It was his duty and he did it. The modern Spartathlon is a test of reality, an athletic moment of truth. Following an application process, some of the best athletes in the world are invited in the last

weekend of September each year to retrace the footsteps of Pheidippides and to run from Acropolis in Athens to the statue of King Leonidas in Sparta. All athletes selected have demonstrated time and time again why they are worthy of such an honor. After they receive an invitation, they still have several months to prepare exclusively for this race. Then, on a Friday morning at the gates of Acropolis the moment of truth shines upon them. They have ONLY ONE mission – to cross the finish line in Sparta by kissing the foot of the King Leonidas’ statue. An army of expert volunteers provide all that is needed and more to complete such a test. The only factors determining one’s success or failure are the athlete’s body, mind, and spirit. In 2015 I was blessed to return to the Spartathlon for the 3rd time. For me it was the greatest honor and the culmination of yet another year. I first ran Spartathlon in 2013, then returned in 2014. The exact same race, two very different experiences. In 2013 the race went well and while having some challenges as anybody else in the race, I finished well. The 2014 was a different experience as I raced with a severely injured leg. While the race lacked the “first time experience” it forced me to approach it differently and to experience the same amazing emotions at the finish line although having taken a different path.
I did not know what to expect from 2015. It was a hard year with lots of stress on a personal and professional level, with some major changes in life.
My wife, Claire Nana and I arrived in Greece two days before the race. In hindsight it was a mistake. Leaving directly to the airport from the world of work related stress lead to a “less than enough transition” to enter the Spartathlon mind set. This approach led to an arrival in Greece stressed and very tired. Then in Greece a failure of the car rental company to have a GPS for the car as requested lead to even more stress next day trying to find, buy, and program a GPS to help us navigate in a country where we were not familiar with the alphabet or speak the language. Back at the hotel seeing friends from many countries helped with stress. It was like a huge family reunion -- where you see the favorites. We hugged, caught up with our lives, wished each other success and took photos.

For the first time, the U.S. Spartathlon Team had shirts. I distributed the shirts to the athletes, crews, and to the athletes from other teams who requested to trade team shirts. When all was completed I realized it was time to go to bed and sleep before the race started in the morning… But it did not happen…

Traveling on a minimum budget leads to purchasing the cheapest tickets possible with the most changes and composed of multiple flights. During one of these flights or airports I caught a virus and the night before the race, like in the first year, I developed light fever, I started coughing and sweating profusely… My wife concluded that perhaps I slept less than 30 minutes the night before the race… Nevertheless, I was ready to start running. At that point I knew that once the start is given, there will be only one goal to focus on - to run. I knew that all my stress, worries, and problems will “go away” at least for the duration of race. I knew I will have peace at last. Acropolis looked great in the morning. The U.S. Spartathlon Team had a banner, shirts and 20 great athletes. I wanted to take some photos with the Team and get moving. Not many of the athletes were wearing the shirts and some were not present for the photo, but we managed to get a few good shots in before the start was given. After I had my “usual” beer at the start line I started making my way towards Sparta.

During the first part of the race I talked to many friends from different countries. Gilles Pallaruelo and Jean-Philippe Brunon form the France Team, Florian Reus and Heike Bergmann from the German Team, Ivan Cudin and Andrea Zambon from the Italian Team, Ilias Karaiosif and Giorgos Panos from the Greek Team, Noora Honkala from the Finish Team, Johan Steene from the Swedish Team, Szilvia Lubics and Andras Law from the Hungarian Team, Mimi Anderson, Debbie Martin Consani, and Paul Ali from the British Team, Aykut Celikbas from the Turkish Team, Sung Ho Choi from the South Korean Team, Aly Venti, Lara Zoeller from the U.S. Team, and many others.

As the temperature was increasing, I started to sweat quite a bit. I knew that if I wanted to reach the finish line I had to increase my body temperature to “high fever” levels to neutralize the virus. I have done it in the first year and it worked, so without much thinking I started to push the pace and keep water intake to a minimum to “overheat.” The race plan was simple: reach 50mi/80km in 7 to 8 hours, reach 100mi/160km in 17 to 18 hours. Finish as strong as possible. I reached my first mark in 7 hours and 15 minutes. The pace I kept worked well and I started to feel better, perhaps a bit dehydrated, but at 50mi/80km I felt strong. I did not stop, took some food from Claire and kept moving. The next 50 miles stretch I had some tougher times as congestion was building into my throat and made it difficult to bread or talk. It was also a sign that my plan was working. I started to spit “chunks” of dark congestion and after a few more hours I was clear again.

I reached the base of the mountain – approximately 100mi/160km in 18 hours and 7 minutes, just slightly behind the schedule. I felt still strong but the exhaustion was setting in and the weather was getting cold, calling for rain… Not exactly my type of weather, but then again the race was not supposed to be easy and without challenges. As I went up the mountain it was still dry, however by the time I reached the other side, it started raining. In the beginning the rain was light, however the temperature dropped more and more until it seemed freezing to me… It was not that cold, however after running an entire day in 90 degrees F when the temperature drops to 40’s F you feel it…

The next few hours involved many “plays” with the gear: running in a compression shirt and freezing, or putting on a very wet “rain jacket?” At times the rain was torrential and the light rain jacket I had with me did not stay dry. The water got in around the neck area and after a while through the material… I tried to improvise and use a garbage bag and a shopping bag to stay dry but the plastic made me sweat not to mention made me look like a homeless person.

Towards the early hours of the morning I started to have difficulties in staying awake. I wanted to take a short nap after the mountain, but it was a very loud aid station. Instead, Seppo Leinonen worked on my IT band who was increasingly tight due to a shoe change. I started to run the race in my favorite Saucony shoes, however the inserts after being wet from perspiration started to wrinkle under my arch, so I had to switch to my Hokas way too early in the race. The “heel to toe drop” is different from the Saucony to the Hoka and it was putting too much pressure on the IT Band. Before I met Claire next, for the first time I experienced hallucinations… I always heard of runners reporting hallucinating during races but I never did it myself. I first realized I was hallucinating when I attempted to “jump a white fence” in the middle of the road. Then I saw someone on the side of the road wanting to give me a hug, I walked over only to be brought back to reality when I walked in the branches of a tree… Then down the road I was “walking and talking” to other runners only to be brought back to reality by the honks of a car. Apparently I was walking in the middle of the road. I started to worry as I realized I had no control over my mind… Luckily I reached the next aid station where we could meet our crew and as soon as I saw Claire I told her I need to close my eyes for a few minutes. It was still raining and I was drenched but I had to take care of the exhaustion/hallucination issues. The aid station was in front of a small restaurant who had a cover at the door. Claire was able to borrow a mat from the volunteers and I laid down. It was cold and rainy…, I fell asleep fast and the next thing I know Claire tells me 20 minutes have passed and it was time to get back to running. My mind was screaming for sleep but it was lucid again. Getting up after sleeping in cold wet clothes was not easy. It sucked, but I started to move slowly and my friend Andrea Zambon (the Italian Team) just reached that same aid station. We started walking and running together, still trying to figure out the best way to deal with the rain… As misery likes company, we ended up together for many miles chatting and encouraging each other.

