The British Spartathlon Team Race Report 2017 The Spartathlon... The ultimate ultra-distance 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 here, most crew members will shed a tear at some point during the race either through lack of sleep, sheer emotion or the desperate urge to go to the toilet but not being able to find one under the pressure of crewing. For those who ever get to experience this race in all its glory will remember it for the rest of their life and even want to return year after year just to be a part of it again and again. Nearly 400 of the best Ultra Marathon Runners in the world eagerly await at the famous Acropolis in Athens for the start of this incredible journey, an ancient citadel situated proudly above the city of Athens. It is said to have been the same place that Pheidippides ... an Athenian messenger who was sent from Athens to Sparta in 490BC started the same journey to seek help from the Persians in the battle of Marathon. Pre Race The morning before the race, as registration opened, Runners gathered at The Fenix Hotel Athens to register their participation in the race for both runners and crew. Collecting crew passes, Crew car stickers, Numbers, T-shirts and information to digest throughout the rest of the day. Runners and Crew were also able to drop off their drop bags they had frantically changed repeatedly in the run up to this point, to be transported to the checkpoints they choose. You can feel the tension in this area of people frantically worrying whether they have made the right choice of checkpoint, worried that their bag will actually make it to the checkpoint and worried that their backup plan if it doesn't make it actually goes to plan. Looking at the boxes marked with numbers you can start to see the level of organisation that has gone into this race.

On the eve of the race The British Team headed to race briefing before meeting and indulging in a pre-race meal and a plethora of British Banter. Now we know us Brits don't like to go under the radar which is why we made ourselves fully noticeable both at Race Briefing and the meal after, kitted out in our superbly designed T-shirts (White for Runners and Bright Red for Crew) courtesy of our incredible Sponsors Tailwind Nutrition, The Ultra Marathon Running Store and Oyster Wealth Management not to mention the people and teams behind the scenes offering services in kind making things come together Mark Burnell at Rock Salt Design who has designed these incredible shirts for the last 3 years, Paul Ali who has completed the race twice and is the web master, Lynchpin Media who prints the kits, James Ellis at All about the story who is the press officer and organises the press reports. James is also a 3 x Spartathlon finisher. Becky George the accountant who checks that Rob Pinnington has not fiddled anyone �(his words not mine) Don Hannon at compression print who donated the head bands and arm bands, Richard Weremiuck at Beyond Marathon who provide the Race Drone trackers and not forgetting Rob Pinnington who in his own words “Co-ordinates the above bunch of reprobates. It is like herding cats ...I have only one finish to my name...coz I am too fat and slow and lacking in faith in my own abilities” – On behalf of the whole team and crew we would like to thank you dearly!

TheBIGDAY!

AstheBigdayapproached,runnershaddonealltheycouldtogettothispoint…Therewasnothing

anyofthemcoulddonowbutbelieveintheirtraining,theirnutrition,theircrewandthemselves!

AsthegreatJohnFodensaid

“I shan’t wish you luck because if you have trained properly, you won’t need luck, and if you haven’t trained properly, then luck will be of no use.”

Thisquoteresonatedloudlyinthemindsofsomanystoodeagerlyawaitingatthefootofthe

Acropolis,asthestartlinebannerwentup,thedronehoveredabove,ThelightsfromtheAcropolis

shonebrightasthesunbegantorise.Runnersscrambledtowardsthestartlineasthenoise

quietenedandsupporterslinedthesidewalktakingthebestpositiontheycouldfindtocapturetheir

lovedones,friendsorfamilymembersastheybegintheirjourneytoSparta!

Howmanyofthemwillmakeit…?Onlytimewilltell!

ThejourneyoutofAthenswasatastandstillforsomanycrewmembersasroadswereblockedby

policemakingwayforthesetremendousathletesmakinghistoryonceagain!Therewouldbea

surplusof“Bravo”and“SpartiSparti”bellowedfromonlookers,supporters,fansandlocal

businessesastheyopenforbusinessonthismomentousday,wordsthatcontinuedtosoundclear

throughoutthewholeoftherace!Thesoundofhorns(mostlyfromtheBrits)continuedasmost

madetheirwaytowardstheMarathonMarkatMegara,Thiswouldbethefirstpointcrewmembers

couldassisttheirrunners.

