John foden spartathlon book

John foden and his team, after researching herodotuss book, came up with a possible route for the run. Oz pearlman and michael arnstein returned in 2012 for redemption after their dnfs in 2011. That first spartathlon run by the raf officers, in 1982. Originthe spartathlon race aims to trace the footsteps of pheidippides, an athenian messenger sent to sparta in 490 bc to seek help against the persians in the battle of marathon. The hungarian director, balazs simonyi, who has finished the spartathlon race five times in a row, tells a touching and moving human drama about the runners and their universe of cathartic selfdiscoveries, voluntary suffering, and endorphinsoaked trance they sometimes fall into peppered with a sprinkle of humour. Nick had been a highschool student then in greece, one of i think two kids selected to run stretches of the course with john.

One of the most important and touching episode of making the film was the encounter with the former air forceofficer, john foden. Raf military commander john foden arrived in sparta in front of the statue of king leonidas, he had done it. The road to sparta part 1 paul ali ultramarathon runner. As the great john foden said i shant wish you luck because if you have trained properly, you wont need. If you see any mistakes please tell me and i will correct. It is with deep regret that we have been made aware of the sad news that john foden has recently passed away. Spartathlon 2015 i hardly know where to begin with this race report. A british raf military commander named john foden who was an ancient greek historian and long distance. I wrote last years based on two finishes out of two starts. Dave, who was teaching in greece in the 80s had helped john foden map out the first spartathlon route, aided by some of his 6th form students. In 1982 british raf wing commander john foden, an ultramarathon runner, with four friends decided to test. You can see ultras most valuable behindthescenesmaterial in two parts. Oct 27, 2016 the modern history began when john foden, and several of his fellow raf officers decided to see if they could recreate the journey by running from athens to sparta in under a day and a half, which they successfully completed.

The spartathlon aims to trace footsteps of pheidippides, an athenian messenger sent to sparta in 490 bc to seek help against the persians in the pheidippides, an athenian messenger sent to sparta in 490 bc to seek help against the. Spartathlon is a 246kilometre 153 mi ultramarathon race held annually in greece since 1983, between athens and sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient sparta. May 17, 2018 the hungarian director, balazs simonyi, who has finished the spartathlon race five times in a row, tells a touching and moving human drama about the runners and their universe of cathartic selfdiscoveries, voluntary suffering, and endorphinsoaked trance they sometimes fall into peppered with a sprinkle of humour. It is an incredible feeling to watch your own creation appear up there on the big screen. When we finally staggered home, my friend john and i thought it would be a good time to work out some ideas for our upcoming essays on the causes of european nationalism. It takes years for athletes to prepare for this race. The idea for this ultramarathon came from john foden, a british raf wing commander, and the first race was held in 1983 with 45 runners from 11 countries taking part. As a lover of greece and student of ancient greek history, foden stopped his. This page is coordinated by president vagelis polymeris, the secretariat of the association and it manager panagiotis bonelis. Yoshihiko ishikawa battled through cold and rain to win the 245. Athens, sep 29 ians the 35th edition of the annual ultramarathon race spartathlon from athens to sparta, one of the most gruelling long distance courses worl. Spartathlon historic ultra marathon in greece sundried activewear.

Spartathlon, the worlds toughest race if the marathon isnt far enough, there is always the spartathlon. Feb 16, 2014 note all of this is correct as per the last few years and as per my memory. Please note this is not a means of communication but a mean of information about the international spartathlon association. Spartathlon is a historic ultradistance foot race 246km that takes place in september of every year in greece. Vomit, bleeding nipples, and hallucinations on a 150mile running. Spartathlon runs over rough tracks and muddy paths, climbs steep hillsides and takes the runners on the 1,200 meter ascent and descent of mount parthenio in the dead of night. An excellent interview with john foden, australian ultra running legend. The following passage appears on the web site of the modern yearly race, the spartathlon, run in memory of philippides run. Legendary greek galloper yiannis kouros picture above, left won the first official spartathlon and still holds the record for the fastest time. Sep 09, 2012 what i know about the spartathlon 2012 this is an update of an article i wrote a while back giving last minute advice on the spartathlon.