After a while my mind was awake. The 20 or so minutes did the job and I was “like new” again. I took off my wet jacket and started to run in my compression shirt. I was cold but it was a “brand new day” and mentally I felt good again. Soon, my body followed and my pace increased to what it was during the first day. It is an amazing feeling to realize you just passed through a very rough period and now you are going to finish strong. It is what Spartathlon is all about. Overcoming the challenges and reaching the finish line, taking one more step forward without DNFing. Having finished the Spartathlon in 2013 and 2014 gave me all the knowledge required to finish it again. Running it on a severely injured leg in 2014 gave me the conviction that my body, mind, and spirit were trained for the task. Nevertheless, it did not mean that I did not want to give up… Many, many times I thought about the comfort of a shower, dry clothes, and a nice hotel room. Like in the previous races, I reminded myself of the Spartan mentality of No Retreat, No Surrender. I thought of Pheiddipides, I thought of Leonidas… They did not

give up, they had character, conviction and subscribed to a certain life philosophy soooo dear to my heart. I kept moving because there was NO other option but to cross the finish line.
Entering Sparta was as emotional as during the previous two years. Once again I had tears in my eyes just by letting it all sink in… I was finishing the greatest race in the world for the 3rd consecutive time… Finish time: 31:44:46… I was honored to be a 3rd time Spartathlete. The race once again removed all my masks and forced me to see myself in the most pure/unaltered light, to once again understand the meaning of life, love, and perhaps even God…

This race would not be the same without a large number of volunteers. They are the best of what this world has to offer. They are humble, dedicated, professional, kind, and strong. During the entire race they endured the same conditions as we the athletes did without complaining, always putting up a smile on our faces, encouraging us and making sure we are on par to accomplish our dream of touching a statue… From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU to you, Spartathlon volunteers. Many thanks to my wonderful wife Claire who for another year crewed me. She stayed awake the entire time by doing pushups… She decided to do 10 pushups for every mile I run. She ended up doing 1530 pushups during the 31 hours time span. Needless to say she was very happy to let me drive after the race

Thank you to Drew Farretta who’s acupuncture treatments got me back to training after a horrible 2014 year and allowed me to feel confident about the race.
Congratulations to all finishers!
Now, I look forward with excitement to the next year, when once again I hope to have the honor to experience the Spartathlon one more time. Nikolaos Patalas (the Spartathlon statistician among many other functions) tells

me the chance of finishing the race 4 consecutive times is about 1%. As I made a promise to Kostis Papadimitriou (the ISA President) I guess I will start preparing to race on a 1% chance

At the same time, I can only hope the 2016 U.S. Spartathon Team will have more finishers than in 2015. While Katalin Nagy and Aly Venti finished on the 1st and 2nd (female), the total of 9 finishers of 20 starting athletes was only on par with the general finishing percentage rate… We will also have to work on having at the starting line all 25 invited athletes… Off course before then, the Icarus Florida UltraFest takes place, a race organized by the International 100+ UltraRunning Foundation, Inc (which is inspired by my life philosophy and drive).
For more info about the Spartathlon, the U.S. Spartathlon Team, and my life please see:

Spartathlon Website (www.spartathlon.gr)
U.S. Spartathlon Team Website (www.spartathlon.us)
Spartathlon 2014 – Andrei Nana – Race Report (http://www.spartathlon.us/Spartathlon%202014%20Race%20Report.pdf)
Spartathlon 2013 – Andrei Nana – Race Report (http://www.spartathlon.us/Spartathlon%202013%20-%20RR.pdf)
Icarus Florida UltraFest (www.icarusfloridaultrafest.com)
International 100+ UltraRunning Foundation, Inc (www.internationalultrarunning.com)
Nana Endurance Training (www.nanaendurancetraining.com)
Interview with Drew Farretta (http://www.internationalultrarunning.com/running-200m-week)

Written by Paul Beechey - https://runfarandhope.wordpress.com/

Preamble

My knuckles turned white, I was scared. No, this wasn’t the effect of a 153 mile battle of attrition through hot, Greek air. This was the plane taking off from Heathrow just after 7am Wednesday 28th September. Even the friendly voice of fellow British runner  Marcel McKinley checking on me didn’t allay the fear of impending doom!

This was the start of my ‘Spartathlon’ story.

Spartathlon, for those that don’t know, is the renowned 153 mile footrace from the foot of the Acropolis in Athens to the foot of King Leonidas in Sparta. It recreates the journey of Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Of course Pheidippides didn’t have the advantage of wide open dual carriageways radiating the lovely Greek sun, head torches, technical fabrics, Hokas or aid stations offering water, ice and salty snacks every couple of miles!!

I’d first heard of Spartathlon through Paul ‘the King’ Ali. He’s completed the race twice and loved it both times. I tend to be somewhat of a lemming when it comes to races that Paul has done and so, early in 2016 my entry into the ballot was confirmed. Truth be told, I never expected to get in. I’d also entered the ballot for UTMB which falls in more favourable ‘non-term’time which of course means I can sell the race to ‘she who controls the purse strings’ as a family holiday. Fate, it would seem, did not agree and I was not pulled from the hat.

And so it came to pass on March 10th, with bleary 6am eyes, my normally dormant facebook feed was lit up with praise and congratulations on my place on the start list! Start list, of spartathon, eek! Cue that icy cold feeling you get when you’ve committed to something without fully thinking through the consequences. A bit like that feeling when you buy a new pair of trainers after a couple of beers on a Sunday afternoon, knowing full well you’d promised ‘no more spending’ until payday!!

Travel Nerves and Pre-Race Logistics

Fast, forward……It’s just after 1pm Greek time, my knuckles are still white, my arms are almost dropping off, yup, we are coming into land. I hate to fly. Only the tension of Harlan Coben’s latest book could reduce the feelings of impending doom. I hate flying, I’ve never enjoyed it. I rationalise it in my own mind by assuming that so long as I survive the flight, the hard part is done! The rest is just running (and drinking beer) which I enjoy!

A shared taxi ride with the crew of the legend that is Sophie Power to the London hotel, painless check-in and it was off the registration at the phoenix! It was 2:15, it was lunch time! I sorted myself out with a frosty one at the bar and finished off the book, now it was time to register. The hall that was empty not 25 minutes before was now full with a queue stretching round the hall! An hour of shuffling later and registration was done, no going back now!!

Back at the hotel I began sorting my stuff out. My room mate for the week turned out to be  a top bloke called Duncan Cornish. It was his first go at Sparta too so we shared some of the same anxieties! We both had a similar strategy for drop bags, 1 every 4/5 checkpoints and were both to be fuelled by Tailwind cue lots of chatter about premixing or bagging! We both opted to premix and soon the table on the veranda looked like it would be more at home in a scene from the handover, covered in small bags of dodgy looking white powder! In addition to tailwind I added a couple of jackmans throat sweets, harribo and a sis go gel to random ones. These would act as nice ‘surprises’ out on the field of battle. I added 2 changes of socks and t-shirt to bags around 80 and 120 miles, a warm top for just before the mountain and spare batteries for about 110 miles in. The best drop bag I reserved for checkpoint 74, the one before the foot. To this I added a change of clothes and 40 ‘beer notes’.

Drop bags completed, it was time for a tea, chicken and potatoes i’ll have you know and a few beers!

Thursday was drop bag and briefing day. There is a large hall at the phoenix which contains 74 numbered boxes into which you put your drop bags. I would later come to learn that one of the British runners, the complete legend ‘Nick Turner’ had overlooked this step of the prep stage but true to the camaraderie of the team all was not lost before it had started!!

The briefing at half 5 was standard and then it was team photo time (below) and then off for a team meal.