Thisyearweatherconditionswerefarbetterthanthatofpreviousyearsandyoucouldseethiswas

ablessingforallastheysailedalongthecoastroadabletotakeinthebreath-takingviewsand

sceneryoftheAegean’sSaronicGulfstillmostlysmilingandfullofadrenalinefrombeingpartofthis

dreamofalifetime.

FirstThroughMegarafortheBritswasMarcoConsaniin3:23hoursaGB24-hourathletesupported

byhisamazingwifeDebbieMartinConsanialsoaGBathlete.Marco,untilthedaybeforetheflight

toAthenswasn’tplanningonrunningduetoinjury,thesameinjurythatwouldunfortunatelystop

Marcofromfinishingtheracehewasmorethancapableofcompleting.

FollowedcloselybyIanThomasin3:25hours,1stBritishSpartathlonFinisher2016alsocarryingan

injurywhichhadrestrictedhistrainingleadinguptotheevent.

IanHammettandNathanFlearfollowedtogetherin3:26afterrunningthefirstMarathontogether

quitestronglyandatadecentpace.

PaulBeechey3:42pacednicelybehindIanandNathanasdidFabioRizzo3:52.

SarahMorwoodthefirstBritishLadycamethroughalsoat3:52,SarahhadrecentlybeenaGB

athlete(herdream!)beforebeingstruckdownonherbikebyadangerousdriverin2016andfearing

shewouldneverrunagain.

AminutebehindwasAliYoung(2ndlady)andRichardPomeroy3:53,followedbyKatherineGanly

3:57,RichardHeath4:00,StephenScobie4:02,ThefabulousMarcelMckinley4:02,Lawrence

Chownsmith4:02,JonPanter4:04,CameronHumphries4:08andJohnKnapp4:09.

JamesEllis,ourveryownPRGuruandSpartathlonSuperstarranthroughin4:11alongwithJay

MacdonaldandJamieHolmes.Closelyfollowedby“Brothersinarms”DarrenStrachenandDavid

Bone4:13withPaulCorderoy4:22andKirstyWilliams4:31makingitafullhousethroughMarathon

MarkfortheBrits!

FromMegaraToCorinth

ExitingMegaratherunnersheadtowardstheCorinthCanalthroughvillagesofpeopleandschools

liningthestreetsfor“highfives”,“bravo”dand“SpartiSparti”andthenextmajorcheckpointCP22,

Witha9.5hourcutofftothischeckpointmostrunnersareunderimmensepressuretogettoitin

time.Forsomethere’snotimeforstoppingforselfie’sontheBridgeovertheCorinthCanalhowever

manyofthecrewmadeupforthis…literallymissingthenextcheckpoint…Youknowthemost

importantone!

CorrinthtoNemea

FromCorinththerouteleadsontoAncientCorinthCP26,oneofthelargestandmostpopulated

citiesin400BCitwasdemolishedbytheRomansin146BCandrebuiltin44BCwhereJuliusCaesar

himselfissaidtohaveinhabitedhere.Runnerswereagainabletobeaidedbytheircrewandsome

evenaquickbeerinthesquare(weareBritishafterall!...Nutritioniskey,right?)

VeeringPasttheancientTempleofApollotheroadsoonstartstoclimbandboydoesitclimb!

Allllllllllllllthewaytocheckpoint32…andbeyond!Checkpoint32situatedatthetopoftheroadthat

neverends…Theonethatjustkeepsclimbing,butforgettingaboutthisclimb,ifyoulookout

beyondthetreesthespectacularsceneryisbeyondwords.UpuntilCorinththeroadshadbeen

mostlyflatwithsomehillshereandthere…Nowitwasabouttogettough!Testingtheendurance

andtrainingofeverybodystillleftintherace!

Thedayturnstonight

Asthedayunfoldsandcheckpointtocheckpointfillwithrunnersandcrews,manyrunnersbynow

havealreadyendedtheirSpartathlonjourneyandformanymoreit’saracetothenextcheckpoint!

ThesunbeginstosetandfortheremainingrunnersMountainbaseisoneveryone’smind,as

rumourhasitifyougetupandoverthemountainyouwillfinishSpartathlon…orsotheysay!

However,togettothemountainisthelongrelentlessstretchuphillindarkness,andwitharound90

milesalreadyinthelegsthisistobethetestofendurance,notonlyinthelegsbutinthemindtoo

withmanyrunnerssurrenderingatthispoint.

