Spartathlon 2017
Where were you at 15:48 on Saturday, September 30, 2017? What were you doing? Maybe many of you do not remember that detail, but I remember that minute with incredible clarity and I am sure it will not be possible for me to forget it for a very long time, maybe my whole life. At that minute, I was running along Konstantinou Palaiologou Street towards the Leonidas statue in Sparta, Greece. The street was crowded and everyone around was applauding and cheering. That 500 meters run on the street was the end of the 246-kilometre run which I started in front of the Acropolis ruins in Athens the previous morning. I reached the statue, resting my arms on its left foot and my head on my arms, thinking about the last six months and the effort I made in these months for 5-6 seconds. I will not hide, my eyes were wet. Yes, the race itself was long and tough but the preparation period was even longer and more difficult. That foot was a symbol of a very long term goal and I had reached the foot, I had finished the Spartathlon. It was okay to let myself go now.
Disclaimer: I must say beforehand, the article is a bit long. I wrote it as a journal record for the future. It is better to think of it as an adventure rather than a race report.
Let’s go back in time, to around 9 am on Monday, September 25, that is, about 4 days before the race. Since the race was approaching, I had reduced my running volume for a week or two. Towards the end of the week, I had a pain in my lower back and left leg, but I did not think it was very important and did not focus on it. I woke up normally that day and had breakfast. As I was getting ready to go to the office, I suddenly got a pain in my back. I couldn’t even bend over and walk properly. It was 4 days before the race of my life and I could not wear my socks without help. You can imagine what kind of panic I was in. Long-distance runners are used to pain, muscle strains, and minor aches. We know what to worry about and sometimes we know that it is not a big issue. But this was really terrible. I was not in a position to go to the grocery store, let alone running on the asphalt for 246 kilometres. I wrote the subject on WhatsApp to some of my friends. The common view of many was that this had been a problem created both by the body that suddenly stopped after busy weeks and also by the mind preparing for a very important challenge. Stress, in particular, could cause such problems in the lumbar region. Considering this possibility, I tried to relax and support it with muscle relaxants and painkillers. Indeed, the next day a slight relaxation started. However, given the pace of the recovery, it did not seem possible to be 100% healthy in the race morning.
Pre-Race Athens
There was nothing to do about the problem; we would go to Athens on Wednesday, get the race bib on Thursday and keep the hope that everything would be fine by Friday morning. On Wednesday my back was more relaxed. I could now walk normally, sit and stand up. We arrived in Athens that evening with my support team; my wife Başak, our friends Can and Cansu. We received our vehicle from the airport, which we previously rented over the internet. At the Spartathlon organisation, the registration fee includes the runner’s accommodation for 7 days, 5 nights (one night is in the race) and meals during this time. All runners are distributed to 5-6 hotels in the Glyfada area of Athens. If you want and pay the price, your support team can also stay in these hotels. Our decision was as follows: I would spend the two nights until the race with other runners in the hotel designated for me, and the support team would stay in a flat we rented, in the city centre, close to the Acropolis. The reason for this was that I wanted to get into the mood by staying with the runners before the race, and we thought it would be better for the crew to stay in a more comfortable environment.
They usually set up accommodation for countries with a large number of participants in the same hotel. Countries with a small number of participants gather in a mixed hotel. Generally, two people share one room. My roommate was Jan from Slovakia. When I entered the room, he was standing among his scattered supplies with pen and paper in his hand. I learned that since he has no support team, he will be using a lot of drop bags. There are 75 stations in the race and you can leave drop bags for all these stations whether you have a support team or not. Of course, when there is no support team, the number of drop bags used increases as well. Jan was preparing 22 bags. Preparation is the easy part, the harder part of this is remembering which stations you left your bags in during the race. He planned to do this by writing the station numbers on the top of his hydration flask. It was hard work no matter what. Jan said that he did not prepare all the drop bags for retrieval, he will be using some of them to put the stuff he would not use after that point. In the end, you take back all the bags you left in Sparta after the race.
I was the last to enter the hotel. The room consisted of two parts, one with a bed and the other with a converted seat. I missed the bed because I was the last to arrive. I slept in fear of what a bed converted from a sofa would be like for my not-very-healthy lower back. Fortunately, the night went smoothly. I was very curious about how the pain in my back would be while running, and since I want to experience it before the race of my life, I decided to go for a short run. The weather was beautiful and I found some very nice places to run near the beach. During running which lasted for nearly half an hour, I felt the pain and tension constantly, but it seems that I could run despite them. The next day I would see what will happen after half an hour. By the way, I discovered that Glyfada is a very beautiful region.
After the run we went down for breakfast with Jan. Being vegan, he could not find much to eat except fruit so he ate only two fruits. Frankly, I was a little embarrassed while eating my breakfast of eggs, cheese, honey and lots of bread in front of me. I witnessed that every runner’s preferences for breakfast were completely different. The biggest proof that there is no silver bullet about nutrition must be that breakfast room full of ultra-runners who chose various food options.