The team meal was a good opportunity to meet the other runners and crew. I was chating with Dave for a lot of it who was full of stories of old when he helped John Fodden through the first ‘recce’ of the course back in 82 the year before the first official race. Dave and his wife popped up loads of course through the race which helped me more than I was probably able to articulate at the time. It was at the meal that I also got to speak with one of the other (many) legends of Sparta, the one, the only Rob Pinnington! Rob had successfully kissed the foot the year before and the stories of that race are still some the most emotional race reports I have ever read!

No Beer until Sparta!

Pre-race I usually have a couple of beers to steady the nerves and ensure a good nights sleep. Testament to how much I was shitting it at this point was the fact I elected not to have a beer. Yup, not one!! There are probably people reading this that know me well (im looking at you Alex W + M) that are now assuming this blog is all untrue but alas its true, I had no pre-race beer! Instead, I had a cup of coffee back at the hotel before bed. Duncan all week has been indicating that he ‘never sleeps’ the night before a race and so it came to pass that about 10 minutes after hitting the sack he was sound asleep whilst that one last coffee would not lie down and let me succumb to sleep. The last time I looked at the phone it was 1am something, with the alarm due to go at 4, Great!!!

To The Start!

Friday is race day. A hearty breakfast followed by a quick checkout of the rooms. Suitcases are left in reception and a van is outside waiting to take our overnight bags to Sparta! a 50 minute bus ride to the acropolis in the dark doesn’t do Athens justice when trying to imagine how bloody big it is! The acropolis itself im sure was amazing, the fear hormone was getting me and I don’t recall much from the start! I bumped into fellow Reading Jogger Barry Miller’s super crew, Ian Thomas’s super crew and fellow runner Rusty who was looking for a private bush. Myself and Duncan hung back from the front and next thing we were off! This is it, this is Spartathlon, the first few steps a stumble as the 390 runners squeeze onto the course, across the cobbles and into Athens. I didn’t know much about what was happening, just that I was here, running towards Sparta!

The Race – To Corinth

I wish I could remember more about the race but as with most of my running I enter a space in my own mind and tend to stay there for the duration!

The first 10/15 miles are in Athens. Its a big place and you are running from somewhere in the centre to the edge before you emerge onto the coast. During this time I ran with Duncan, Darren S, Rob, James and probably a few more. Running up a neve rending incline we came across Rusty who was run walking from the start and would later ‘flirt’ with some early cut off’s before absolutely beasting it to come home comfortably.

Out onto the coast and I ran with legend ‘Stu Wilkie’ for a bit before hitting my stride for a few miles and catching up with David ‘the relentless’ Barker who I had ran with for a bit previously at the Autumn 100. I pushed on, ignoring all the advice in race reports about banking miles is a bad thing to do. In my mind if I could get to the Canal at Corinth (50 miles) in about 8 hours and in good shape then I would be able to slow up a little towards the mountain at 100 miles to save something for the next day, ahhhh the benefit of hindsight.

Not long after I left David I was running behind an American and an Australian. They turned out to be Bob Hearn and Matt Fryer. 2 true legends of endurance running. Bob would go on to finish 6 hours, yup 6 hours ahead of me!! Bob, I had discovered previously  also has a unique training aid, a set of blow-up trousers, full leg compression and massage if you like. There is a picture somewhere of our very own Rob Pinnington having a go in them. The verdict – they are good but probably not $1600 good!!

Corinth was reached, I even tried to take a picture but given my fear of heights my thumb got in the way and I wasn’t hanging around to retake it!

The Race – To the Mountain

After Corinth there is a major checkpoint, there may have been others before, I just don’t know. Here I met James Poole, yup the legend of Endure 12 where he covered 80 miles in 12 hours including a 90 minute last lap with a beer! I expected James to be ‘up top’ with Barry and Liverpool Leeds winner and all round running legend ‘Ian Thomas’. Id learn later than James had a stomach issue which took a while to sort out but also that he is keen on having a number of sleeps, yup he that awesome he can have a few sleeps and still stick an hour into me!! ( I have no doubt that if he came back he is more than capable of mixing it with the big boys at the sharp end).

After here the route winds into the country for a bit. I had a change of socks waiting for me around 70 miles and a t-shirt. It was hear that the emotion of the race got to me and I made my first major error! Sat down having a sock change there was a yound greek kid, his younger brother and I assume their dad! They must have been clapping every running solidly for 10 minutes. I decided that I would reward them with one of my prized GB team running shirts which I had not needed and I had another t-shirt at that aid station anyway! I called the older brother over, held the shirt up for him to judge the ‘fit’, decided he would grow into it and presented it to him! I left the checkpoint a bit sharpish as there was a lot of pollen about, making my eyes red! I got about 4 miles down the road and realised I hadn’t picked up my other t-shirt in my haste to leave and so was now faced with making it to the mountain in a tri top and not much else!

Climbing up from this valley, the sun was dipping and I started to get cold. Being asthmatic since a kid I know that the cold is one trigger I have to be mindful of. Thankfully another British crew literally saved my race and provided me with a British team crew t-shirt which I could wear inside out (due to advertising which is not allowed). This provided enough warmth for me to carry on without fear of my chest exploding, well exploding due to asthma anyway.

It was somewhere between 70/80 miles that I had been leap frogging with a guy wearing a canaries ultra marathon vest. I had wrongly assumed he was Spanish but it turned out he was one of the British runners – Martin Bacon. Our plod at this point was well matched and so we (I think) unconsciously decided to team up a bit.

The Mountain Conquered and Friendship Forged

We plodded on towards the mountain and after numerous switch backs on tarmac that always head up, we arrived together at the mountain base. Martin took a moment to have a warm under a blanket, poor man, while I jiggled nervously on the spot eating beautiful fat covered potatoes!!

The ascent up the mountain was harmless! I was, from reading race reports, expecting to be issued with rope, carabiners and a safety harness. Its not that bad, yes its a bit steep and loose under foot but its over before you know it. We were climbing behind an Italian that was having a tougher time. I pulled out a couple of saves Gordon Banks would have been proud of to keep him on track but it was all good!!

The top was breached and Martin took a blanket break before we tackled the descent. Im awful at descending, whether its on a bike or foot. Even Bradley Wiggins in the raid would descend faster than me! Going down the other side, the path is loose, but wider and its more sweeping so no 180 degree hairpins. At this point James Poole approached, refreshed after a kip and descended as casually as a kid skipping across the playground! I was awestruck! no sign of a fatigue or lethargy he was gone, out of sight!! Amazing!

Once down the other side we continued to plod onwards, inching closer to the foot, together!

Sleep Demons, Never had em!!

My wife will agree (I hope) that i’ve never really had an issue with running through the night and into the next morning. With the exception of this years Cotswold 24 where I had a mental wobble at least. Of course, racing beyond 24 hours is something different. I can only liken it being comfortable running 10k then being asked to run a marathon the next day.

We had been making steady progress in the valley after the mountain. This section is probably about 20 miles long. As the sky slowly turned to grey it got cold! not Greece cold (15c) but proper cold, I was freezing! 3 layers, big gloves and lots of shivering. Slowly the sun came up and the temperature started to come up a bit. Martin had been unphased by this because he’s a tough old sod.

All of a sudden, it hit me. Tiredness. Tiredness like you have never known it. Even when I stayed up on the lash the until 4am the night before Paul Ali’s summer Saturday night marathon to be awoken by my Daughter at 6, then surviving the school fete, running to meet the beast Alex W, running to the race, running the race and wining it and then staying up to watch a film with another couple of Bulmers I was not as tired as I was now. Its horrid. The vision closes into a tunnel, your plodding along and the whole earth is moving against you, which you come to realise is your head lolling and body weaving across the road! I wanted to quit. Yup I had came 120 miles, my legs were ok, left foot blister pain was bearable but I wanted to quit! Im sure when I aired this with martin he said something polite, along the lines of “don’t be a twat!!. Ok, ok point taken mate!!

