Fifteen Years on the Road to Sparta

Between 2011 and 2026 I started Spartathlon five times, finished it once, crewed seven times, and helped turn a loose bunch of Brits on Facebook into the British Spartathlon Team: free team and crew kit, GPS trackers, and a Community Interest Company. This is that story, warts and all, from a man who failed driving tests seven times and still believes persistence beats talent. It is a personal view and to quote the late Queen "recollections may vary"

It's a race that, as I wrote back in 2013, "burns into your soul". It has certainly burned through a fair few of my weekends, toenails and euros.

At a glance

Five starts, one finish (34:44:51 in 2015), and every edition bar one attended as runner or crew since 2012.

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Year	My role	What happened
2026	Crew for Andrew "Macca" McKillop, with Peter; also crewed Savannah from the 80 km checkpoint	Macca pulled at halfway. Resigned from the BST management team after the race
2025	Crew for Macca, with Chrissy	Macca finished, fuelled by baklava. Ten years since my finish
2024	Crew for Macca, with Chrissy (her first Spartathlon); ran the crew WhatsApp group	DNF
2023	Crew for Alastair Higgins, with Gary Seary	Finished. First Spartathlon Beer Mile
2022	Roving support on a healing broken foot; ran the BST Twitter feed	360 starters, 182 finishers
2021	Crew for Fabio, then for David Bone	Fabio pulled at Hellas Can (80 km)
2020	Race cancelled (pandemic)
2019	Crew for Paul Ali, with my son Tom	Paul finished
2018	Crew for Russell Tullett, with Sandra Hopkins	DNF. I'd stepped back from BST admin that summer
2017	Withdrew; gave my place back	Memorial kit for John Foden
2016	Runner, fifth attempt	DNF at Halkion, about 112 km
2015	Runner, crewed by Nick Papageorge and Yiannis	Finished, 34:44:51. First year I ran the BST kit and sponsorship
2014	Runner, crewed by Nick and Yiannis; filmed for The Road to Sparta	Timed out at 132 km, 1 am
2013	Runner, coached by Mark Cockbain	Pulled at CP42, 145 km, 2:45 am
2012	Runner, race number 5	Pulled at CP19, about 70 km, after 8h20
2011	Ultrabalaton, 212 km in 31.5 hours	Qualified

How it started

I'd first heard of Spartathlon in the 1980s and quietly promised myself I'd run it by the time I was 50. In 2011, while working in Hungary, colleagues talked me into Ultrabalaton: 212 km round Lake Balaton, which I finished in 31 and a half hours. Mark Woolley then told me I'd qualified for my dream race. I was amazed.

Mark introduced me, via Facebook, to a group of British runners with the same itch: Allan Rumbles, James Adams, James Elson and the great Mark Cockbain among them. Back in those days social media wasn't yet poisonous, and that group became the seed of everything that followed. Then my wonderful wife Chrissy gave her permission, which, as anyone married more than twenty years knows, is the final seal of approval.

Entry for 2012 cost €400. Stuart Shipley, who designed and printed that year's British shirts (we paid for them ourselves), told me that in the Noughties you could still apply in late summer, because hardly anyone outside Greece, Japan and Germany bothered. There were no crews until Hellas Can, no WhatsApp group, no trackers and no ballot.

Four DNFs and a finish (2012–2016)

Each failure taught me one thing, and it took me four goes to learn them all. As I put it in 2015: go too slow, as I did in 2012, and you don't reach Corinth; go too fast, as I did in 2014, and you watch your buffer drain away; dawdle at a checkpoint, as I did in 2013, and the Death Bus gets you.

2012: too slow. The organisers had me down as German, so I was race number 5 in the Hotel Congo with the Germans and Japanese. I misread the checkpoint boards, thinking I had half an hour in hand when I had five minutes, and was pulled at CP19 after about 70 km and 8 hours 20. The consolation was the company on the Death Bus and the beer at CP21. Watching James Adams and only two others kiss the statue the next day filled me with envy.