Forthosewhodomakeittomountainbaseanarrayofhappyfaces,warmfoodandAngloGreek

banterawaitsasthischeckpointliftsthespiritsreadytotakeyouupandoverthemountain.For

thosestandinghereinthedeadofnighttolookuptowardsthemountainyouwouldseeatrailof

redflashinglightsleadingthewayupfrommountainrescuevolunteersalongwiththeheadtorches

fromrunnersalreadyonthejourneyupthemountain.

TheMountain

Themountainitselfisanarrowlooselystonedtrail,indarknessitguidesthewaywithbarriertape

andflashingredlights,withrainstartingtopourdownformostatthispointgettingupandover

quicklyandsafelyispriority.Whilsteverybodyemphasisesthemountainandtherockyterrainitis

thedescentthatisthehardest.Forthosewhohavetrainedforthis,shufflingdownsafelyisnota

problembutforthosewhodidn’tthequadswillbepayingforitnowastheydescendtowards

SangasinArcadiawheretheywillbemetatthecheckpointbycrewtoaidthemandlifttheirspirits.

Forthosewhohitthispointingoodtimeitisahugepsychologicalboostknowingitisnow50miles

toKingLeonidasandthatSpartathlonfinish!

Theyhavemadeitpastthemountainandforthefrontrunnerstherainwasnowbehindthem.

Onthehomewardstretch

Fromthemountaincheckpointsweremorefrequentandforcrewitwasaboutgettingtheminand

gettingthembackout,thenseeingthemagainatthenextcheckpoint.Forthosewhomadethe

wrongchoiceinclothingoverthemountainorunderestimatedhowcoldrunningthroughthenight

gets,willunfortunatelybepayingthepricenowandmayevenshowsignsofaslightwobble.

Thisisalsoaroundthetimesicknesskick’sinformany,tearsstarttofall,lifegetsdullandthefeeling

ofself-doubtsoundsallaroundthem.Thereisnothingcrewcandonowbuthopetheirrunners

consciencekicksinoranotherrunnergivesthemstrengthtocarryonwhichseemedtobethecase

foroneofthefrontrunnersIanHammettwhotook“themother”ofallwobblesaroundTegeaand

waspracticallyoutoftherace,beforebeingliterallypickedupbycrewmemberPaulRowlinsonafter

overanhourslongwobbleandeventuallyfoundthestrengthtopushonafterapeptalkfromteam

matePaulBeecheyandsomemotivationfromhiscrewandotherteammates.WelldoneIanand

bothPaulsaninspirationandwereallsoproudyourpartofthisamazingteam.

Meanwhileonthehomestretch

NathanFlearwaspushingon

stronglyasthefirstBritishAthleteto

crossthefinishlineinatimeof

27:01:41(The4thfastestBritEver!)

anemotionalfinishforanyonewho

waswatchingthelivefeed.Nathan

whostartedrunningjust2years

priortoloseweighthadalreadyhad

quiteasuccessfulyearbeing

selectedtorepresentWalesat100K,

WinningtheWelshUltraDistance

Championships,alongwithsome

greatwinsatvariousUltraevents

throughouttheUK,andnownot

onlycompletingtheSpartathlonin

hisfirstyearrunningit,butalso

beingfirstBritisaphenomenal

achievementwhichI’msurehewill

beproudof!Thisalsomeansthat

NathanswifeToriwillhavetofindspaceintheirhometofitthefamousMichaelGrahamCallaghan

TrophyforBestBritishPerformanceandIthinkweallagreehecertainlydeservesit.Watchoutfor

thisone.

PaulBeechey(Thekingofthecanals)was

our2ndBritishFinishertocrossthefinish

lineinatimeof28:35:57,thiswasPauls2nd

SpartathlonFinish.In2016Paulfinishedina

timeof33:37:27whichmeansthatthis

year,hebeathistimeover5hoursfaster

thanprevious!WOW!Paulalsoan

incredibleUltrarunneristheChampionof

theCanalaslam2017,aseriesofUltra

Runningevents.TheGUCRofwhich

Beecheyplaced2nd,TheKACRwherehe

camein1stplaceandalsotheLLCRwhichhe

alsoplacedJoint1stwithourveryownBritishSpartathlonFinisherandteamcontributorPaulAli.