Martin, a veteran of longer races said it would be ok! Easy to say!! He reached into his pack and pulled out a srip of pills. “Have half of one of these mate, give it 20 it’ll be ok!”. “Ok, I said, but I better have a whole one!”. Sure enough 15 mins later the ecstasy of pro-plus washed throughout my body! I was awake, it was like a switch had been flicked.

Feeling Raw

I love Rocky, I love warrior. I love the build up to that last round. When the combatants approach each other for the last 3 minute of pain, all barriers are gone, its raw and emotional. Warrior vs warrior. Its sentimental codswallop, I know it, you know it but i’m telling you now, that’s what Sparta does to you, it breaks you down and leaves you raw with more than a marathon to do.

20 to the last 13!

The last 33 consists of what seems like an age of dual carriage ways and long hot sweeping climbs that never end, full of false summits. The heat on that Saturday morning increased and never stopped! We were being baked from all side and underneath. It must have been bad because even martin was needing a drink of fluid between checkpoints. I stopped and walked over to some old ruins to relieve myself of some weight which left a short-lived spring in my step.

We plodded on, jogging where we could. Martin was able run father than I was but I was able to walk faster up the inclines we were to and fro’ing for a lot of this.

Looking back if I was to offer someone a bit of advice on this race is that you have to expect this section to a)hurt and b)really hurt BUT if you can c)save something for it, you can save what I think would be hours! Of course being disciplined enough to not bank miles early is another thing altogether!

Eventually we rounded the last sweeping bend where you branch off the dual carriageway and we knew what somewhere down below is Sparta!

Down into Sparta

The last 13 are all downhill, not easy downhill but hard downhill! We were moving quite well at this point and managed to catch up and pass another couple of British runners that were working well together as a team, Carl and Jim. We ultr-slomo’ed overtook them and Martin elected to put in a massive shift dragging up from no-where a 9 minute or something mile which feels like your flying after 31 hours racing!

By this point we know hat we are going to make the foot barring serious injury or heart attacks! Somewhere down here Jim elected to put his foot down and motor on past us but we were content to let him go. Jim was running really strong still, I don’t know how he did it!

Entering Sparta itself is along a dual carriage way, onwards for about a mile until you get to check point 74, the last one. We took a few minutes here. I changed into a new t-shirt. Martin changed too and grabbed a large union jack flag which would accompany us to the finish!

The Final Stretch

From checkpoint 74 its about 2 miles to the end. Local kids accompany you on bikes its great. Rounding the last corner the foot is about 500m away.

Another bit of advice to anyone that does this race. “Enjoy these last metres, don’t rush, soak it up!”.

We unfurled the flag and held it between us as we ran up the last 200m. Kids passed under it, people took pictures of it (see the top of the page). We saw the British team/family congregated about 50m before the finish. Ian, Barry, James and Jim already done, the crew, the unlucky that this year didn’t get to kiss the foot (but will be back) and then the statue itself. Standing tall!

We had done it!! We had arrived, shattered, fooked, broken battered but intact and smiling, a friendship formed in the heat of battle!

I pushed martin to the statue to have his moment first, he had earnt that moment as he carried me so much during the last 53 however unbeknownst to me the final timing mat was under the statue so he stayed there for a good 19 seconds (according to the results)! If id have known that I may have pushed in front

Martin left to get his feet attended to and I had my moment! A kiss for the foot, handshake with the RD, a drink of water from the river and that was it!

What happens in the Med tent Stays in the Med Tent!

When you finish your escorted to the medical area. Your trainers and socks are removed. Your feet and legs are cleansed and blisters sorted. I asked if I wanted a drink! “we have coffee, tea, squash…” she started. “Do you have beer please?” came my response, swifly followed by a can of the good stuff!

I was in pieces, the emotional outpouring is crazy!! I looked around me and across the medical area. There were people on beds covered in blankets, hooked up to drips and all sorts. If there had been a smoke machine wafting wisps of smoke through there it would have been a real scene from Platoon or something.

I spotted Martin having a lie down on one of the beds the lazy sod, yup, another blanket adorned him! I teased him with my beer! It was touching, there were more tears.

I waited a few minutes and after explaining that I didn’t want a taxi, I just wanted to get to the British team we were allowed out.

The Finishing Straight Bar

The next few hours were just ridiculous! I have never seen a group of strangers so closely united and together ever in my life. I put the call into my wife Hannah to let her know it was done and that whatever else happens she is coming with the kids next year.

We clapped and cheered every runner I think that came through but especially hard for the British. Seeing people finish in varying degree’s of broken’ness is humbling.

Beers were consumed, a good time was had! The words to describe these hours are beyond me and in a way I hope they always are!

The Aftermath

The next few days continued where the finishing line left off. Celebratory dinner in Sparta on the Sunday followed by a long coach ride back to Athens with a stop near Corinth and a couple more beers, lots of banter and a smiling martin Bacon, followed by a couple of nights of 4am finishes with a few more beers! its all a bit of a blur.

Before I knew it we were all going our separate ways, except the legend that is Stu who left us in a cab at 4am on the Wednesday only to reappear in the morning after having lost his passport! I hope he wont mind me mentioning it but I think he secretly fancied another night on the piss

The flight home was another white knuckle affair but thankfully I was sandwiched between 2 Greek Grandma’s that basically looked after me the whole flight back!

Thanks

So  much happened in this race both before and after its hard to mentioned people individually.

Id just like to say thanks to everyone of the British team for everything, every word of encouragement, every clap, every smile, every tear, a t-shirt, a caffeine pill!

My wife and family for allowing me to come away and all the people that offered facebook words of encouragements and texts during the ‘dark times’!!

I hope we are all there in some way shape of form next year!!

2017

2017 I will be back and running with, bullying, carrying, whatever is needed to get my new mate Rob Pinnington all the way to the foot for that elusive 2nd finish ably supported we hope by our very own Duncan Cornish! All we need to do now is rope in Martin Bacon!!!

See my spartathlon strava activity here!

Written by Aykut Celikbas - http://istanbulrunning.blogspot.fr

"It is dark before the dawn but the dawn never fails. Trust in the dawn." - Florence Scovel Shinn

According to dictionary.com, "the moment of truth" is described as the moment at which one's character, courage, skill, etc., is put to an extreme test.

In the civilized world, it's all about being more and more comfortable and we rarely face these moments in our regular lives. When it comes to ultrarunning, they are more common. There are critical moments in every race when you have to make a tough decision such as stopping or going on. I would argue that one of the reasons most of us do this crazy sport is to face those moments as we try to conquer our doubts and insecurities. I can certainly say that it's true in my case.

When it comes to Spartathlon, an iconic race that requires you to run 246 kilometers from Athens to Sparta in less than 36 hours and often under challenging weather conditions, you certainly face these moments more than a few times. You may not feel the exact same pressures like the Athenian messenger Pheidippides who was sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persian army but nonetheless it's a very demanding and stressful task. I'd even say that the race as a whole may be called as the moment of truth in any given year for an ultrarunner.