2013: too soft. Mark Cockbain coached me after giving me tips on my first Grand Union Canal Race. I arrived five kilos lighter, with a 100 km best down from 11:20 to 9:56, and reached Nemea at 124 km feeling on top of the world. Then I left my coach's notes at CP30, threw up a day's worth of gels, sat down at CP42 to rub a cramping calf, and lost my number at 2:45 am after 145 km. At four the next morning I walked up the finishing street in Sparta, photographed the foot of the statue and cried my eyes out.

2014: too fast, too heavy. Nick Papageorge and Yiannis crewed me for the first time. Nick had been on the original 1983 expedition with John Foden. I also featured in a film of four runners' attempts with Mark Woolley, a nurse called Angela and some numpty called Dean Karnazes; only Dean finished. I went out at 5:35 per kilometre, hit Nemea right on the cut-off and timed out at 132 km at 1 am. A hernia operation followed, and so did a fast that took me from 73 kg to 67 kg.

2015: endlich. Martin Bacon told me that doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result made me an idiot. So I went back to Cockbain's plan, trained in bin bags and a weighted vest, ran with a teacher called Fatih twice a week round the Kemnade See, and wrote two rules on my arms. The gist of the left one was "behave"; the right said "Do not refuse to continue". I reached the marathon in 4:06 and Nemea in 13:34, with two and a half hours in hand, passed the CP where I'd quit in 2013 under a full moon, and climbed the mountain wondering why anyone calls the descent "a road". With my Liverpool towel round my neck I walked the last 2.4 km singing You'll Never Walk Alone, refused to run when John & Shirley Steele told me to, accepted a vodka martini from Nick, and phoned Chrissy before I kissed the foot. The time was 34:44:51. It had taken four years.

2016: the second-time curse. The Spartathlon photography club had put a poster of my 2015 finish in Sparta's main square, and a runner from the Philippines called Fermin told me I was his hero. I told him he needed better heroes. I was heavier, slower and, mentally, done by Halkion at about 112 km. Nik Petalas reminded me of the old curse: finish one year, fail the next.

In 2017 I withdrew, because I knew I couldn't do the race justice and wanted the place to go to someone more deserving. It went to Tarique, on the British team. I've chased a qualifier since, at Sparta City 24h in 2023 (after a Lufthansa strike got me there three hours late), Barcelona 24h in 2024 and an 18-hour walk in Germany in November 2025, but broken bones in both legs and fifteen extra kilos mean my focus is now firmly on crewing.

Building the British Spartathlon Team

The idea that shaped the BST was simple: if we couldn't put sponsors on the runners tops, we'd put them on the crews. Free kit, paid for by sponsors and carried by crews, then gave us a reason to keep the race organisers, the International Spartathlon Association (ISA), on side. Trackers and better data followed.

Crew kits: the vehicle for sponsors

In 2014 Mark Woolley found an energy company to sponsor the team kit, and we were told off for having a sponsor's name on race kit. The rules don't allow advertising on what runners wear. My fix in 2015 was to give each runner two white running tops with no commercial logos, and to give each crew two red crew tops with the sponsors' logos printed on them.

After the 2014 edition myself and Paul Ali got together.  He agreed to do the website and we roped James Ellis in to do the publicity. 

I had already talked to Dave Ireland, who as a teacher, with his students had supported the original John Foden expedition.  Dave now ran a sporting goods store and agreed to supply the runners kits for 2015. But we had an issue getting other sponsors. We needed to be creative.

Crews follow their runners the full 246 km, stand at every crew checkpoint, and turn up in every finish-line photo, so a red shirt is a moving billboard. That gave sponsors something real for their money and meant runners and crews paid nothing. From January 2015 I raised the sponsorship, got the designs agreed (what is it about kit that turns everyone into a professional designer?) and got it printed and delivered. The 2015 package was two runner tops, two crew tops, four buffs and a hat per runner, plus a few other bits we could beg, all at zero cost to the runners. I'm pleased to say other nations have since copied the idea.

Keeping the ISA sweet

Crew shirts with logos only work with the ISA's blessing, so the relationship mattered. At registration in 2015 we gave ISA President Kostis crew shirts and buffs as a token of the team's thanks. We gave the same to the Kouyoufas family, who have run the mountain-base checkpoint for thirty-odd years. Kit for the ISA and the volunteers who look after us has been part of the routine ever since,  although some still don't understand the importance of it.