It became clear to me that it was a common problem when Jan talked about having very similar back pain at breakfast. Jan said he wanted to take a short run and see the condition of his lower back and left. After drinking a cup of coffee I went to the registration area to take the race bib and other stuff. The registration was in a very close hotel. Since it was not crowded yet, I quickly finished registration details.
A couple of weeks before the race, I received an email asking if I would like to take part in a study on the health of long-distance runners, and I responded with a positive answer. Immediately after the registration, I walked to the next room and went through a very thorough health check. I don’t know their medical names, but they examined my heart, veins and internal organs with ultrasound-like devices, and finally, they took some blood. It made me very happy to come across the words “you are very healthy” or “your heart looks very solid” at every examination table. During these processes, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with many runners. We also met Kostis Papadimitriou, the head of the organisation, and I gave him Aykut’s signed books. Since he was a very friendly person and because Aykut left very good impressions in the event, Kostis immediately embraced me as a very close friend. The entire time I was there I heard many times a lot of runners mentioned Aykut in a positive manner as “the guy from Turkey from recent years”. Therefore, I benefited from the good impressions Aykut left in the organization and around the race, as well as his experiences about the race.
After spending the afternoon touring Glyfada and eating lunch, we did final material checks with the support team. I had just prepared two drop bags. This was only a precaution for the possible misfortunes that the support team may experience during the race. One included the headlamp and windbreaker I would need in the evening, and the other included the raincoat and underwear that might be needed later in the evening. Anyway, if the support team had no problem and reached the stations before me, they would be able to get these bags by showing their cards. But if they were lost or could not reach the station before me because of a mechanical failure etc., I wouldn’t miss out on these essential materials.
We had dinner with other runners at the hotel before the race. We met Rolando and his team, who will run for the second time this year at dinner and who are participating from the Philippines. Like Jan, they were experienced as they had been here before. We talked about the race and my preparation. They were a very friendly trio, chatting with them helped me forget my excitement. I slept well the night before; I was comfortable about sleep as I knew it was more important than the night before the race. In fact, one of the reasons why I had a good sleep was that I took my earplugs with me with a wise decision. That night too, I set the alarm, put on earplugs, and immediately fell asleep. I had a good sleep until 10 minutes before the alarm.
The time of leaving the hotel in the morning was set as 5:50. Despite this, I was a little nervous as the hotel management had stated that they could not get breakfast ready before 5:30. Will I be able to eat enough and make time for a possible toilet visit after breakfast? Fortunately, breakfast was ready before it was told and I didn’t need time for anything else. I got on the first bus that departed because I did all my preparations the night before. As you will return to Athens, you can deliver the items you want to leave there to the hotel, and the bag containing the items you will need in Sparta to the organization. Since I have my support team and the car, I put all my stuff in the bag and take with me to give them before the race starts. There was an Israeli runner on the bus with me. He had completed many Ironman races but ran only 80 and 100 km races. He worried that this might be a problem. We talked a little, I tried to relieve him a little by saying that no matter how experienced he is, no matter how much preparation he has done, it is natural for everyone to be nervous right now and that after a certain distance everybody will be running with only mental effort. Talking to him like that made me feel comfortable too. It was as if I was talking to myself at the same time.
The Race Begins
It was not dawn yet when we arrived at the Acropolis. I found my team. We had little time to take a few photos and make final conversations in the crowd. Since we were behind the group, we did not hear what was going on, but I heard that they suddenly started the countdown. As day dawned, I found myself running the first meters of the race I had been preparing for months – indeed for years. Often in the reports, it is stated that runners should be careful the floor in this section not to sprain feet, but either it must have been changed or the situation is a little bit exaggerated, the floor was made of square pieces like the roads inside parks, instead of old cobblestones. Therefore, there was no need to pay attention, so I enjoyed the first meters of the race.
The first kilometres are in the centre of Athens. Since it was a weekday, I witnessed the city centre rush of a normal Friday morning. But of course, because it was too early, the real chaos had not yet begun. Since the time limit of the first 80-kilometre section is serious, everyone was trying to move forward with some rush. I focused on the aspects of the moment that are important to me rather than the environment and the pace. I say to myself; now the race has started and it has already passed a few kilometres, which also means the finish has started. Think of a kid who has been craving ice cream for a long time, and they finally get him the ice cream he wants. On the one hand, he is very happy and enjoys his ice cream, but on the other hand, he is sad about the idea that it will be over. I don’t know if you felt such things when you were kids, but I did and at that moment I was in a similar mood.
There was a long climb within the first 10 km. We were trying to cross a hill which was a sign that we were leaving the city. I focused on the muscle strain I felt on my lower back – more precisely, running without any strain, rather than my speed. As running at my natural running pace according to the slope, I witnessed many people passing me. When many people pass you it’s impossible not to panic. One cannot stop thinking about whether he/she is running too slow. But when you think calmly, it’s easy to see that they’re the ones who panicked. Both my feelings and the clock were showing that I was running in a reasonable manner. Then Jan caught me. I was surprised because I thought he would start much faster. When I told him that everyone was passing by, he said: “Wait, after 100 km some of them may not be in the race.” We ran together for a while. Because I was not familiar with how the stations look like and was unprepared, I missed the first few stations. Fortunately, there was a station every 3-4 km, after the third one, it became easier to notice and I started to notice them in advance.