Why Spartathlon? For starters, it's the big stage. You don't necessarily have had to run it yourself to know this. If you've ever talked to someone who ran the race or read someone's report, you'll just know that this is an epic race which is very special for almost everyone who has participated in it. For me, it's the race that puts me to the ultimate test. Yes, the Spartathlon is tough and it's brutal but it's fair. It treats everyone equally, it doesn't care who you are, where you come from or how many times you ran it before. And it certainly doesn't care about your excuses because everyone has some and most of them are valid. It turns the spotlight on you for 36 hours straight and there's nowhere to hide. Then, it relentlessly asks you a series of tough questions. You need to be prepared for every aspect of the race beforehand but the final outcome is decided by how you respond to those questions in each of the specific moments of truth.

In the end everyone has their favorite race and for me it's simply the Spartathlon. Its unique history, spirit, camaraderie and friendship separate it from the rest but there's more. It's the race that strips me down to my core and reveals my weaknesses, fears, and insecurities like no other. And in the process of overcoming those obstacles, it forces me to become a stronger, grittier and more resilient runner. I know that if I ever make the mistake of feeling overly confident, it will put me in my place. I'm always humbled by the absurd difficulty of the challenge and the experience of other participants. This is a grueling race which requires a huge commitment every time you run it but that's why I love it. That's why we love it. I think all of these make me a better overall person in life.

Team logo and 2016 Tshirts designed by Kerem Yaman

The Training

After successfully finishing the race in 2014 and 2015, I was honored to be invited once again for the 34th Spartathlon Race in 2016.

In Turkey, the number of trail ultras are increasing rapidly but we still don't have any road or track ultramarathons. So, my training once again consisted of running a number of trail races up to 90 miles/140 km but just like the previous two years, finding specific training races for Spartathlon was a challenge. Even though we couldn't complete the whole course, I even participated in UTMB-PTL at the end of August as a part of the first Turkish PTL team to attempt it. And compared to Spartathlon it felt like a totally different sport. But when September came, it was all about Spartathlon. I was focused and determined for another finish.

The Start

When I was standing at the foot of the Acropolis at 7am on Friday, the theme I chose for this year's race was three-peat. I come from a basketball background and I know that winning three championships in a row is always hard and rare. I had decided to divide the race into 4 different parts. The first 80K was going to be the first half of the regular season while 80 to 160K was going to be the second half. The playoffs would start at the 160K mark and the last marathon that started at the 205K point (the end of the second big climb) was going to be the Finals Series.

Photo: Suna Altan

With crew members Suna and Kerem at the start. (Atil would join us later) Photo: Nikolaos Petalas

I reminded myself that I didn't need to win every game. It was OK to lose some games in the regular season. The important thing was not to do something stupid that would put me out of the playoffs. I noticed this approach took some of the pressure off me throughout the race and it gave me something to hold on to when things didn't go as planned.

The start of the race is always special. From excitement to doubts, it's a mixture of emotions. After the gun went off I found my own pace and got into the zone. For a few kilometers, 3x Spartathlon winner Ivan Cudin was running 15 meters ahead of me as he wasn't going for a super fast time this year because of recent injuries. I saw lots of familiar faces and had a few words with them but I basically ran the first marathon alone in 3:45. After getting my handheld bottle at the station, I started the climb that comes after Megara. The weather was getting hot but it still wasn't that bad. I was using an ice bandana which seemed to help. We were told in the briefing that the high temps would be around 29 degrees the first day which was typical Spartathlon weather. The second day was going to be much hotter, though.

After the 50K point, I saw Martin Hoakes from the Czech Republic and we leapfrogged one another a few times. I was feeling good until I was 65-70 km into the race but then it was around 1pm and the heat started to take its toll on me. I took a few quick walking breaks reminding myself that I don't need to win every game in the regular season. "Just don't do something stupid", I kept saying to myself. After a while, I climbed the last big hill and finally approached the Corinth Canal which always boosts morale and signals that you just have a few kilometers before the first major CP at 80K (Hellas Can Factory). My time was around 7:50, just a few minutes slower than the previous two years but I didn't have any major issues so I was happy with how things were going.

I met with my crew and sat down for the first time to drink soup and eat some mashed potatoes. After a 10 minute break, I was on the move again. I was feeling good but the heat was really affecting me now. So I decided not to push too much and wait for the weather to cool down. I was running alone from the very beginning and at this point the voices in my head started to become annoying. It was getting harder and harder to silence them so I was desperately looking for someone to talk to. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone near me running at a similar pace, so just I just kept going alone.

Photo: Sparta Photography Club

Corinth Canal

Photo: Atil

The Jacket and the Headlamp

When I reached Halkion Village (112.9K), it was getting cooler and the sun was about to go down. After drinking more soup, I grabbed my headlamp and arm sleeves. Sometime after the CP, I turned my headlamp on and noticed that someone was following me closely. I waited for him to join hoping that he speaks English so that we can talk a little bit. It turned out that he was a German guy named Bernhard Pfeifer who spoke English.

We started chatting with Bernhard and I learned that this was his second attempt at Spartathlon and that he'd had to stop at 90K last year. He told me that he ran 221 kilometers in a 24 hour race which was not flat and as a result he was selected for the German National Ultrarunning team. He also told me that he thought he'd made a mistake by putting his jacket at the mountain base (160K) because he was running with just a shirt and was already getting cold. He didn't have his headlamp either. I asked him if he had a crew and he said he didn't. My crew had a spare jacket for me so I told him that I would tell them to give him the jacket at the next major CP, Ancient Nemea (123.3K).

We ran that section at a good pace and arrived Ancient Nemea together. I gave him the jacket and he got his headlamp from the dropbag. But there was a big problem. His headlamp just wasn't working! It wasn't the batteries. It was a programmable headlamp so it wasn't possible to fix it without connecting to a computer. Therefore, Suna from my crew decided to give Bernhard her own headlamp and we left the CP together.

We became a really good team with Bernhard and moved quite fast. He was really happy that he had the jacket and asked me some questions about the rest of the course and the challenges that waited for us. We talked about a lot of subjects and in just a few hours we found out that we actually had so much in common in our personal lives. It's really amazing how fast you become good friends with a complete stranger in an ultra. Bernhard was stronger on the uphills but I was catching up on flats and downhills. I didn't want to change my strategy so I told him a few times to just continue without me if I was too slow for him. We ran together until Malandreni Village (140K) and I needed some time to drink a little bit of soup while Bernhard left quickly. That was the last time I saw him in the race and I just hoped this time he'd finish.

Approaching Ancient Nemea with Bernhard. Photo: Shooting Therapy

The next 20 kilometers, I ran alone. As I was approaching the mountain, it was getting colder and I was getting extremely sleepy. I even missed a turn just before Lyrkia Village (148.3K) but fortunately it added only about 400 meters to the total distance. Just like most people, I power hiked the last 5K before the mountain base (160K) and I was again sleepwalking around that section. I reached the Mountain Base in 19 hours and 5 minutes which was not great but a little bit better than the last two years so I was happy. For a moment, I thought I could even better my last year's time of 31:20 but quickly dismissed that thought as it was still early to think about that. More importantly, this time I didn't seem to have any stomach problems.

The Race is Long Enough, No Need to Make it Any Harder

I met with my crew, drank some soup and ate some more mashed potatoes. I told them everything was OK except that I was very sleepy. I needed to have some coffee before going up the mountain but as soon as I took a sip from the cup, I asked for a bag. And as soon as the bag came, I puked four times to empty everything in my stomach. Just like that, out of the blue. No previous sign, no warning, no nothing.

