It
didn't take long to decide to return to the Authentic Phidippides Run, having
completed the race in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the 6th
edition of the race was cancelled in 2020 and I had to
wait until 2021 to return; where with a bit more experience,
I was very pleased with a 5-hour personal best of 85h40, finishing 6th
overall.
As I
said before, I love the route and the history behind this race, and more
importantly I love the amazing volunteers who are so good to me every time I
race in their beautiful country. It won’t come as a surprise that I decided to
participate for a third time in 2022, the Phidippides experience
is like a drug, with several runners returning year in year, including the talented
Lucasz Sagan who continues to smash his own course record. The last 18 months
have been huge for me as an ultra-runner and like a bottle of wine, I feel like
I'm improving with age. Suffice to say, I had high hopes of doing well at this
year's Phidippides, with my dream being to make it back under the 80 hours mark.
The
route follows the footsteps of Phidippides, an Athenian soldier sent to
Sparta to request King Leonidas’s support in the fight against the Persian
invasion in 490BC. The race starts at the base of the Acropolis and follows
lovely coastal roads, then through the Greek countryside to Sparta and back
again, climbing Artemesio mountain twice and covering 490km in the process.
Race
day arrived and I led a small group of runners from the hotel to the start, a mile
away. One of these runners was Didier from France, and we quickly formed a bond
having many things in common; he speaks Portuguese with his Portuguese parents,
his wife is Brazilian, etc. It’s 6am at the start line, I say a quick
hello to my Greek friends and we are off. Didier and Francesca who I met the night
before form a little team and run together; the first few miles are easy and uneventful;
it’s probably my least favourite part of the route.
At
around the marathon distance in the area of Megara we had our only diversion of
the route due to roadworks and I managed to make the only navigation error
during the race missing a small tunnel that crosses a larger motorway. Using my
watch map I quickly rectify the mistake and we are back on track within 10
mins.
The
sun is out and is lovely on the skin but the strong headwind seems to annoy me
and Didier. Francesca has to stop for the call of nature and is now trailing
5min behind. George who completed every single edition of the race is now with
us too and as we pass the Corinth canal at around 80km where we stop for quick
selfie. The headwind plus sunshine are starting to take their toll and I'm
looking forward to a pit stop in Examilia, one of 6 larger check points on the
way to Sparta. We were there for about 15min, inhaling a plate of hot pasta and
some canned peaches, and a quick sock change.
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| Corinth Canal with George (AEK) |
The night is fast approaching and with the coast left behind the wind has died down a bit and I'm feeling re-energised. The head torch is on and we are enjoying the miles, eating, drinking and chatting away making our way towards the mountain, passing Nemea where I see my race 'mums'. Eventually we pass Lyrkeya where the long mountain climb starts; it is now me, Didier, George, Francesca and another Greek runner. I feel quite sleepy and trees are taking weird shapes like I'm on an acid trip, so I opt for a couple of caffeine pills which does the trick and make our way to the village of Karia, that sits half way to the top of Artemisio mountain. More climbing and more walking and we finally make our way up the rocky road which is very close to the summit. I tell the others that the descent is much quicker despite it being all dirt tracks.
Nestani
checkpoint is at the bottom of the mountain at around 105 miles and I get there
in good spirits having covered a third of the race and my hallucinations have
also disappeared. After some hot food, Didier, George and I are out of Nestani,
leaving Francesca there to sort out her blisters.
It is about 15 easy, flat miles to Tegea, the sun has now come up and my circadian rhythm has woken me up fully. I'm ready for a day's running. Once in Tegea, I opt for sandwiches and a flan. Now, only 30 miles left to Sparta and our halfway point! The flat section is over and it is now a lovely undulating route with beautiful scenery on both sides, despite the road being busy and fast. We are finally at the last 10km into Sparta; Didier is positive he is stopping in Sparta complaining of an issue in his ankle. The downhills are becoming a problem and he is worried of the possible long term impact of attempting to run back. The 3 amigos arrive in Sparta together dodging the traffic in the bustling city centre, in about 37hours11min. I touch the King Leonidas statue for the 5th time and tell myself that this is just as special as all the other times.
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| The Three Amigos |
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| The famous King Leonidas Statue |
I'm not that keen to stay in Sparta for long, I rush George to finish his food and after our goodbyes to Didier we are back on the road to Athens. We cross Francesca on the outskirts of the town; she is now alone but seemed in good spirits. A quick hug and I warn her to keep an eye on the road signs as the town is busy with people and cars on a Friday night.