Since the beginning of the race, I was feeling the problem in my left leg and lower back, but it did not prevent me from running. In fact, I was starting to feel better as my body got warmer. We moved on to the outskirts of the city with heavy traffic on the roadside. Sometime later Rolando and a few runners caught up with me, and we ran together for a while. Rolando remembered Aykut’s interest in basketball and their chats on it. We talked a little bit about basketball, too. Kilometres were flowing as we talked about NBA and Turkish basketball. Since the times we were spending at stations were different, we have departed. I was alone then. As the distance increased, the distance between the runners also increased, and because we moved away from the city, it was not too crowded anymore. I had been running alone for months and I was very familiar with this situation. I arrived at a place where children were waiting in large groups on the side of the road and reached out to the runners to high five. I ran by them, trying to greet all, and touched their hands as much as I can. Some of them called me “Jesus, Jesus!” I am used to being likened to Jesus because of my long hair and beard, but here it cheered me that the children noticed this even with the hat I was wearing.
There were factories and similar facilities around the 25th and 35th km. You would see in many reports that the air here smells bad. This is really the case, unfortunately. There was a similar region also around the 65th km. I don’t remember exactly which one now, but one of them was much worse than the other. Runners could get nauseous. Fortunately, it did not go on for too long. I passed by the region within a mile or two. As I moved along, I suddenly realized that I was about to finish the first marathon distance. The first station that I was going to see the support team was approaching. I was excited. I would see them more often later in the race, but the first 80 km we would stay apart for a long time. I arrived at Megara, or 42.2 km, around 3:50. I had planned 4 hours, but I didn’t blame myself for 10 minutes because I was not forcing myself to run faster. I made no effort to either speed up or slow down. The team was happy to see me because I was in good shape. I was feeling good but I swallowed a painkiller as soon as I arrived because the pain was still there. After eating a few chips, drinking a glass of coke and a quick chat with my crew, I quickly moved on.
Km 42-80
One of the things that make Spartathlon difficult is that the weather is generally hot during the race day. With a hat on my head and sunglasses around my neck, I was ready for the sun and heat, but that day the weather was wonderful. The temperature was super and the sky was covered with clouds. At Magera, I gave the sunglasses to Başak. After a while from the station, an ascend began. The sky was kidding me, the sun got clearer right after I left my sunglasses. I laughed about this during the climb. Some walk, but I kept running and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was making a mistake, anyways I was still feeling fine. After taking painkillers at 42 km, I did not have any problems with my back and leg. That did not change until the end of the race.
We were running on the left of the road throughout the race, but here we started running on the right because of the nature of the route. Then I saw some runners crossing the street, so I also made a move in that direction because the way forward appears to the left and up. Then a runner next to me warned me “Don’t cross, I live here, the road will turn right after 600 meters.” So I listened to him, and after a while, I really saw other runners trying to cross the road back again. While eating the raisins I got from the station in a place where the climb got rough, someone said, “Hello Mert, I’m Andrei.” I remembered talking with Aykut about him and reading it in his reports. He also started the chat by talking about Aykut. We ran and chatted together for a while. Andrei was in the race for the 5th time, he had 4 finishes before, and the conversation flowed when we had a mutual friend and hobby.
Meanwhile, I realized a dog running with us. It was obvious that she was moving along with the people running. “This dog is seen on the route every year,” Andrei said. Later I learned that the dog had been running with the runners since the start of the race in Athens and had continued until the 140th kilometre, doing this almost every year, but at that time I didn’t know. We departed with Andrei, as our tempo changed when the climb was over and the descent began. “Somehow we will meet again,” he said as if he had seen the entire race beforehand.
I was running alone on a beautiful route by the sea. Fortunately, the sun appeared very short and went behind the clouds again. I usually consumed chips and cola at the stations, drank water, and got a handful of raisins when I was leaving. I continued to run very comfortably in this part. A text “La Isla” caught my eye on a sign around 60th km. At that moment, I think of Madonna’s song “La Isla Bonita”. I couldn’t get rid of the song, I remembered more and more of its lyrics as it kept turning in my mind. The more I remember, the more I sing it, in cycles. I laughed and remembered that Aykut had a similar story with a Queen’s song. The funny thing was, I hit the Corinth channel singing a song that I was not a fan of, and I was not even aware that I knew the lyrics. Right after the channel, there was the second station where I would see the support team.
I reached the 80th km in 7 hours and 45 minutes. This was faster than what I had in mind, but I had no worries because I was still moving very smoothly. The team said that I was still in good shape. It was right, I was in a good mood and felt happy. My plan was to spend some time at this station. I changed all of my clothes, socks, and shoes. I ran with Asics Kayano 23 up to that point, then I changed to Hoka Clifton 4. I ate a small pack of yoghurt and wraps with cheese and walnut paste that the team prepared. Actually, this station was the first place where I was tired of the food on the tables and had difficulty eating. From now on I would have a lot of difficulties with eating, but at that moment I was not aware of it yet. I left the station after about 10 minutes. Until that station, I hardly walked, and I kept on running. This was the first goal in my mind before the race and it motivated me a lot to achieve this goal in good shape. My next goal was the 100th kilometer.