Origin the spartathlon race aims to trace the footsteps of pheidippides, an athenian messenger sent to sparta in 490 bc to seek help against the persians in the battle of marathon. So you have managed to get a place in the greatest race in the. Crushed that his research project and personal journey hit a wall, karnazes became determined to do the next best thing. The british spartathlon team plays a unique role in the race itself. Over 2,400 years later in 1983 a british raf wing commanger by the name of john foden wanted to see if the story was possible, so he and four colleagues headed to athens to try the seemingly impossible feat for themselves.

When i was at university, i once had a big night out drinking absinthe. Extract from the documentary ultra by balazs simonyi. John foden interview australian ultra running legend. In his book why we run, robin harvie describes taking up. As a lover of greece and student of ancient greek history, foden was reading ancient greek historian herodotus account of pheidippides, the man who inspired the original marathon race. Japans yoshihiko ishikawa wins 36th spartathlon ultra.

As a lover of greece and student of ancient greek history, foden stopped his reading of herodotus narration regarding pheidippides, puzzled and wondering if a modern man could cover the distance. Spartathlon historic ultra marathon in greece sundried. Raf officers john foden, john scholtens and john mccarthy were the first three runners to complete the distance in 1982 when they set out to find if the story of pheidippides could be repeated. That all changed in october 1982 when british royal air force commander john foden and four of his buddies attempted to recreate the fabled 153mile athens to sparta run. The spartathlon s trail runs on muddy paths, across vineyards, and through olive gardens. Warning i have just read and become a convert to many of the ideas in tim noakes book waterlogged regarding hydration. John foden s article on how the spartathlon has changed over the years engelsk john foden s article on time spent at refreshment points engelsk stub. The british spartathlon team race report 2017 endurance. A student of history, british royal air force wing commander john foden was. The ultimate ultradistance race, the iconic race that makes grown. Adrev publishing, epic elite music publishing, and 9 music rights societies song. In our most precious behindthescenes video john foden talks about his running fellows, about the difficulty of.

Crowdfunding to donate to british military charities by. Spartathlon is a 153 mile 246km ultramarathon race held annually in greece since 1983 and takes place between athens and sparta. The british spartathlon team race report 2017 the spartathlon. Jan, 20 in 2011 no americans reached the finish line in sparta.

Roddy and i introduced the film, kostis papadimitriou, the president of the international spartathlon association, gave a short tribute to john foden, and then we settled back into our seats. Based on this account, british raf wing commander john foden and four other raf officers travelled to greece in 1982 on an official expedition to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres in a day and a half 36 hours. Yoshihiko ishikawa runs to victory at spartathlon the. The lunacy of the longdistance runner the economist.

The spartathlon is part of the grand tradition of fascination with classical greece. Dave also popped up supporting at various points throughout the race this year including the finish in sparta. The complete true story of the first marathon mens journal. Nov 08, 2016 when the time came, just about everything went according to plan. Feb 17, 2002 the following year the international spartathlon association was set up to cover the logistics of the race and has been organising it annually since. Foden and two others john scholten and john mccarthy completed the course in the allotted time. There would be no spartathlon, no ultra without the legendary military officer, race founder. The idea for its creation is belongs to john foden, a british raf wing commander. Described as the worlds most grueling race, the spartathlon runs over rough tracks and muddy paths often it rains during the race, crosses vineyards and olive groves, climbs steep hillsides and, most challenging of all, takes the runners on the 1,200 meter ascent and descent of mount parthenio in the dead. In 1980, raf wing commander john foden, whom i knew in 1981 but about whose exploits i did not, set himself the challenge of seeing if pheidippides run of 153 miles from athens to sparta to raise king leonidas army to save the greeks from the persian army at marathon in 490bc was humanly possible. Greek veteran runner yiannis kouros, who won the first spartathlon, still holds the record time at 20. Oct 08, 2015 during the race liz would learn that 1 nick knew everybody associated with the race, and 2 he had as long a history of involvement with the race as possible. The british group were ultimately successful with john foden arriving in front of the statue of leonidas having run for 36 hours and the concept of the spartathlon footrace was born with the 1st international spartathlon event held in 1983 and every year since then.

