May I introduce you the Spartathlon...

This article will draw a big picture of the race. I will drill further in detail in future posts.

Wrong ideas about the marathon
First of all, where is the marathon coming from? According to the famous legend, in 490 BC, a Greek messenger called Pheidippides ran from the plain of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians. The man died when arriving, exclaiming “We have won”. The real distance was 35 km. The Olympic distance is 42.195 km; it was set by the English in 1908 when the Summer Olympics games occurred in London. The distance was measured from the Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium, located in Shepherd’s Bush, a London district.

The true marathon story

Here is another story, pretty more exciting and more accurate. The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned Pheidippides as an Athenian messenger who was sent to Sparta for asking military support during the battle of Marathon. He arrived in Sparta on the very next day. Spartans did not come but the Athenians won without their help. Frankly, I prefer this story: Pheidippides did not die and he ran on his way back to Athens!

Spartathlon birth
Now I believe you guessed where Spartathlon came from? In 1982 John Foden -a British RAF Wing Commander and fund of Ancient Greek culture- decided to put Pheidippides accomplishment to the test. With four RAF officers, they check that running 250 km in a day an half was possible. So they did. The following year, the official race was put on the rails.

from left to right: Flight Lieutenant John Scholtens, Wing Commander John Foden and Flight Sergeant John McCarthy before the statue of Leonidas in Sparta on 10 October 1982.

The Spartathlon race
1) A journey through history
The race links up several ancient cities: Athens, Eleusis, Megara, Ancient Corinth, Ancient Nemea, Tegea and Sparta.
Nemea is known for hosting the Panhellenic Games, called “NEMEA”, held there every two years since 573 BC. Another race called the Olympian race is organized every two years, from Nemea to Olympia (180 km). I will come back on this race in a future post.

2) A journey through ultrarunning
According to Herodotus, Pheidippides did his run in September. The race starts at 7am on the last Friday of each September. The temperatures in September are usually range between 30°C to 19°C (86°F and 66°F). The runners must fill strong requirements (will be reviewed in a future post). The race length is 246 km and has to be finished in less than 36 hours. There is 75 control points (every 3/5 km) each one as a cut-off time.

Conclusion
A hard race for rude guys. By the way, I found my race motto: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartathlon
http://www.ultraned.org/n_item/f1394.php
http://www.spartathlon.gr/
Utrafondus #54, the French ultrarunners mag.
http://nemeaolympiarace.free.fr/

Let me introduce myself...

My name is Olivier. I am a 38 years old French married and father of one boy. I am an IT Consultant; I am working for a US CRM Company and living in France, so far!

I started to run 8 years ago in 2001. Since that day, I always pushed back my limits. My first jogs were at least 15 minutes runs. It was hard; I did not follow any plan or advices. I probably made all the mistakes that a beginner could do: not drinking enough water, no stretch after a workout. After one year of jogging, I tried just for fun to attend a 13 km race. It was hard; my greatest training distance was below this length. I was crazy, and thought that running races was not for me. Then, I met smart people who explained me the basics of running. Thank you Philippe and Alexandre for your patience.

Finally, I ran my first marathon in 2003. It was a tremendous challenge. I remembered watching the women marathon arrival on the TV; it was in 2000 the Olympics games in Sydney. These girls looked so exhausted –closed to the blackout- that I could not even figure out that I could try to run the same distance. But this was my big day. Although, training had been too rough and I was tired on the starting line. I got cramps before the end. I was proud; I had passed a new step finishing my first marathon.

Then I ran 10 marathons, but got bored but the mood. When you are running a marathon, this is not like enjoying a ride with a bunch of friends. You have only opponents obsessed by their stopwatch. Now I was looking for something different.

Then, I discovered the trail runs: races that do not happen on asphalt. Sounded amazing to me! Races that took place in forests, fields, mountains, shores, day and night. My first trail run by night was in 2006. I really appreciate the feeling to run in forest by night, with the headlight fixed on my forehead. A new dimension: as if the world used to be flat and just turned in three dimensions. This was so exciting that I switched 100% to this kind of races. The range of flavours seemed to be endless.

From 2007 to today, I ran a very large set of trail races: 50km, 80km, 180km, whatever! In many places. The longest it was, bigger was the excitement. I like to live strong adventures. And running for more than 40 hours without sleeping is an amazing one, believe me!

I like challenges. In my sport life and professional life as well, I like to set goals above what I can currently do. But I am not a fool; I will not set the bar above my physical capabilities. For example, I would not bet that I might run 100 meters in less than 9.58’’. After finishing twice in a row the “Raid du Morbihan” (a 180km race in one leg) I was looking for new goals, new adventures. Then, I reminded of one of the most difficult races in the world: The Spartathlon, 246km for Athens to Sparta in less than 36 hours. Heat and time limitations will be my new friends.

For years, I always figured out the Spartathlon as the ultimate race, something unreachable… Unreachable like marathons were in my mind 9 years before. So What? Was it the next “must have” challenge? Oh man, yes, definitely! Be wise and patient, first of all I have to improve my training. Maybe running the Spartathlon in a couple of years will be fine. In 2011, then I will get 40 years old. That is what I call a challenge, I like this!

I am crazy, life is beautiful!


Picture borrowed from this site.
Memorial dedicated to the Spartathlon winners and King Leonidas (Sparta)