Km 80-123
After the station, I caught Andrei. We started running together and chatting again. At this point, the region we entered consist of mostly vineyards and gardens. I stopped to pee while running through the trees and it turned out that I actually needed a longer toilet break. It was so sudden and problematic that I had to crouch before I could find a good place to hide. I realized that I had diarrhoea while hoping no one would see me. This was not good news. We were at the very beginning of the race. I started losing my motivation. “Why did this happen while it was going so well!” I thought. After a while, I started to run again and I realized the pointlessness of regret and decided to focus on the solution. I had diarrhoea medicine with me, I got one at the first station and I hoped that would be enough. When I reached my support team at the 93rd km they noticed the stress on my face, but when I chatted with them, I got better again. I continued running without losing much time at the station.
I carried two spi-belts on my waist. I carried the phone, tissue, and station list in one of them, and a granola bar with a gel in the other one. As I was approaching the stations, I was calling Başak and informing her that I was approaching. We also had the opportunity to talk about whether I wanted anything or not. Passing the 100th kilometre in 10 hours and 18 minutes, makes me regain my morale again. I saw the team again. They prepared soup for me at this station, perfect decision! The weather was very strange, it was hot and humid for some time but all of a sudden the wind was changing it, and the temperature was dropping. Soup made me feel good after those cold moments. I had planned to get the headlamp in this station, but I decided to leave it to the crew because I arrived at an early time of the day, I would not need it yet.
At the exit of this station, the children of the town were waiting on the sidewalk with notebooks in their hands and asking for signatures from the runners. What will they do with those signatures? I stopped and signed without skipping any of them in order to motivate them. It made me stop for a long time but I didn’t mind, it’s a very long race at the end. Leaving the town, the climb should start according to the slope graph, but I did not feel it much. Later, I realized that the x-axis of the graph was very long, although these climbs seemed hard on the graph, they were actually very light. In this part, there was no traffic and the scenery was stunning. Calmness and silence… Perfect. But I still hadn’t been able to get rid of “La Isla Bonita”. In fact, another song was added, “Nothing Compares 2U”. I kept on singing each of them in cycles.
There was a very hard climb just before the next station where I would see the team, I had been doing the longest hike here since the beginning of the race. I was getting tired and the hill was very steep. For a while, I could not consume anything at the stations. Everything on the tables was making me sick, I didn’t want to eat any of them. When I called Başak, she advised me to take a gel while climbing. I did that. I arrived at Halkion village at 113th km. I was talking to the team about my problem with food, but there was nothing they could do. They also forced me to get another gel while leaving. Leaving this station, I got my headlamp, buff, and windshield because it was 7:10 pm and the day was over. Besides these, I also took the small battery and charging cable to charge my watch while running.
We left the town behind and dived into nature again. It was getting dark very fast. A female runner walked by, she had a white tight with strange shapes. On the back of her scraped head, a face was drawn. It looked spooky in the twilight. After the race, I learned that she was Wakaki Kurumi who is a Japanese artist famous for the faces she draws on the back of her head and her strange art. This was her 3rd Spartathlon that time.
About 20 minutes after this spooky encounter, I stopped for another pee break, and it turns out that I have a problem; diarrhoea. I got frustrated because I could not deal with something like that with the battery and charging cable in my hands. But my body did not care. Diarrhoea had become more severe. I know it is a bit strange to write about those issues but that is an important part of ultramarathons. Stomach or intestinal problems are very common, on the other hand, these are situations that everyone encounters during the races and it is necessary to find solutions. Those who don’t like it reading, I am sorry, but the details are important. It is not possible to overcome those difficult challenges without dealing with that kind of struggles, in the end, we are not movie characters in a movie. Anyway, it was clear that one diarrhoea medicine had not been enough. When we reunited with the team at the 123rd kilometre, Başak told me to take two more diarrhoea pills, and I did. I came to this station a bit low compared to the previous ones because it was annoying that the gut problem continued. However, I must say that no matter how upset I was, I always maintained my positive approach. I kept on chatting with my crew, making jokes, telling funny things that I have thought on the road. And my crew was also in a positive mood, and very supportive. I never had a depressing memory in the race. Since I mentioned the problem when I had called Başak just before approaching the station, they prepared rice for me. They boosted my morale while eating rice with the boiled potatoes they had prepared the night before. They said that I was doing very well and that I looked very vigorous from the outside, and I was progressing well. This was the station where I sat for the longest time. But I have to say it worked. The rice, potatoes, sitting down and relaxing for a while and the motivation of the team helped me recuperate.