Here is the second part of the john foden interview. Theyve made it one of the most challenging fixtures on the ultramarathon calendar, being part road, part crosscountry and part trackless. To paraphrase john foden, the founder of the race, the spartathlon is the perfect example of a race where people should not wish good luck to the athletes because if an athlete does not prepare properly for the race, no amount of luck will help them, and if they prepared then they do not need any luck. Three runners were successful in completing the distance. Jan 21, 2015 licensed to youtube by adrev for a 3rd party on behalf of extreme music library ltd, prs two steps from hell. Sep 28, 20 spartathlon is the event that brings this deed to attention today by drawing a legend out of the depths of history. As opposed to the ahistorical origin story of the marathon, citation needed the spartathlon is based on the historical run of pheidippides, citation needed who ran from athens to sparta before the battle of marathon in a day. Karnazes recounts his experience in his new book, the road to sparta. Posts about spartathlon written by running bibliophile. Spartathlon is the event that brings this deed to attention today by drawing a legend out of the depths of history. In 2004 i met john foden and i remember him telling me that i should enter the spartathlon my reply was you have got to be joking, i cant run that. Together, oz and i have shared wild adventures and accomplished extreme challenges. Raf officers john foden, john scholtens and john mccarthy were the first three runners to complete the distance in 1982 when they set out on an raf expedition to determine if the story of pheidippides could be repeated. Spartathlon is rooted in history and was first developed by john foden, a british raf wing commander.

The spartathlon isnt the most beautiful race in the world but it is steeped in history going back to the battle of marathon in 490 b. Rune larsson how to run the spartathlon john foden time spent at refreshment stations john tyszkiewicz. Spartathlon academic dictionaries and encyclopedias. Since 1983, it has been an annual footrace from athens to sparta, known as the spartathlon, celebrating pheidippidess at least semihistorical run across 246 km of greek countryside.

News british spartathlon team what have the spartans. The spartathlon 2011 by michael arnstein the first time i heard the word spartathlon was from my longtime friend and training partner oz pearlman. The 36th spartathlon race started at the foot of the acropolis hill on friday morning and was conducted amidst adverse weather conditions this year, as a cold front with strong winds and storms is sweeping across the country this week. The spartathlon the ultimate ultradistance race, the iconic race that makes grown men cry, over a quarter of runners standing on the start line will not finish for various reasons, at least half of runners will cross a point during this journey where they no longer know who they are or what they are doing. However i hit yet another steep hill, so i walked up it, only to find that man john foden waiting at the next checkpoint, he was quick to point out that time was going against me, and if i didnt pluck up the courage to run up part of these hills,i could be timed out in fact the hill i was planning to walk up, had a steep uphill climb that. While the spartathlon is not a very well known race in the us, the rest of the ultrarunning world. The spartathlon race aims to trace the footsteps of pheidippides, an athenian messenger sent to sparta in 490 bc to seek help against the persians in the battle of marathon. In 1980, raf wing commander john foden, whom i knew in 1981 but about whose exploits i did not, set. When one athlete john foden completed the run in under 36 hours, the. Weve both had our fair share of crazy ideas that weve dared on each other. The spartathlon race aims to trace the footsteps of pheidippides, an athenian messenger sent to sparta in 490 bc to seek help against the persians in the battle of. Three of them, including foden in 36 hours, succeeded, and in 1983, the first official spartathlon race was born. What i know about the spartathlon 2012 runningandstuff. The british spartathlon team plays a unique role in the history of the race.