EarlierintheyearPaulalsowontheOnerUltraTrailRun.I’mcertainwewillbeseeingthisgreat

runnerachievingmoregreatnessoverthenextfewyearsandcertainlyatnextyear’sSpartathlon�

3rdplacedeservinglywentto“The

Phoenixwhorosefromtheashes”Ian

Hammettin28:36:58whowent

througheverypossiblephaseyou

couldgothroughduringanultrato

thenpowerthroughandfinishdoing7-

minutemilestotheKinghimself.Ian

currentlyholdsthecourserecordfor

theWallracewhichhecompletedand

wonin2015.SincesteppinguptoUltra

eventsin2015Ianhaswonthe

SVP100KandCTSSouthDevonin2016,

hecame3rdattheSDW50in2017inan

impressivetimeof6:49andnowholds

a3rdplaceBritfinishatthefamous

Spartathlon2017.Lookingforwardto

followingIan’sJourney.

4thPositionwenttoJohnKnappinatimeof28:56:25.

RunningtheSpartathlonhasbeenadreamofjohns

sincewhathedescribesashisMidlife“ULTRA”crisisin

2013andnowwithhisimpressivetimehecannow

relax…butwillhe?JohnisnonovicetoUltrarunning

havingraninsomeofthetoughestUltraeventsinthe

UKincludingTheSpineandLakeland100andholdshis

bestover50stimeattheGUCR.Johnhasalsoranthe

UTMB.

5thplaceinatimeof30:10:48wasnoother

thanourFIRSTBRITISHLADYandthetoughest

cookieweknowSarahMorwood!Sarahwho

hasrunforteamGBgotherdreamsshattered

whenshebecamethevictimofadangerous

driverin2016,butwithanautoqualificationin

theSpartathlonshewasdeterminednottolet

anythingstopherfrombeingonthatstartline

notevenwithherkneeinpieces!After3

operationsandlosing90%ofthemuscleinher

legSarahpickedherselfbackupandnotonly

madethestartlinebutfinishedastheFirst

BritishLady!MakingSarahthe3rdfastest

BritishladytoeverruntheSpartathlon!I’d

alsoliketopointoutthatSarahisstillnotfully

recoveredfromheraccidentandranthisrace

intotalpainthewholewayaround.Ifanyone

deservestoberecognisedfortheir

outstandingachievementsit’sSarah.Ican’t

waittoseewhatthistoughladycanachievewhensheisfullyrecovered!

AliYoungwasour2ndBritishLady

finishingin30:39:11and6thintheteam.

Also,a24hourTeamGBmemberAli

firststartedherUltrarunningjourneyin

2012whensheenteredtheMarathon

desSablesandcompleteditin2013.

Whilstnotintendingtobecaughtbythe

UltraBug,Alifoundherselfsigningup

forsolo24-houreventswhichshewent on

towinandotherultra-eventswhereshe

alsoplacedonthePodium.Withher

amazingultra-runninggiftAlihasbeen

invitedtoChinatorunintheir

International24houreventin

Novemberandwasselectedto

representGBattheWorld24hour

Championships.

RichardHeath,our7thfinisherthisyearin31:54:49.Richardthegentlemanofgentleman’sisan

experiencedultra-runnerandoverallniceguy.Hisultra-runningjourneywon’tendwitha

SpartathlonfinishandI’msurewewillbeseeingRichardatmoreeventsinthefutureifnotbackat

Spartathlon2018.�

JayMacdonaldwas8thfortheBritishteamfinishingin33:28:49,

anovicetotheSpartathlonbutnonovicetoUltraRunning.Jay

hasnotonlycompletedeventsintheUKbutalsointheUSAand

in2011completedtheMarathonDesSables,araceheentered

afterwatchingadocumentary.Jayhasanoutstanding72

marathon/ultrasunderhisbeltandmorelinedupforthe

remainderof2017/2018.

IanThomas,MrSpartathlonhimself

was9thfortheBritsfinishingin

33:32:35.IanwasourfirstBritish

Finisherin2016butafterdealing

withinjuryandbeingrestrictedwith

trainingthroughout2017Ian’splan

thisyearwastogetanother

Spartathlonfinishtohisname

whichwouldmeanIanhas

incrediblycompleted3

Spartathlon’stodate.Willwesee

thisawesomeultra-runneragain

nextyear?I’llletyouknowwhen

I’vespokentohiswife�

MarcelMckinleyfinishedinatimeof

33:38:06andwasourwhopping10thfinisher

atthisyear’sSpartathlon.Runningissecond

naturetoMarcelwhohasbeenrunningsince

schoolhecompletedhisfirstMarathonin

2009andcaughttheUltraBugafewyears

later.Marcelthisyearcompletedhis2nd

Spartathlonfinish.