Km 123-Mountain
This time it was 16 kilometres to the next station where we would meet the team again and I was up to ascending and descending hills. It was important that I got out of this station well. I started running at a nice pace again. The night was getting darker. I could not see what the environment looked like. I remember a long descent and a long ascent, followed by a long descent. As soon as I got to the station at the 140th kilometre, I sat on a chair and said, “Everyone is passing me by, am I too slow?”. My mood was in such a state that I was on the edge of focusing on the negative at that moment. I was feeling the movement in my bowels, and it frightened me. Hearing about that problem, Başak told me to take a bowel function slower. After taking it, I never felt a problem with my gut again. After a while, I was going to start the big climb. I tried to eat some bananas and potatoes but I had a hard time eating whatever it was. I had been bored and overwhelmed by eating the same things for 15 hours, but I had to.
I sweated a lot since I was running at a good pace on the last descent. At the station, Başak dried my face and neck with a small towel and then tucked the towel into my shirt, against my chest and stomach, “Keep it there for quite a while, it’s cold here.” she said. I left without wasting too much time because my goal after 100th km was now to cross the mountain and to reach Nestani. I had been waiting for this for a long time. While running I felt something inside my t-shirt. I looked inside it and laughed a lot when I saw the towel. I must have forgotten it as I was leaving the station quickly. “A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.” — Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
After this station, the route turned into dirt roads for the first time. We ran with the same runners in this section. We were constantly passing each other because we were taking walking breaks at different times. I was moving focused on the mountain. It was right after midnight when I reached the village of Lyrkia. The team had prepared a cup of coffee, it was warm and tasted delicious. I didn’t stop too long, they told me that the climb had started and it would be good to take another gel. That coffee and gel worked well on the tough climb ahead.
Leaving this village and entering the darkness, it was possible to see the road going up to the mountain and the lights of the highway. When looking up, you could see the headlamp lights climbing. But the real climb had not started until the village of Kapareli at 154th km. The station in this village is very quiet, nobody is around. However, when leaving, a few people at the station try to encourage the runners with applause. There were no runners ahead of me, I had a hard time finding the way because it was too dark. When I found the way I started walking, climbing. It’s useless to look up, all you have to do is to focus on the step ahead and move forward. I would see the team at the next station, Mountain Base. This name is a bit misleading. When you say “base”, one thinks as the bottom of the mountain, but this station is at the top point of a huge climb in front of me. What they mean is that this is a “mountain station” (because base also means “headquarters”).
During the race, I focused on not slowing too much when I walk. I always tried to walk in a brisk rhythm. I was doing the same thing here while climbing, but it’s very steep and long. It started to rain as we ascended. First, it began to spray, then it started to rain slightly, and it got harder and harder. The lights of the highway that appear on the hill were misleading, it looked like the end of the climb, but it was not. One had to reach there, pass and continue. I arrived at the station after a while from the highway. This climb, and of course the previous 160 km, made me feel tired. The cold wind and the rain were also not very forgiving. Başak and Can seem slightly affected by the weather and the state of the people who arrived at the station before. Of course, I was also in the same mood. Here they forced me to eat some potatoes and bananas. They gave me coffee and a gel. The massage chairs were empty, the masseurs were inviting runners, but at this point, I might not be able to get up if I lie down somewhere. I had to cross this famous mountain while I was focused. I wanted to get up and leave, but the team forced me to change my clothes. First I resisted, but then I was convinced to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt, a raincoat, and a pair of gloves. At that moment, I was not aware that I would be so grateful to them for insisting in just five minutes after leaving the station. I got up and headed towards the mountain.
Mountain-Nestani
Entering the dirt road, they got my number. The organization needs to know the racers on the mountain. I got stunned as soon as I started climbing. It was very steep and the ground was uneven. I was moving incredibly slow. There was nobody around, despite the wind, there was fog and it was still raining. I thought “Let alone Pan, man can see everything here”. The road was marked with too many lights and lanes, but the ground and the weather were so bad that I had difficulty seeing one or two meters ahead. After a while, I heard a classical music sound. “Okay, dreams have begun!” I told myself. After a while, I saw some people. The music was coming from the mountaineers’ mobile phones who were waiting for support. When I started to descend, the wind got stronger. The descent was in zigzags and in one direction of these zigzags the wind and hence the rain came right across my face, while I could relax in the other direction. But the slope was so hard and the ground was so slippery that accelerating was not possible. I stared in amazement at how some of the runners were running fast on this descent. On the other hand, I saw that some were more cautious and slower than me. After 7-8 zigzags, I reached the Sagas village with a few runners. Reaching the asphalt was relaxing. After a while, the weather started to get better. At the end of the night, I started running towards Nestani. It was great to be able to run after a long time. I arrived at Nestani at 5 o’clock.
At this station, a volunteer saw me before the team realized that I arrived. He immediately made me sit down, put a blanket on my back, and asked what I wanted to eat. In a few seconds, I started to warm up under the blanket and a cup of cheese pasta in my hand. This volunteer was really successful. I thought he must know well what kind of hell the runners were coming from. My team gave me a cup of coffee. The pasta was delicious. Warming up and sitting made me sleepy. Since I did not want to sleep, I immediately got up. I wanted to move forward. When I stumbled on the stairs while leaving the station, it was obvious that I was half asleep, but there was nothing to do, I left hoping to wake up on the road.
