The History
It all started from Herodutus account of the Battle of Marathon. The great historian of antiquity described the details of the battle many years later and mentioned the deeds of Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger, sent y his generals to Sparta in order to secure help for the reinforcement of the scanty Athenian forces against the forthcoming Asiatic incursion. According to Herodutus, Pheidippides arrived in Sparta on the next day of his departure from Athens.
Spartathlon is the event that brings this deed to attention today by drawing a legend out of the depths of history. The idea for its creation belongs to John Foden , a British RAF Wing Commander. As a lover of Greece and student of ancient Greek history, Foden stopped his reading of Herodutus narration regarding Pheidippides, puzzled and wondering if a modern man could cover the distance from Athens to Sparta, i.e. 250 kms, within 36 hours. He thought that the only way to find out was to try to run the historical course since he himself was a long-distance runner. Thus he and four other colleagues from RAF came to Athens in the Autumn of 1982 and planned the run as closely as possible to Herodutus description. On 8th October they started their adventure to see whether their speculations could be verified. On 9th October, the next day,John Foden arrived in Sparta in front of the statue of Leonidas having run for 36 hours. His colleague, John Scholten, had arrived half an hour earlier and finally, John Macarthry got to the finish line in less than 40 hours.
The British team proved Herodutus was right! A man is really able to cover 250 kms in two days.
When John Foden and his colleagues first arrived in Athens, they were warmly welcomed and supported by members of the British community and Greek friends. After the success of the first attempt, the pioneer of this event began to envision the establishment of a foot race that would bring long distance runners from all over the world to Greece for a race following in the tracks of the ancient runner. The results are now widely known. Undoubtedly the historical context of the race, closely connected to the Olympic idea and consequently with compete unselfishness, appealed to the imagination and caused unprecedented excitement amongst a great number of long distance runners throughout the world. Their response was justifiably, imme-diate and catalytic. The 1st International Spartathlon was organized in 1983 with the participation of 45 runners from 11 countries as well as Greece.
The success and participation were decisive for the future and the development of the race. Thus, in 1984, the International Spartathlon Association (I.S.A) was created.
Since then, the I.S.A. has organized the race every September as, according to Herodutus account, Pheidippides mission to Sparta was made at that time of the year. The revival of a page of ancient Greek history is established now as one of the most famous sporting events world-wide. Great runners come to Athens from Australia and Japan, Canada and the USA, including , of course , most European countries. All of them are attracted to the uniqueness and difficulty of the race as well as the modesty and respect of the athletic ideals imposed by a race known as mythic.
In addition, beyond its athletic aspect, Spartathlon has become a powerful tribute from which real messages and friendship and peace can be sent to the peoples of the earth without political or racial discrimination. A tribute where Greece is also promoted, crowned by its unparalleled hospitality and natural beauties. Thus hundreds of runners who have participated in Spartathlon carry home their images and experiences from Greece, and are our best ambassadors abroad.
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