Butthelistdoesn’tstopthere….

KatherineGanlyOur3rdFemaleFinisherand11thBritish

finishermadeittothefinishlinein33:40:15,afterthe

strapsfromherbeltrippedchunksfromherwaistline

Katherinewouldn’tgiveupandpoweredthroughtogetto

theKing!Shesworeblindtoherhusbandthiswouldbeher

onlySpartathlonjourneybutrumourhasitsheisseeking

waystomakeittothestartlineofnextyears!Willshe

haveconvincedhubbybynextyear?Onlytimewilltell…

Our12thBritishFinisherJonPantermadeit

overthelinein33:48:26.Jonhasbeenrunning

sincehisteensandat51hedoesn’tseemto

beeasingoff!JonhasbaggedsomegreatV50

winsrecentlyandsincecompletingThe

Autumn100inunder20hourshenowrealises

that“Imightbeokattheultralark”inhisown

words.WetotallyagreeJonandlookforward

toseeingyouagainatmoreeventslinedup.

Nowrumourhasitthatthe3musketeers…turned4musketeers…andtooktoultra-runningraces

andwefoundthematthefootofKingLeonidasafterall4ofthemcompletedtheirjourneyfrom

AthenstoSpartabeingthe13th,14

th,15

thand16

thfinishersfortheBritishTeam.

LongstandingfriendsJamesEllis,JamieHolmes,DarrenStrachenandDavidBoneafterbeingfriends

foragoodnumberofyearsallfoundthemselvesattheStartlineoftheSpartathlon2017then34

hours54minutesand11secondslater(+acoupleofsecondsforeachfoottohittheline)eachof

themfoundthemselvesstoodatthefootofKingLeonidasStatueinarmscelebratingtheirvictory!

JamesEllis,a3xSpartathlon

FinisheralongwithJamie

Holmes,DarrenStrachenand

DavidBonecompletedthe

runfromAthenstoSparta

togethercrossingthefinish

linewithahugecheerfrom

anemotionalaudienceand

anevenmoreemotional

crew!

What’snextforthese4musketeers?Wordonthestreetsistheyareseekinga5thmemberofthe

groupandNathanFlearisdesperatefortheposition...

butwillhehavecompetitionfromBBCRadio2presenterVassosAlexander?

Comingintofinishat35:17:29wasStephenScobiefeelingtiredandsorehemadeitasthe17th

BritishFinisher.ThiswasStephens1stSpartathlonexperienceandwell…youdiditStephen!

CameronHumphriesmadeitin35:31:22andwasthe

18thBritishFinisher.Cameronautoqualifiedforthis

year’sSpartathlonwhenheran137.9milesinTooting

Bec24hourrace.Strugglingtokeepnutritiondown

throughouttheraceCameronkepthisheadand

pushedthroughtogainhisdeservingSpartathlon

finish!

Just5minuteslaterLawrenceChownsmith

35:36:20andRichardPomeroy35:36:29

madeourfinal19thand20thfinishersfor

theBritishTeam.Lawrencewhoprefers

HalfMarathonsandMarathonsisno

strangertoSpartathlonbutunfortunately

noneofthemeverendedinafinish…until

now!

Richardontheotherhandhasbeen

runningultrassince2004whenheranTwo

OceansUltrainCapeTownSAandisa

two-timeMarathonDesSablesFinisher.

AddingtohislonglistisnowaSpartathlon

Finish.

Congratulationsteam….YOUDIDIT!!!ButnotwithoutthesuperfantasticsupportfromTheBritish

Crewandotherswhotakeonthischallengewithyou.Welldonecrewpleasetakeabow!

Unfortunately,notallmembersoftheteammadeittoKingLeonidasMarcoConsaniandFabioRizzo

unfortunatelyhadtopulloutduetoinjuryandPaulCorderoyandKirstyWilliamsdespitewantingto

continuewereunfortunatelytimedout.

Wellguys…Themostpainfulgoodbyesaretheonesleftunfinished…UntilNextyear!

Thankyou!

ToriRobinson–CrewandBetterhalftoNathanFlear