Nestani-Sparta
I started running to wake up, but when the tiredness set in, I decided to walk. Just as I was taking the first walking steps, I heard Andrei’s voice again, passing me by running. This was a great opportunity for me. I immediately started running at his pace and talking to him. I thought this union was good for both of us, we ran and chatted for a long time at a good pace. But after an hour some oddities began. I noticed that I was falling asleep while running. I suddenly slid to the right side of the road. While I was going to talk about the situation to Andrei, I saw that he was in the same situation. After a short toilet break, I noticed how involuntarily he slips towards the road while running after him. I never thought one could sleep while running. But even worse, if you walk you can sleep deeper. I came to myself a few times before falling forward. I tried to talk to Andrei more, we were now talking all the time without choosing a topic.
As the day was illuminating slowly, I saw a man in a red shirt ahead watching the runners on a 50-60 cm tall wall. “Wow!” I thought, “Look at that man watching the racers that early in the morning!”, and I admired him. There was a white text on his red shirt, I was trying to read it. As I show the man to Andrei and talked about my admiration, I realized that what I had been looking at for a while was a traffic sign. I shivered for a moment, here were the hallucinations that other ultrarunners mentioned. It was so real. We departed with Andrei for a reason. Several times a snake passed between my feet on the road. Or it did not pass, it was a game of light, but they looked so real to me, I was scared and jumped. Sleep and these awkward hallucinations scared me a lot, I decided to take a short nap at the next station.
At 7 am I arrived at the 186th km station near Tripoli. The day dawned. I told the team that I wanted to sleep. After I changed my clothes I lied down on a bench. They covered me with whatever they could find; blankets, sweatshirts, t-shirts to keep me warm. I tried to sleep for about 10 minutes. While I lied down, Can charged my watch. I didn’t know if I slept or not, but got up and said, “I can’t sleep, I’ll continue.”. Then I consumed some coffee and potatoes. When I left the station, I switched to a 100 m walk, 400 m run rhythm, so that I did not fall asleep and proceed well. In this way, I constantly focused on the clock and stayed awake with changing rhythms. I was moving fast. Every two-lap meant one kilometre, and voila I reached the next station. I came so fast that I caught the team off guard. I didn’t intend to stop anyway, I ate a few slices of apple and continued running with the same cycle. In this part, I was alone; there were no runners in front of me or behind me. I hadn’t seen any signs on the ground for a long time. A referee car passed by as I was about to become sure that I was lost. They stopped and asked me if everything was okay, and I asked them if I was on the right track, they approved.
After a few kilometres, when I passed the 200th kilometre, I was very happy. Because at that time I was climbing and not feeling bad. This was pretty good news. Only 46 kilometres were left and I had 9 hours and 20 minutes. It was nice to think that if nothing strange happened, I could finish. But the climb was too long. In the pre-race briefing, they announced that they would allow support crews at a new station that was not available in the previous years. Normally there was no such station between 195 and 212, but this year cp 60 at km 206 was also open to supporting teams. As I approached this station, I felt that the climb was consuming my energy and I called Başak and I wanted bulgur pilaf. It helped me in a race in Iznik, I was hoping the same to happen here. Başak said they might not be able to prepare it on time in this station, “Let’s do it next station!” she said, but she did not know that I was moving very slow. I forgot to tell her that. Fortunately, they hurried up and prepared it because they were aware that I needed it so much. As soon as I got there, I sat on a chair and eat the bulgur pilaf and yoghurt like Cookie Monster. I also drank some coke. While eating bulgur, we met Nakis, who was born in Istanbul. He said he was one of the race officials and going back and forth on the route. He talked about Aykut in Turkish, which he speaks very well, and remembered his good results. I said that I was not as experienced as him, maybe I might not be able to finish, because I was a novice in such long runs. He looked at his watch and reminded me that I was going very well. As I got up and started running, the crew asked what I want in the next station, “Ice cream!” I said. I was craving something cold and sweet. We met them again after 6 km. Başak was out of sight, looking for ice cream. Can opened a salty gel and gave it to me, “Come on brother, pour it in your mouth!” he said. I did what he said. Just I was leaving the station, Başak came out running fast from a building. She had ice-cold juice in her hand. “I couldn’t find any ice cream, but here this is the closest thing I have found!” she said. I drank while running, it was really delicious, just like an ice-cream.
I was starting to feel that what I have consumed in the last half-hour had turned into energy. When the road started to descend slowly, I began running. I ran this part well enough to really surprise myself. I didn’t remember how many runners looked at me in surprise. Between 206 km and 223 km, I felt I was flying. I ran thinking about how I could run downhills despite the state of my legs. My quads were on fire, muscles were screaming, but I was running. They hurt as I ran and I ran as they hurt. Of course, when you read this, don’t think of 4 minutes per km paces, I probably was around 6 and 7 minutes per km paces, but it felt really great. Our morale with the team was again pretty good at km 223. They were also aware that I was progressing well. There was a long climb at the beginning of the remaining part, but the rest was downhills. I quickly passed through that station without eating much. After running for just 100 meters, I remembered the battery of the clock and I ran back to the station. I got the charger from Can and hit the road again. I took the last climb out of the way by walking at a high pace for a few kilometres. A lot of people walked this part, but I tried to keep the rhythm fast. A large group of people was cheering a runner for the last 3-5 stations. They arrived at each station before him, applauding and encouraging. In terms of motivation, I also benefitted from the same crowd, as we were moving at a similar pace. I would find out later, this runner was Nikos of Spartan. When the last climb was over, all this crowd congratulated me for finishing the race. However, there were another 20 kilometres.
