Records were shattered at the 2023 Spartathlon – the gruelling 244.7 km race which retraces the journey of Pheidippides who, before the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, was sent from Athens to Sparta to seek help, taking about 36 hours which is the target time for all who start the modern-day race.
This year, Greek Fotis Zisimopoulos was well under the 36 hours when he set a new men’s record of 19 hrs 55 mins, as indeed was Camille Herron of the USA who lowered the women’s record to 22 hrs 35 mins 31 secs when finishing third overall.
Herron has an Irish connection - she’s married to Dublin-born athlete Conor Holt, who began his athletics career with Dundrum South Dublin AC before heading off on a sports scholarship to the USA. The pair frequently return to Dublin from their American base in Oklahoma.
Ireland’s only finisher was Alex O’Shea of St Finbarr’s AC in Cork, who finished in 29:22:39. In 2021, O’Shea finished in 28:40:53. Alastair Higgins, a Scotsman who has lived in Dublin for over two decades, completed his fifth Spartathlon in 32:20:27; he has a best of 25:49:21 from 2019 when he finished fourth in the race. Also entered were Anthony Lee, who had entered for a ninth time, and Aidan Hogan with over 300 marathons to his credit.