Now, you need to understand that before I ran my first Spartathlon in 2014, I thought I had quite a strong stomach for ultras. I never puked in any race or in real life. Ever. That perception changed quickly with Spartathlon because I puked badly in all of my three Spartathlons and every time it was at the Mountain Base. Anyway, back to the race. After throwing up, I needed to sit for another 10 minutes to recollect myself. I had to eat something to get some energy for the mountain but it was just not possible. Moreover, the sleep deprivation was getting worse.

I took a few sips of tea with lemon, put some cheese in my pocket and went straight up the mountain. It was either getting very cold or I was feeling cold because I was sleepy and very low on energy. This time the climb felt longer and harder than I remembered but after a while I was at the top. I needed to sit there for a few minutes and drank some coke. That's where I learned that I can drink little bits of coke and water without irritating my stomach. Anything else was causing a vomiting reflex. My descent from the mountain was slow this year, too, as I didn't want to make a mistake in my sleep deprived state.

A shot from the climb

The next section until Nestani (172K) is mostly flat so if you can still run you can make up some good amount of time. I made a deal with myself that if I ran this section hard, then I would get a 20-25 minute nap in Nestani. So, I pushed the pace as much as possible and ran past a number of people. When I finally arrived at Nestani, I was running on empty. I sat down and tried to eat some pasta and potatoes but it just wasn't possible. My body was shutting down and I couldn't swallow anything. I had no choice but to lie down on one of the mats outside the cafe.

Even though I was under two blankets it took almost 10 minutes for me to stop shivering. I closed my eyes but couldn't go to sleep. After some time, I heard my crew talking with each other that it had been 25 minutes. At first I didn't believe it and I had to check my own watch but it was true. Don't you just love how time flies during ultras when you stop running?

I needed to get up and eat something before leaving this CP but I have to admit for a moment it seemed liked an impossible task. But there was only one choice so I got up, went inside, changed my wet clothes, drank some soup and ate something that I don't remember. I told my crew that I was leaving in 5 minutes. For a few minutes, things were looking good again. But then, out of the blue, it happened once more. I asked for another bag and threw up everything again and again.

After the race, Suna jokingly called this second puking episode as my "great encore". In reality though, it was a big blow because it not only took all of my remaining energy but also deflated the overall morale of the team. One of the race officials was concerned about my appearance and came over to see if I still wanted to continue in that state. I never thought about it, though. I still had more than 1.5 hours against the cut-offs at that point so I knew I wasn't going out without a fight.

To be honest, I never had a great time in Nestani in the previous two years but when I was leaving this year I wasn't much more than a walking dead. I wanted to walk for some time but since I was stationary for a long time I was shivering in the cold weather. It was around 5:45 am and I couldn't believe how cold it was. I had to force myself to jog in order to create some heat. From that point on, I promised myself to drink only coke at the CPs and not to eat anything for a long time to let my stomach settle. After about 1.5 hours, the sun came up and my mood improved as expected. I focused on getting over the second hill which ends roughly at 205K. In my little mind game, it marked the beginning of the Finals Series. To my surprise, the coke-only strategy was working well enough and I was sensing that I was slowly coming back from the dead.

The sun is coming up and I'm slowly coming back from the dead.

When I was leaving the town of Tegea (195.3K), I continued straight ahead on an intersection. After some time I heard someone shouting from behind. I turned around and saw that it was a race official who was informing me that I had missed a left turn a few hundred feet ago. The marking was good. My brain was not. I thanked him a few times and took the correct route. After a few minutes, I saw a car coming up from behind. The driver rolled down the window and I saw that it was the same race official. He turned towards me and said, "You know, I believe the correct route is long enough. I don't think you need to make it harder by taking a longer route!". Haha! You know, there were not many things one could have said at that point to make me even smile but when I heard this I laughed out loud for a long time!

When I finally arrived at the Ardamis Restaurant (212K), it was already over 30 degrees, just a scorching day. I was miserable, hot, sleepy, nauseated and very low on energy but to my surprise I could still jog the flats and the downhills. So it was all about enduring the pain for a few more hours. Just don't do something stupid and keep going.

Just keep going...

Approaching the Shell station at 235K, I came across Rolando who is the first guy from the Philippines to attempt the Spartathlon. He's a great guy with an enthusiastic crew. We had some good chat and ran until the next CP together. He left the CP before me, I ran the downhill section faster, then we met again just before entering the city of Sparta. I was exhausted and this time I wanted to enjoy this last bit as much as I can rather than forcing myself to run.

I congratulated Rolando and told him to go if he had the energy and he did. The 74th CP was ahead of me. Every year I enjoy shaking hands with the volunteers in this CP so I did that before continuing for the last 2.4 kilometers. Then I called my brother who was in Istanbul this year so that he could watch the live feed. Two kids with bicycles were leading me as always. I thought I was annoying them because I was moving slow this year but they didn't seem to care. I patted myself on the back and finally made the last right turn, grabbed the flag from my crew and ran towards the King. After 33 hours and 28 minutes, I was just a few meters from the greatest ultramarathon finish. Kostis Papadimitriou, President of the International Spartathlon Association, gave me a hug and I was fortunate enough to touch those feet for the third time in three years.

Finish Video below


   .

Aftermath

My main goal was to finish for the third time but one thing I wanted to do this year was to sort out the stomach problems I faced in the previous years. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. In 2014, I mostly used carbs such as gels, carb mixtures and drinks. In 2015, I changed my strategy to have some carbs and some real food. This year, I limited my carb intake a lot. I didn't take any gels, sport drinks or anything. Just soup, some coke and real food such as mashed potatoes and pasta at the crew CPs. It still didn't work out.

I have a theory, though. I think it's not totally about the things I eat but rather about the conditions. First of all, the temperature difference is huge. Every year, we run in the heat for 10 hours on the first day and when it gets cold on the mountain, my body is shocked and I guess my stomach just shuts down. (For the third year in a row, I puked at the mountain base). Secondly, the race forces you to run fast from the beginning under hot conditions and it surely has an important effect, too. Last of all, it's not just me. I know for a fact that stomach problems are very common among Spartathlon runners. Like I said, I never ever experience this many stomach issues in other races so it must be something specific about the conditions at the Spartathlon.

So who knows? It's still an ongoing experiment and I'm looking forward to making more attempts to find a fix for it. Trying to figure out a fix is part of the game.

Also last year in my report, I wrote that one of the reasons I was returning to Spartathlon was to prove myself that the first finish was not a fluke. This year I thought about this a lot on various parts of the course and definitely came to a conclusion. It took me three times to finally get this but now I can say that luck has nothing to do with Spartathlon.

If you finish the Spartathlon, you finish because you deserve to finish!

Suunto Ambit 3 Peak - 1 Second Recording, Charged two times with a portable charger. I was off-course a couple of times and stopped a little bit late.

The 2016 Turkish Team: Kerem, Suna, Aykut, Atil

Thank You:

-To my great crew which consisted of my friends Suna Altan, Kerem Yaman and Atil Cuce. They supported me throughout the race and never lost confidence. Suna was there for the third time and she's now a very experienced Spartathlon crew chief who knows every little nuance. More importantly, she loves the race as much as I do. Kerem has done so many things to list and he's a guy who you can always trust. And finally, as the RD of Erciyes Sky Trail, Atil joined us in the last minute and he not only helped us but also gained valuable insight by following a world class race organization.

-To Kerem for designing the Turkish Spartathlon team logo and shirts. I always wanted to have our logo and shirts but just couldn't find the right person in the previous years. He was absolutely the right man for this job and I'm really proud of the outcome. We received great compliments throughout the week.