It
is about 10km uphill back to the motorway, so it is mostly power walking for us,
we are high-fiving a lot of the runners, running in the opposite direction.
Back on the motorway and with every hour covered it gets colder and colder. I'm
wearing 3/4 tights, baselayer, top and a waterproof jacket, buff around my
neck, beanie, cap and gloves. I'm running lots to keep warm and eventually
notice that all the plants next to the road are frozen (apparently it was 0C)!
The sky is absolutely stunning, so many stars, so clear. I keep rubbing my arms
to get the blood pumping and to be totally honest, I'm getting a bit worried
about the temperature. Arriving at an unmanned checkpoint, George spots a roll
of bin bags and uses his teeth to cut the arms and neck and make me a gillet. I
immediately feel better and cosier, although, the legs are still cool, I
keep running well and eventually make it to Alepochori check point, seeing
Maria and Lena for some well-earned hot food. George seemed a bit annoyed as I
left him a few metres behind and I explained to Lena to translate to him that
I'm just worried and trying to keep warm. We shake hands, I tell him that I
appreciated his help with the gillet and I leave by myself, using a foil
blanket as a skirt to insulate my legs. Plants are still frozen but I am
running strong and feel warmer with my
bin bag gillet and space skirt as insulation. Eventually, I'm back in the lower
ground, bursting through the Tegea checkpoint and waking up Lointa; Beth is in
the kitchen and I'm up for some soup and sandwiches. Lointa checks the
tracker and says I'm 3rd. I can't quite believe it but I did pass a few runners
returning from Sparta. Just as I leave, the 4th runner is entering the checkpoint.
This is the point where I decide to put my racing hat on. The 15 miles to Nestani are flat and I ran pretty much all of it with a quick stop at Zevgolatio; where Alkis and his wife have been cooking omelettes that tasted insanely good on top of bread. Now in racing mode, I arrive in good spirits at the bottom of the mountain for more hot food, clean socks and quickly depart before the 4th runner has seen me. The sun is now out again but it still feels cool. It has been over 50 hours of racing and still no sleep.
Power
walking up Artemesio feels good and I'm enjoying the views the higher I go.
During the decent, the official photographer is following me with the drone, so
I'm trying my best to look cool and relaxed, I also stop for a quick selfie
with Dimitris, one of the organisers. After a couple of hours descending the
mountain, my brain is starting to melt a bit, probably because of the of lack
of sleep, so I lie on the floor in the unmanned Lyrkeia checkpoint for 5 minutes, getting strange looks from a
boy sitting on the steps of the mini market across the road.
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I
keep running but looking back thinking that at any time I will see my
opponent. I eventually reach the “Shepherd’s” checkpoint, who unfortunately
wasn’t there this year due to work commitments in Athens. However, Pantelis had
a little bowl of spaghetti for me and the
Shepherd’s sister made me a sugary frappe. I press on towards Nemea feeling
better, looking forward to seeing my race mums again. Nemea came and went and
I'm now starting the third night on my way to Corinth. The road there isn't
great; fast and busy with cars and the point where last year I was attacked by
a dog. At some point on that road, a car stopped and it was Spyros who came to
cheer me on. He offered me a cold can of Mythos and I couldn't refuse, tasted
amazing and definitely gave me a lift.
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| It is always a good time for Mythos! |
I'm
still running and my body is in good shape but my brain started to go into
overdrive as I'm getting close to Examilia - to the extent that I forgot I was
in a race, questioning why I was running, where I was running to. Confused, I
thought I was going to a party but questioned why I wasn't dressed up for it,
which of the kids I should pick up to the take the party and why I didn’t have
any beers to take with me... then I'd concentrate and repeat to my myself,
you're running Phidippides, get to Examilia and sleep, 4th guy will be
struggling too, don't worry, don’t fuck this up and end up not finishing. I finally got to Examilia had lots of hot food
and crashed on the sofa and was covered with a blanket: '20min sleep please, no
more and could you wake me up with a coffee?'
I'm out of there with my brain
in better shape and no sign of the 4th runner. I figured out from the tracker
he is 10km away, a nice margin but nothing safe. I cross the Corinth canal
again but no time for selfie this time, I’m
now about 80km from the finish. Back on the coastal roads but it is
still pitch black, I'm feeling really sleepy now (no shit Sherlock) and
although I’m no longer hallucinating I’m literally sleep running. What worried
me, was that I'd wake up 2 meters into the road. Although the road was quiet, there
is always the risk of being hit by something. There seemed to be lots of stray
dog and their constant barking would give me a little shot of adrenaline and
wake me up momentarily, silver lining
hey!? Arriving in Kinetas checkpoint with roughly 60km to go, I again opted for
what would be my last 20min sleep and to be woken up with a sugary coffee.
