|
 In a country that has seen international events wiped off the
calendar amid a ravaging economic crisis, this race has captured the
imagination of runners the world over making it a rare example of
how to succeed in difficult financial times.
First completed in 1982 by a group of British friends and now with a
budget of less than 250,000 euros, organizers have created and
cultivated an event whose international market value far exceeds
that of its cost of staging.
Up until a few years ago the budget for the race was just half that
before a private Greek foundation pitched in as the race's sole
sponsor.
Retracing the steps of ancient Athenian messenger Pheidippidis, who
also ran from the Marathon battle ground to Athens to announce
victory over the Persians, when he ran to Sparta to seek help
against the invading army, this race takes runners on a highlight
tour of ancient Greece.
Elefsis, Corinth, Nemea, Megara and Sparta -- landmark cities and
city-states in ancient Greece, lie in the runners' path on the way
to the Peloponnesian heartland.
Through citrus orchards, vineyards and olive tree groves along the
sparkling Aegean sea, and up the 1,200m high Parthenio mountain at
night with temperatures dropping to single digits, this race is
equally picturesque as it is grueling.
BUCKET LIST
For Danish long distance runner and coach Claus Rasmussen, who will
attempt to run it for the first time this year, the Spartathlon was
always on the top of his list.
"For me it is the first time although I have been running ultra
marathons for a few years now. But it is one of the most iconic
races. It is on every ultra marathoner’s bucket list."
For Rasmussen and most of the runners who compete in it, the race is
neither the toughest, nor the longest. Yet more sign up for it every
year amid a expanding calendar of long distances races around the
world.
"This is because of the historical aspect. The race built around a
legend," said Rasmussen, who is attempting to become the first
athlete to complete the race in sandals.
"There are hundreds more scenic races, longer ones, more challenging
ones and definitely with more history around them. But this one has
history within itself."
A record participation of 380 athletes from 42 countries for this
year's event that ended on Saturday with Italian Ivan Cudin touching
the statue of Spartan warrior king Leonidas first in the town
center, underlines the race's growing popularity.
"This is extremely attractive for me because you can always find a
mountain to run around it. You can plod 100 miles and run them but
this race follows in the footsteps of the legend," Rasmussen said.
As for running with just sandals, the Dane said: "I cannot think of
any more appropriate footwear for this race. That is what he would
have been wearing at the time."
Among the runners this year was also American Dean Karnazes, one of
the world's most renowned ultra marathon runners and best-selling
author, who made his maiden Spartathlon attempt, albeit on a diet
Pheidippidis would have had as a documentary crew follow him around.
[to top of second column] |
American Jan Olsen, the 2013 24-hour world champion of the
International Association of Ultrarunners, was also another big-name
participant.
SHARP GROWTH
Race organizers, whose strict rules and qualification criteria have
sparked a smaller Sparta-to-Athens run organized by runners who fail
to make the cut for the Spartathlon, say they cannot keep up with
the demand.
"At the moment we are basically limited in our growth by the amount
of hotel rooms in Sparta. We just cannot sleep all the people
wanting to compete," Spartathlon organizing committee member Takis
Alikaniotis told Reuters.
This growth is partly due to a current boom in ultra marathon races
worldwide with more and more athletes eager to tackle longer
distances.
But more importantly it is also due to the fact the race is offering
athletes and potential sponsors a unique proposition, unlike
anything else on the calendar, Simon Chadwick, Professor of sports
business strategy at Coventry University, told Reuters.
"This is a very crowded and very dynamic marketplace for any event
to stand out and to make commercial sense for sponsors to invest,
there has to be a unique proposition," Chadwick said.
"It (Spartathlon) is almost as if it is symbolic of Greece, of what
went before and the challenges facing now sport."
"We are operating in an environment where sport does not just
happen. Sport is more commercially market-driven and so the ultra
marathon is a symbol of what Greece has been and what Greece needs
to become."
For the first time this year the race is under the auspices of the
country's Tourism Ministry as Greece looks to improve its image
abroad after years of bad press.
"Greece must take it (sports events) more seriously in strategic and
commercial terms and drive economic activity," Chadwick said.
"Clearly in terms of brand Greece there is an incredible sporting
heritage there that the government could take advantage of. The
country is looking for opportunities."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