That goodwill opened doors. Over the years the BST nudged the ISA on technical shirts, GPS tracking, more evenly sized national teams. In 2017 we made a memorial top for John Foden and encouraged every other national team to do the same.

Trackers: from 19 Brits to the whole field

In 2015 I brought GPS tracking to the team. Richard Weremiuk, then of Race Drone, sponsored matchbox-sized trackers that reported every five minutes, and nineteen of the British team carried them so crews, families and friends could follow them. The BST kept using Richard's trackers, now TrackTrail, and helped him,  as well as Tim & Freya from Legends tracking win the ISA contract. Today every runner in the race is tracked live, and the race managers use the data to catch cheats; in 2025 they pulled a runner whose tracker was doing 60 km/h. As I told Richard in 2022, it makes crewing "so much easier than before".

The people

The team was never mine alone. For years it was Paul Ali, James Ellis and me pulling in favours and begging for cash, then Russell Tullett on shirts, David Bone on the website, Ian  the paperwork, Ali Young on socials, and many more. I liked to call us an anarcho-syndicalist commune. In 2018 I was unwell and stepped back for a while, and that was the year the shirt printer failed to deliver. That was mainly my fault for trusting the supplier.

Making it official: the CIC

By 2021 the BST had outgrown a WhatsApp group, a PayPal account and goodwill. Small sponsors would hand a few hundred pounds to some blokes they'd met at a race; a serious corporate sponsor wants a legal entity, a bank account, published accounts and someone accountable. My aim was to get us onto a legal footing so we could chase fewer, bigger sponsors rather than many small ones, which are a nightmare to manage. I'd learned that from my previous charity work and turning the Frankfurt International Ski Club into a registered German charity.

I'd been pushing for it since about 2016 and finally, as I put it to Ali Young, bullied the rest of the management team into it in 2022–23. The steps:

1. March 2022:  Some of us attended a Sport England's Club Matters legal-structures workshop and compared a Community Interest Company with a Community Amateur Sports Club.
2. Summer 2022: We picked the CIC, on advice from Keith Godden, who ran the Canal Races CIC, anyone who benefits from the company couldn't be a director, so James Ellis and David Bone stepped aside from being named.
3. Spring 2023: BST Spartathlon Team CIC was registered, with a business bank account, an accountant and annual returns. "I am so pleased we are finally official," I told Ali Young in May. "It has taken years."

Ian was the UK-based director and Person with Significant Control, which the bank required, and he carried far more of the bureaucracy than I'd bargained for. I sent him three bottles of Malbec as a thank-you from the team. When he stepped down in October 2025 (effective February 2026), Steve Gordon took over the bank and Companies House side.

With the CIC in place we could produce a proper sponsorship pack and offer tiers. Sponsors have included Avani Solutions, Rathbones, Butcombe Brewing, Oyster Wealth Management, TrackTrail, Camino Ultra and Wingman Designs, In June 2024 I also launched the BST online shop, fully outsourced, with a small cut of every sale going to next year's kit; it usually covers the buffs.

The crewing years (2018–2026)

My crewing record is better than my running one, though Spartathlon spares nobody, crew included. My job, is to keep them fed and watered and to stay chill.