-To my family and friends who supported me in this journey. Unlike the previous two years, my brother was unable to travel with me this time but he's definitely one of the biggest Spartathlon fans out there and he always supported me from a distance.

-To everyone involved in the organization from President Kostis Papadimitriou to Nikolaos Petalas to Panagiotis Bonelis and all others in ISA. There are so many races in the world but there's a reason that there's only one Spartathlon. Thanks for maintaining the unique spirit, camaraderie and friendship of this race despite the increasing popularity of ultrarunning in general.

-To all the volunteers who helped us on the course. The race simply wouldn't be the same without your selfless work.

-To all the members of the Sparta Photography Club. We are sometimes too exhausted to thank you while we're running but please know that we very much appreciate your efforts to capture our unforgettable moments.

-To Tommy Tedelund from Sweden for being a great roommate for the whole week. I have no doubt that with this year's experience he'll kiss those feet next year. To Andrei and Claire Nana for their friendship and support. To Sung Ho Choi and his lovely family whom we had most of our meals together this year. To Bernhard, Rolando, Martin and other runners from all around the world for sharing some of the kilometers with me on the course. To the legendary Seppo Leinonen and pioneer David Ireland for encouraging me whenever they saw me on the course. To the people of Greece and Sparta for welcoming us with open arms. To every Spartathlete who toed the line regardless of the outcome.

Thank you, it was a privilege to be among you.

***

I know, I know...What about next year, you ask.

I'll tell you this: Last year, in his race report, my good friend Andrei Nana from the U.S. team wrote this: "Nikolaos Petalas (the Spartathlon statistician among many other functions) tells me the chance of finishing the race 4 consecutive times is about 1%.". (Andrei got his 4th consecutive finish this year!).

I think the chance of finishing Spartathlon 3 consecutive times is around 5% and I don't even have to say that I'm extremely proud and happy with that. In fact, if you told me this in 2014, I'd have told you that you were just crazy.

But as long as I'm healthy and I get an invitation...

I would love to fight (and probably puke a few more times) for that 1% chance!

Spartathlon 2014 Race Report
Spartathlon 2015 Race Report

In his second attempt Bernhard finished and did it under 30 hours! He thanked me a lot after the race for it but he did it with my jacket and Suna's headlamp. I told him that it's scary to think what he can do with his own gear, haha! Spartathlon Awards Dinner. With 4x consecutive finisher Andrei and Claire Nana

Spartathlon Awards Dinner. From left to right: 2x consecutive finisher Bob Hearn (Both sub30 with a PR of 27:33), 2x consecutive finisher Sung Ho Choi, 7x finisher Maik Dieroff.    With 6x finisher Giorgos Panos

Spartathlon Awards Dinner: Getting the Certificate

Written by Rodrigo Freeman - http://braziliangunner.blogspot.fr

For 2017 my goals are: to improve my 100-mile time at the Thames Path 100 at the end of April and to finish the Thames Ring 250-miler at the end of June, eeek! I now just need to work on my wife so she can let me return to Greece in September. J

Written by Will Rivera - https://willrivera-ultra.tumblr.com

“Pushing your body past what you thought it was capable of is easy; the hard part is pushing yourself even further … past what your mind wants to let you. That’s what ultrarunning is all about; introducing you to a self you’ve never known.” 
– Rex Pace 

So here we are back in Greece for the 2018 Spartathlon!! It takes a very special place or race for me to come back but having completed this race last year and knowing that I left so much out on this iconic course (guided PR teammate Jason Romero) it was important for me to return, to really see how I would perform running at my full potential supported by the best crew I could have, my lovely wife Madeline. 

Last year having the opportunity to represent my beautiful island of Puerto Rico, was very important to me especially after what had just happened with Hurricane Maria just weeks before. It made it even more special to dedicate my run to all of the people of Puerto Rico. This year I was once again honored and privileged to follow in the footsteps of Pheidippides from Athens to Sparta as part of the United States Spartathlon Team! Having served in the U.S. military this meant so much to me and I knew I had to be in the best shape of my life to represent well not only my country but all of those that have supported me along the way this year. 

Training: Going into 2018, I knew I had to make a decision on which race would be my “A” race. I was on the fence between Tahoe 200 or going back to Greece for a second round. So typical of me I went ahead and put my name on the waiting list for Tahoe 200 since the race had sold out before applying for Spartathlon and not knowing I still had a auto-qualifier from my 2016 Badwater performance that is good for 2 years. Fast-forward a couple of months and here I was signed up for both Tahoe 200 and Spartathlon….could I have done both? probably, but with only 3 weeks to recover it was a “no brainer” I had to choose which race was more important to me. So I contacted Candice Burt RD of Tahoe 200 and she helped me defer my entry for 2019. (so I know now what my “A” race is for 2019). So all my focus this year was towards Sparta! I knew exactly what I needed to do to be ready. Last year my goal of sub 30 finish was sacrificed when at a last minute PR teammate Jason (legally blind) asked if I could guide him on his third attempt (DNF’d previous two years) since his official guide didn’t make it out of the Island due to the hurricane. It was a hard decision to make since I had trained so hard all year round for this race and I knew that running someone else’s pace/race/guiding would affect my personal goals/performance. Fast-forward recap; we ran together for over 112 miles, he got his first finish and I ran a strong last 40 miles to the finish with a time of 31 hours and 19 minutes. 

So early every year for the past 4 years my entire focus has been on the Boston Marathon and little I knew with this year’s horrible wet, windy and cold conditions it would become perfect training conditions for this year’s Spartathlon (more on that later…) After Boston, my entire focus shift to Spartathlon, 3 key priorities were my focus on training; Volume, Strength (to run all the uphills) and a solid nutrition and hydration plan. I looked at the calendar at what races I needed to do as “Training Runs” that could simulate both the heat and type (point to point races). Lots of shorter Ultras/marathons were on my calendar this year; Lovin the Hills, Derby, Strolling Jim, Flying Pig, RUTS… just to name a few but my main two were War Hammer 100 (1st OA) and Burning River 100 (3rd OA). Both point to point ultras offering everything from heat and humidity with a nice mixture of trails and roads sections that served as excellent training races for Spartathlon. My nutrition for both was identical focusing more on a OFM (Fat Adaptive) approach using minimal calories keeping focus mainly on hydration and efficiency off the aid stations. Volume weekly miles from June to mid September (14 consecutive weeks) were an average of 100-120 miles. I knew that for my sub 28 goal this year I would need to be both ready for the heat and run ALL of the elevation (except for the grueling mountain climb) so I added lots of elevation training on the weekends to really simulate the late climbs at Spartathlon that begin after mile 80-90 mark right before the mountain base. Luckily this summer was of record high temperatures which helped on training to be ready for what a traditional Spartathlon race would be, hot and humid conditions. 

Race Week: Compared to last year, our trip to Greece was much better. We did not have any delays but we did encounter baggage problems not arriving with us. Luckily the airline arrange to have all our luggage delivered to our hotel by the next day. Weather was perfect that week but looking at the forecast for race day it was looking like something was brewing off the Mediterranean with lots of rain, high winds expected for the weekend. Next day, Wednesday, I checked in early to ensure I’ll be able to relax and go sightseeing around near Athens before the race.

