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The 20th edition for Spartathlon, one of the most grueling footrace in the world, ended Saturday in the city of Sparta, in the southern part of Greece. A total of 203 runners from all over the world gathered Friday morning just below the historical temple of Acropolis in capital Athens, the hosting city of the 2004 Olympics, to retrace the route of the legendary messenger Pheidippides, who 2.500 years ago ran a distance of 246 km (from Athens to Sparta)m seeking help when the Athenians were defending their land from a Persian attack.
Among the starters were, Valmir Nunes (Brazil) who won last year’s edition as well as Jens Lukas (Germany) one of the leading runners the previous years. Also in the field was Irina Reutovich of Russia. Reutovich is the record-holder of the 135-mile Badwater UltraMarathon in the United States, and one of the best female runners in the world.
Nunes took the lead from the early stages, followed by Marcus Thalman, an Austrian ultra champion, and Christian Fatton from Switzerland. After the first 70 kilometers, passing the city of Korinthos, Japanese Yoshiharu Morishita took over the lead and at the km 100 Valmir Nunes dropped out of the race having severe leg pain. Then came the dark of the night, when runners were forced to climb up the Peloponnese mountains above the remains of the ancient city of Nemea.
Finally, early on Saturday morning, the first runner crossed the finish line. It was Ryoichi Sekiya of Japan, in 23 hours 47 minutes 54 seconds (23:47:54). Second was Marcus Thalman from Austria (25.16) while Jeffry Oonk from the Netherlands took the third place (26.58). Reutovich broke the women record for the race with a time of 28.10, placing fifth overall. The best Greek runner was George Psailas, who finished 10th . This year only 88 racers from the total 203 were ranked at the finish.
The all-time record holder for Spartathlon is the man who is generally rated the greatest ultra runner of all times, Yiannis Kouros was born and lives in Greece. He ran the course in an unbelievable time of 20:25 in 1994.
(Finishers' Board)
1. Ryoichi Sekiya (Japan) 23.47.54
2. Marcus Thalman (Austria) 25.16.56
3. Jeffry Oonk (Netherlands) 26.58.55
4. Yoshiharu Morishita (Japan) 27.50.42
5. Irina Reutovich (Russia) 28.10.48 (1st woman)
6. Yoshitaka Uesugi (Japan) 28.31.21
7. Stephane Pelissier (France) 28.38.55
8. Toyohisha Nakashima (Japan) 29.19.19
9. Andras Low (Hungary) 29.40.29
10.Psailas George (Greece) 29.45.42
Γεννήθηκε στην Τήνο το 1961 και ζει στο Λιτόχωρο του Ολύμπου από το 2008. Ίδρυσε το Adventure Zone το 2001, μετά από σκέψεις για δημιουργία ενός ελληνικού portal για τα σπορ περιπέτειας. Δημιούργησε αγώνες ορεινού τρεξίματος, όπως Olympus Marathon (2004), Virgin Forest Trail (2007), Χειμωνιάτικος Ενιπέας (2006), Rodopi Ultra Trail (2009), Olympus Mythical Trail (2012). Στο ενεργητικό του αρκετές συμμετοχές σε αγώνες, όπως και μικρές αποστολές ultra διασχίσεων στην Ελλάδα και το εξωτερικό
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