Hundreds of ultra-marathon runners took part in the historic Spartathlon race from Athens to Sparta on Saturday.
The Spartathlon is a historic ultra-distance foot race held annually in September in Greece. It is one of the most challenging and intriguing ultra-distance races in the world due to its unique history and background.
Radek Brunner of the Czech Republic has been crowned the winner of the Spartathlon 2025, reaching the statue of King Leonidas in Sparta first. Brynner, who was running the historic Ultramarathon for the tenth time, finished the grueling 245-kilometer (152-mile) race with a time of 22:55:13. Greece’s own Giorgos Dimoulas finished in fifth place as the top Greek runner.
The race revives the footsteps of Pheidippides
The Spartathlon revives the footsteps of Pheidippides, an ancient Athenian long-distance runner, who, in 490 BC before the battle of Marathon, was sent to Sparta to seek help in the war between the Greeks and Persians.
It was in September of the year 490 BC when, just 42 kilometers (26 miles) outside of Athens, a vastly outnumbered army of brave soldiers saved their city from the invading Persian army.
As history demonstrates, the Battle of Marathon safeguarded far more than the city itself. The Greeks preserved Athenian democracy and, in doing so, helped protect the trajectory of Western civilization.
According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides reached Sparta the day after departing from Athens. He then ran back to Athens to deliver the message, completing the round trip on foot in an astonishing three days.
As in the more widely known version of the story, the military courier ran from the battlefield at Marathon, northeast of Athens, and collapsed and died shortly afterward.
This iconic figure has long been remembered as the man who tragically died in 490 BC after delivering the good news of victory to the citadel in Athens following the defeat of the Persians.
Part of the reason his story became widely known in the West is that the run from Marathon to Athens was popularized by Robert Browning’s 1879 poem “Pheidippides.”
Spartathlon, the ultimate long run
In 1984, the International Association “Spartathlon” was founded and has since organized the iconic race every September. In 2021, Greek runner Fotis Zisimopoulos won the 39th Spartathlon.
Greek veteran Yiannis Kouros, the winner of the very first Spartathlon, still holds the record with an astonishing time of 20:25:00.
Kouros has earned numerous titles from his peers, running experts, and the public, including “The Running God,” “The Golden Greek,” “Modern Pheidippides,” “The Master of Pain,” and “Unstoppable,” all of which are well-deserved.
According to the website Ultrarunning History, Kouros is regarded as the greatest ultrarunner of all time. Experts have even calculated that, since high school, the 63-year-old Greek athlete has run a distance equivalent to traveling from the Earth to the Moon.
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