I guess you don’t know me. Let’s talk straight. I’m an ordinary person “incapable of running 100 kilometers in 10 hours” (this was what one good coach once called me). 

The purpose of this observational study was to examine the incidence of exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) in a 246-km continuous ultra-marathon.

The sun is finally going down and I'm running among the olive trees on a winding road which leads to the village of Halkion at around 113 km.

Το ‘’ταξίδι ‘’ ξεκινάει ξανά ! Αυτή την φορά προετοιμασμένος πιο καλά, σε σχέση με την προηγούμενη φορά. Εντόπισα τα λάθη που είχα κάνει, τα διόρθωσα  και τώρα βρίσκομαι μπροστά σε μία ακόμη αναμέτρηση με τον εαυτό μου!!

It was a race I had never even really considered. I came out of my 6 day race last New Years a changed runner. The race had been physically grueling, but even more challenging was the mental recovery. 

Can you have a first love a second time? Can a magical spell lift you, shake you up, and torture you again, just like it did before? Can everything that feels familiar also be new and strange?

‘It’s been fair to say I’ve lost my running motivation over the past couple of years and coupled with mediocre form, injuries and a bit of illness my interest in running ‘long’ ultramarathons has dwindled. 

‘I’m not sure what to do for the best…. it’s 153 miles you say?….. well?!?!’

These were the words of Mr Matt Fitzpatrick (Consultant Podiatrist) as I sat in his treatment room in Blackheath hospital on Thursday 5th September, three weeks before Spartathlon.
Four weeks prior, he had diagnosed a peroneal tendon tear in my right foot and after realising that I intended to be on that start line at the Acropolis come hell or high water, had sent me away to train and rehabilitate for four weeks before deciding if a steroidal injection would benefit me.

Μέχρι σήμερα, μετά το πέρας της σωματικής και ψυχικής προετοιμασίας, βίωνα όλους τους αγώνες μικρούς και μεγάλους, σαν μια αθλητική γιορτή. Ωστόσο, φτάνοντας στις 27 Σεπτεμβρίου 2019 με την 3η συμμετοχή μου στο ΣΠΑΡΤΑΘΛΟ αναθεώρησα ως ένα βαθμό τις απόψεις μου. 

Storms develop over days, weeks, months even years. When the wind blows in your favour, you get lifted off the ground to reach speeds and highs you never thought possible. When you are hit by a headwind, you need to master all your resistance, to just hang on and not be pushed backwards.  

Much it has be talked about the loneliness of the long distance runner and. Although I have felt so many times, training for Spartathlon is a before and an after for me as amateur runner and as person.

Spartathlete at last. The sweetest finish. I have learned a new word in the last year or so. Patience. More importantly I have learned what it means.  If you are reading this then you may have to be patient too.