Spartathlon is a 246-kilometre (153 mi) ultramarathon race held annually in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta. The Spartathlon is based on the run of Pheidippides,[1] who ran from Athens to Sparta before the Battle of Marathon in a day and a half to seek aid against the Persians. Five Royal Air Force officers attempted the course in 1982 and the competition was started the next year.[2]
As the race grew more popular, stringent entry criteria were implemented to ensure participants were fit enough to run the course. The race has 75 checkpoints where race officials disqualify runners who fail to meet time cutoffs or who are too tired to continue.
In 2023, Camille Herron set a new women's course record of 22h 35min 31s, an improvement of 2h 12min 53s under the previous course record and the first woman under 24h. Fotis Zisimopoulos won for the third time and set a new men's course record in 19h 55min 9s, becoming the first athlete under 20h and broke the longheld record set by Yiannis Kouros in 1984.
- ^ "Spartathlon – Home Page". www.spartathlon.gr. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
- ^ Crockett, Davy (19 September 2021). "Spartathlon Part 1 (1982) – The Birth". Ultrarunning History. Retrieved 23 January 2022.