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| Resetting the brain! |
I'm now eager to reach the area of Megara (a mere marathon to go), the sun rose again and I noticed the sea was really choppy which reminded me of Cornwall but luckily the wind was sort of sideways, so I was still running well. A support car drives past me and asks what I need in Megara 'I can eat anything but a black coffee would be great'. Bingo! Black coffee is waiting for me and I have a little sit down to enjoy it, dunking chocolate cookies.
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| Coffee and cookies |
I'm
no longer worried about my position, as the margin has increased but it will be
tight to go under 80hours, I can't afford slips ups or bad spells. I got
through the diversion without a mistake this time and continue to enjoy the
views of the choppy sea to my right, eventually arriving at Eleusis with a half
marathon left.
As
you leave that town, it is absolutely horrid for 4 miles running on the
motorway, you can taste the pollution, dead cats and rubbish everywhere,
so I do my best to not let it beat me up like it did last year. I maintained
focus to achieve my sub80 and soon enough, the horrid section is done!
Now 2 miles up the motorway, not as unpleasant but steep, so I alternate
walking 20 steps and running. My emotions are bubbling up, tears stream from my
eyes, I feel my destiny is in my own hands. I made to the top, turn right
leaving the motorway behind and now only 10km to the finish. Vasiliki, Smudge
(dog) and another volunteer are there, I have a swig of Coke and start running
towards the Acropolis. Vasiliki and Smudge follow me, we are running together,
the traffic is mad, we are crossing red lights (ok in Greece) and the pace is
increasing with 3 miles to go. Illias driving the organiser's car, is now
blocking the traffic so I can keep running, total madness and I realise if I
push a bit I can do sub79. Why not, I ask myself - you have a chance, so take
it! Vasiliki and Smudge are still running with me, it feels very quick but I’m
probably running 9 minutes per mile.
Quick
right, then left turn and I see the finish line - Mr Diamantis, race director
is waiting for me. Quick glance at my watch and the job was done for an
unbelievable personal best of 78h56min (return leg of 41hr45min). Diamantis
offered me a handshake but I opted for a big hug instead and I take the
opportunity to thank him and his army of volunteers yet again for a fantastic
event. I then sit underneath the big bull, like I did in 2019 and 2021 sipping
a bottle of coke and enjoying the endorphins.
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| Phew! It is over! |
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| Just chilling! |
Lots
of other runners have asked me my secret for such an improvement in the last 3
years doing this same race. Well, I can tell you, I'm not any quicker than 3
years ago, in actual fact I'm probably slower. Don't ask me to run an all-out marathon
these days, I'd be rubbish! But with consistent training I feel much stronger
maintaining lower speeds for several hours. I haven’t done any interval training
for 18 months. In my opinion, if you want to race long distances, train slow
and leave your ego on the side.
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| With my buddy Smudge. Don't tell Monty! Sssh |
I'm
now on the sofa drinking coffee and cuddling my dog looking back at an
exceptionally great season completing:
The Arc of Attrition
100 miler - Jan
The Devon C2C 117 miler - May
The 3 Peaks Ultra 430 miler - June
The Peak District 100 miler - July
The Royan 48 Hours covering 312km - Sep
The Authentic Phidippides 304 miler - Nov
Luckily this year I suffered no injuries or setbacks. With so much shit going around the world, ultrarunning offers me a temporary escape from my worries and fears, a chance to disconnect and meditate by putting one foot in front of the other. It is definitely excessive, probably not good for my body but great for the soul.
Also, very importantly I had the pleasure of running with some amazing people during my adventures this year, listening to each of your stories and battles has inspired me to achieve my own dreams. Thank you!
I
will definitely not race as much next year (to my wife’s delight) but the season
is already defined. In 2023 I am taking on the:
6-day
Racing World Championship in Policoro/Italy - in March
Thames
Ring 250 miler – April
Gloucester
48 hours – August
Mark
Cockbain’s LonLans 250 miler – October
One
last thing - huge congratulations to Lucasz Sagan, winning the race once again
and to Francesca winning first lady!
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| Feeling a bit out place with the two superstars! |
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| The amazing volunteers! |