By the way, the second day was clear, unlike the first day. We were moving under the bright sun. I started the first day very well prepared for the sun and heat and did see the sun barely, but the second day we forgot about the hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen totally. The support team skipped this also. I was not aware of it, but my skin was burning badly. At one point I saw a young little girl standing in a ridiculous place next to the highway, leaning her elbows to the sidebars, watching the runners passing by. It was admirable that she came to support those who run in this heat and watch the race. I ran, planning to thank her while getting closer. As I got closer I realized that it was not a girl, but one of the roadside shrines. You might call it a simple illusion, but I am pretty sure I followed human movements for a long time. So these hallucinations were not special to the night.
Of course, every energy has an end. I arrived at the 236th km, the last station where we would meet the team, slowing down again. But after that, it did not matter. Even if I crawl, the race would finish in time. The team forced me to have a snack and eat a gel. I changed my top and wear a dry and clean t-shirt, I should look neat in the finish. After this point, my energy was low, and I was exhausted. Still, I tried to run when I could. I must have passed a lot of people in the last kilometres. When the descend was over, I entered Sparta. After running through the woods for so long, the interior of Sparta felt a little bit different. City streets, traffic, and noise. This was where I was trying to reach, so I was very happy. There were no more signs on the ground, I was confused about where to go. In such situations, it was the right choice to follow the path you are in, instead of looking at the turns. After a while, I arrived at the city centre.
Meanwhile, I passed those who were still walking, at a jogging pace. At some point, I started getting impatient. One street ends, we turned and ran on another street. When I realized I was impatient, I said to myself, “Enjoy the present, tortoise!”. From that moment on, I started doing that, moving forward and enjoying every step. The moment I saw the statue and flags ahead after the last turn, there was a cheer. That 500 meters were really remarkable. There, the feeling of running towards that statue was indescribable. At the beginning of the street, your number was being reported to the team who were present at the statue. They were also preparing to announce. On this street, the runners sometimes hold their partners’, friends’, or the local childrens’ hands and continue running with them to celebrate gradually. The French runner who was in front of me was walking slowly in the same way. I was still running. Kostis announced the French name because he came before me. Should I stop and wait for him to finish his celebrations, or should I run to the statue and finish this job? After a moment of pause, hoping that it would not be perceived as a disrespectful move, I quickly passed him and proceeded towards the statue. Kostis was surprised for a moment at first, but then he immediately picked up the situation and announced my country and my name. The rest was like the beginning of this article.
Immediately after, I was taken to the health checkpoint where all the runners were taken. They checked my heart and lungs. Meanwhile, two young women took off my shoes and the bandages on my feet and looked at the wounds on my feet. They struggled to remove the bandages, they tried to clean them calmly, trying not to hurt, but I had prepared them very firm for a 36-hour run. Lying for a few minutes again made me think about the effort I had made to get here and the willpower I had been trying to show for the past two days. I was getting emotional again. Can and Cansu seemed to be in the same situation. I left the health checkpoint by getting comments like “Your heart is in great shape.”
We found an empty table in a cafe right next to the finish line and sat inside. I rested my arms on the table and my head on my arms and slept for 5-6 minutes. There were announcements and cheers outside, but I had no trouble sleeping as fatigue got on my body like a 10-tons of rock. When I woke up, I was very surprised to hear that my crew was speaking in English with the waitress. “Why are you speaking in English?” I asked. Because I thought I was in Turkey at that time. I was baffled by fatigue and sleeplessness. They thought I was kidding first, but then they got a little worried about me. We ate pizza, but I could not taste anything. I could not get my head together due to the noise, crowd, and tiredness. I wanted to wait and watch the finishers outside, but I realized that I was not that good. We decided to go to the hotel.
We drove to the hotel we have booked in the town of Mystras, 4-5 km outside of Sparta. After taking a shower, I slept instantly and can only wake up the next morning. After running for 33 hours and sleeping for 12 hours, the whole body wakes up swollen and totally solidified. We went out for a short walk and breakfast. Mystras is a wonderful town; quiet, calm, small, and intertwined with nature. The mountains rising nearby and the forests above them offer exquisite views. I liked it so much that I can consider going for only a vacation and relaxing.
On Sunday afternoon, the mayor of Sparta is holding a dinner in Sparta. All the runners and their support teams were invited. Unfortunately, there was no vegetarian option on the menu, we could only eat some salad. Sparta’s olives and olive oil are famous. We enjoyed it in salads with some bread. As we left, we received my gift package consisting of the president’s gifts; olives, olive paste, olive oil, pomegranate, and dried bread. We drove back to Athens from the road I was running the day before. Along the way, we remembered the race, told each other what we lived the day before: “Isn’t that the place where…?”, “Look, it happened over there…”. But the most striking moment was when we saw the descent of the mountain from a distance. It was challenging at night, but seeing it from afar was even more impressive.