Thursday was the main day for everyone else to register and take part of safety briefings conducted in many different languages. The English briefing was scheduled for 5pm and our team decided to meet beforehand for team photo and to accommodate team member Dean Karnazes which had a very busy agenda with local interviews. He is like a rock star among all the runners and locals evident by how many want it to take photos and autograph his most recent book “Road to Sparta”.  I was one of the 15 lucky runners representing the USA Spartathlon team and meeting all of them was awesome as everyone seemed so relaxed and confident about the race. There were a few veterans, rookies and some that had DNF before and were back for redemption including world class 24 HR runner Jon Olsen. Race morning came pretty quickly with a quick trip from our hotel to Athens for the scheduled 7am start. The energy at the base of the Acropolis start was electric with competitors from all around the world mingled and going through their pre-race routines. I then met with our team for a quick team photo and to wish everyone a great race. My plan was very simple, trust my training, run my race and to let the course and conditions dictate my pace. On a traditional day, Spartathlon is a hot race during the day with harsh fast cut-offs early forcing a runner to run smart and conservative early to be able to finish strong at the end.

Being that this year was going to be different with the much cooler temperatures, I made a decision to run by “Feel” using my heart rate sensor as the indicator keeping all my effort at Zone 3 (121-137 BPM). My Hydration and Nutrition plan were also very simple, one cocktail serving (8-10 ounces) of Ucan Protein mixed with Vespa and Right Stuff every 3 to 4 hours with UCAN bars in between. This approach was used for both Warhammer and Burning River allowing me to run to my full potential keeping me relaxed at an aerobic and metabolic state allowing my body to slowly burn fats for energy. Well, as the day went on I felt incredibly strong. Maddie was spot on meeting along the way at designated checkpoints keeping me fueled and hydrated according to game plan. I was so proud of her for being at CP’s on time and a huge boost to see her for moral support as well since I knew that was a concern for her.

Compared to last year I was cruising along making it to the following checkpoints in personal best times:

Splits:

C/P# / Km / Mile / 2017 / 2018

C/P No 11: 42.2 / 26.22 / 4:04:34 / 3:28:46

C/P No 22: 81.0 / 50.33 / 8:03:39 / 6:48:34 (PR)

C/P No 28: 100.0 / 62.13 / 10:11:03 / 8:46:11 (PR)

C/P No 47: 159.5 / 99.10 / 18:34:02 / 15:58:08 (PR)

C/P No 60: 195.0 / 121.16 / 24:27:28 / 18:41:08 (PR)

C/P No 69: 227.0 / 141.05 / 28:57:48 / 24:56:59 (PR)

Even though I was moving faster that last year the weather was a the big elephant in the room this year with occasional rain and wind along the way early but I knew things would start to get worse through the night and the next day with Medicane Zorba (Mediterranean Cyclone) forecasted to be making landfall during the race. It wasn’t until the sun was settling after CP 35 (Mile 78) that things started to get nasty. To top it off, that’s when the early climbing of the race begins so I was mentally getting ready for the worst. U.S. teammate Jon Olsen soon gained on me on the climbs which to my surprise I didn’t know at that point I was the first American leading the race. It was great having Jon run together for many miles but eventually he was stronger on the climbs and saw him fade away right before CP 47 Mountain base. Last year the climb to mountain was brutal with high and cold winds taking Jason and I almost 3 hours up and over so we took no chances on dressing up warmer this time. Other than the rain the temperature were much warmer with the clouds over the mountain this year helping me make it up and over the mountain to CP 52 in 1 hr and 49 minutes. I felt pretty good knowing I just ran my fastest 100 mile split ever at sub 16 hours and to have survived the hardest part of the race healthy and feeling good was a great sign.

I still had a LONG ways to go and the weather was just now beginning to get wicked. Lot of the CP’s were flooded as rain was now coming down hard. I felt very lonely running and started to feel the lowest point of the race between CP’s 52 and 60 (Mile 107-121) which I typically tend to do late at night with sleep deprivation and the accumulation of been out on cold, windy rain for hours was taking a toll on my brain and body. I started to now use coca cola at CP’s to give me quick energy and the caffeine to help me wake-up. All I kept thinking was daylight will come and we are going to run strong to Sparta! Shortly after I started feeling alive again when I saw Jon Olsen coming out of a CP on the last climbs which are brutal right before CP 69 (Mile marker 141). I quickly checked on him as I past by him, high winds, rain and the effects of Zorba were now been felt but I was still riding the wave of feeling great off my low just a few hours later and I want it to take full advantage of it. All I could think off was Boston Marathon conditions this year and what a great preparation training run that was for this race. I picked up a few positions along this stretch making up what I had lost before and was very much looking forward to the last descent down to Sparta. I kept fueling mainly on coke for the last part of the race as it kept me moving strong. Once I made it to the bottom of the long and grueling downhill (6-8 mile downhill) the CP confirmed I only had a 5K to go to Sparta. The problem was the streets were now flooded, I had water at times to halfway to my calves. So running was now difficult but I knew the Statue was just ahead and I could see runners ahead. I picked up a few more positions to include the first place female Hungarian runner that I had met earlier in the race when she flew by me on a descent.

Taking the last right turn to King Leonidas was the moment I had dreamed most for the entire race and here making the last turn when suddenly I looked to my right and I see U.S. teammate Bob Hearns also making the right turn and blowing pass me!!!! I was in shock first but then so happy to see another American at this point of the race! Before that I had only shared many miles with Jon but knew that Bob would be making his usual Spartathlon assault as he has done his previous two finishes. I quickly caught up to him and told him he was looking great, he quickly replied he wanted to achieve a sub 27 and that we were very close. I told him lets run it together!!! From that point we only had a half mile or so to go and I was running strong thinking Bob was right next to me the entire time. When I made it to the steps right before the statue I looked back and Bob was a block back, he had fallen back since he had pushed so hard on his final assault that simply didn’t have anything left on his legs.  

This year’s finish didn’t have the glorious atmosphere I had last year with hundreds of supporters, locals and kids screaming following me on bikes down the stretch to the finish. Instead it was empty flooded streets, with heavy rain coming down and with no announcer calling your name repeated times. At the end I was once again touching King Leonidas feet four hours faster that I had done last year at 27:02:02 (31:19:49 last year). I was honored to be the first American to finish placing 15th Overall on a very deep international field with Bob Hearns only 41 seconds behind me. What an incredible performance!

This run would not had been possible to achieve without the incredible support of my Madeline driving all over Greece meeting me at every checkpoint keeping me fed, hydrated, dry and warm making this finish more special than any other race I’ve ever done in my life! Love you baby!!!

Thank you to all the U.S. runners and their families and crews! You all made it a fantastic experience and I was proud to be part of the U.S. Spartathlon Team. I have made some friends for life and I hope to see you all at some races in the future.

Finally a massive thank you to all of those who sent positive messages, comments and supported before leaving home and social media both for the race and my birthday. All of your positive vibes and motivation kept me going strong all through the 27 hours of this race! Thanks and much love to all of you!

Congrats to all finishers and everyone that made it to the start line. We are all winners for taking part of this iconic ultra race. I feel truly privileged and honored to have participated and I am profoundly grateful to everyone involved in staging and organizing what is without doubt the greatest and most historic ultra race in the world!

Photo credits: Sparta Photography Club

Strava link (128 miles before battery died) 

https://www.strava.com/activities/1873822818

Average pace 10:36 per mile (7:32 fastest pace), Average HR 125 BPM with 82% at Zone 2/3, overall average cadence at 166 (182 running)

With Auto-Qualifier hope to be back for a third round in 2020.

Happy Running!

Will Rivera