We went to the gala dinner in Athens, where only registered support team members who had already purchased tickets could participate. These meals and events work well for runners to meet and mingle. Everyone who finished was invited to the stage and given a medal and certificate before the start of the meal. The number of finishers was at a record level this year as the weather was quite well. Even the organization did not expect this many finishers, the medals prepared were not enough, we learned that the medals would be given to some of the Greek runners later. Because it was so crowded, the food was very late. The place and the food were very nice though. This was the end of a long dream.
Overview
In my opinion, the further the endpoint is, the harder it is for the runner to motivate himself to reach that finish. Think of it like sound or some kind of gas expanding. In the 5, 10 km races, the finish is so close that its motivation is felt very clearly. Marathon is not like that, for example, I always had to cross the halfway point to feel the finish. The motivation of the finish in Spartathlon is far far away, it took 200 km for me to feel it. For this reason, I have determined my own waypoints before. I haven’t even looked at the station signs for a very long time. I didn’t want to see which checkpoint we were at, the next one, or how much time was left to Sparta. First I had the Corinth Canal in my head, then I focused on the mountain, and finally Nestani. After Nestani, my first thought was the 200 km point, because from there I could smell the finish line.
Before the race, I prepared the following graph for myself that includes both slopes and important stations. I scheduled 31 hours as best and 35 hours as worst for each key checkpoint. I prepared the same for the crew. There is a very nice spreadsheet for this on the page of the English Spartathlon Team. It was enough for me to stay within these ranges that I have determined. This graphic was very useful for me and my crew, especially in the last 70-80 km.
I did not have a stomach problem but I had a lot of eating and drinking difficulties. I didn’t want to eat for most of the race, I always had to push myself or the team pushed me. We were well prepared as we expected it to happen; the crew carried camping stove to cook things like vegetable soup, rice, and bulgur pilaf, potatoes, and coffee. They managed to keep me constantly energized by forcing me to eat enough. However, I had an intestinal problem. We solved it with some medicine. It is important not to panic and take the right precautions.
During the race, I was able to manage the fluid and electrolyte balance very well. Only when my hands started to swell slightly on the second day, I realized that I had not taken salt for a long time and tried to consume more isotonic drinks from the tables. Although I peed frequently at correct intervals, after 1/3 of the race, my urine became darker. It continued like this for 24 hours throughout and after the race. We consulted with the doctors at the control of the finish, they said it was normal, it was caused by the overwork of the kidneys.
Running the whole race is not something for mortals like me can do. It is necessary to be aware of this, but on the other hand, it is necessary to stay in motion and to be careful while walking not to slow down a lot. I constantly reminded myself of this during the race. While walking, I always played the game of reducing the distance between me and the runner ahead of me. I tried the run-walk patterns. These helped me a lot both to move forward and stay awake.
When it comes to hallucinations: the brain is constantly trying to interpret what the eye sees every day. The brain of a healthy and rested person reveals very realistic interpretations under normal light. When these variables become negative that is; the brain of a tired, sleep-deprived individual whose brain is under-fed with oxygen and nutrients can make very unexpected and truly distant interpretations at dusk during a repetitive movement. This is the scientific reason for such illusions experienced in ultramarathons. That’s exactly what happened to me. Now I can think of these while sitting on my warm and comfortable seat, but it was a very unusual feeling when I was running sleepy towards the morning.
I think the most important thing is to always keep the mood good. During such long activities, it is possible to get caught in a bad mood and then sink and swirl deep down. The way to stay away from this is to try to smile all the time. The support team is also essential for this. I think the most important tip is to just do your job without focusing on anything negative.
Results
This year the results were surprising due to the good weather. The winner of this year made it the 5th best time ever. The all 4 better results belong to Yiannis Kouros. First finisher, Aleksandr Sorokin is 7 minutes closer to Kouros’s 4th worst time. The first 4 names of this year finished faster than 24 hours. Runner-up Radek Brunner is the 8th best ever. This year a record has been set for women. Previously, the best time belonged to Katalin Nagy (25:06); Polish Patrycja Bereznowska, winner of this year, finished at 24:48. On the other hand, the completion rate was around 70%, which is not something that had happened before. According to people from the organization, there have been years when the weather has been so beautiful before, so this means development continues at ultra distances.
Hubert Karl, who finished the race 20 times before, and Andras Low who finished 19 times, were also in the race this year. Unfortunately, Hubert Karl was not well prepared due to an injury and had to quit the race at a checkpoint. Andras finished the race; now they are both people who have finished Spartathlon twenty times. In addition, Andras is the only person who has been finishing for 18 years since 2000.
Finally
Like many runners, this race is very special for me, too. I felt this way without seeing or living it. Now it has an even more special place. I believe I have a special connection with those who have passed this way before and those who took part in the race this year. It is a process in which people sometimes lose themselves and sometimes find more.