• 2018, Russell Tullett. I felt I owed Russell a crewing duty, and paid it. Russell didn't finish. I also found Paul Ali in a bad way after his DNF and wrapped him in a space blanket; he claims he didn't know I was there.
• 2019, Paul Ali, crewed with my son Tom. Paul finished, then sent me 30 days of sarcasm dressed up as praise for my 126.8 km at Bottrop 24h. I came home inspired, bought a red Moleskine notebook and swore off booze and cigarettes until I finish again. That did not last long although I still do the daily diary, 
• 2021, Fabio. A post-pandemic edition with no mayor's reception. Fabio was pulled at Hellas Can, so we carried on and crewed David Bone instead.
• 2022, roving. I came out on a broken foot  and helped Sasha crew her brother Jonni Suckling. The experience was so bad I swore never again. I also ran the BST Twitter feed which as a dyslexic who abhors social media, made me so obviously the right man.
• 2023, Alastair Higgins, with Gary Seary doing all the driving and introducing me to Teddy Pendergrass. Alastair finished. It was the first time I can remember every British runner getting through Hellas Can at 80 km.
• 2024, Andrew "Macca" McKillop, with Chrissy at her first Spartathlon. I also ran the crew WhatsApp group that year, with tips from Gill Thomas. Macca didn't finish. I also found answering all the questions from runners and crew nearly finished me.  "Why do you have to spend so much time doing that? Can't someone else do it?" Chrissy asked me.  "Who else would do it?" was my only answer
• 2025, Macca again, with Chrissy. We force-fed him baklava and got him to the statue. Ian Thomas reached ten consecutive finishes, and I finally met Rune and Mary Larsson, multiple winners from the early days.
• 2026, Macca once more, with Peter Foxall. At the new 80 km checkpoint Nathan  Flear needed someone to drive Anya, crew for his second runner, Savannah, and nobody else volunteered, so from there we were crewing two people at once. Both were pulled at halfway, probably because trying to crew two people was too much.  

The low point of every year is the same: not having the right words for those who don't finish. Having DNF'd four times, I understand how sick with yourself you feel after years of effort, and I've spent many a Monday night in Barley's drinking with DNFers. The high point is the finishing straight, every time.

Fun, fairness and who gets to run

The Spartathlon Beer Mile. In 2023 Matt Blackburn and I founded it: four laps, four cans, the morning after the race, bring your own beer (four for the race and one for me). My son makes the trophy, a Leonidas with a beer cans on a plinth. By 2025 more than a dozen runners were taking part, which matters less than the entertainment value.

No cheating, full stop. Crews helping runners between official crew points is against the rules, and it has got worse since crews were allowed to leave supplies at intermediate checkpoints. My line to the British crews has always been that our red shirts make us very visible, we haven't cheated in over a decade, and we aren't starting now. 

The fees letter. In January 2025 I wrote an open letter to the ISA, in a personal capacity, about the compulsory accommodation package for international runners. It had gone from €400 in 2012 to €1,250 in 2025, while Greek runners could enter for €450. A ISA Board member replied with the cost breakdown: €133 a day for six days of full board, transport, insurance and hotels, plus their wish to keep every nation together in the same hotels. I published their reply in full and said plainly that the lurid accusations some people were throwing at the ISA's volunteers were beneath us.

Sparta for All. Looking round the start line under the Acropolis, year after year, I didn't see many people who looked that different from me. In July 2025 I launched "Sparta for All" to reach British BAME groups to ask what the barriers are, because the last thing I wanted was a white-saviour story. After the 2025 race, with Ali Young and feedback from the women on the team, I drafted a vision: 25% female British participation by 2030 and 50% by 2035, female role models front and centre (Mary Larsson offered to help), a code of conduct, and kit that fits women. The 2026 team was the first to get female-fit shirts and vests.  The code of conduct and a diversity statement never got agreed.

2026: stepping down

I resigned from the BST management team in the days after the 2026 race. It wasn't one thing, and it wasn't a sulk. It was the end of a long run of small frustrations, and I'd rather set them out honestly than let rumour do it.

I has intended to resign after the 2025 race, my ten year anniversary, but when Ian beat me to it,  I thought I should hang on while his replacement was put in place. 

Before the 2026 race I'd told the team I wanted a year off the organising and just to crew Macca. On the weekend itself that didn't hold. A few niggly things happened that built up and I saw what was important to me wasn't to others, if that isn't an indicator that I should go then bigger things decided it. 

The first was having to crew someone else when others could have done it, which just showed a lack of  support, like Chrissy mentioned before. 

A second is diversity: getting male and female shirts and vests agreed had been a slog, and the code of conduct and a public statement on inclusion kept stalling. Trying to get people to agree to outreach was just not going to happen without a lot of moaning from me. I couldn't face another year of pushing that boulder. Saying you are inclusive is not enough in my book, you have to DO something. 

Finally was seeing the team's own channels discuss runners checking in at the official hotels and passing their keys to others. I know it happens, but the BST shouldn't be seen to condone something with obvious insurance and safety risks, and I didn't want my name attached to it as a director.

Mostly, though, I'm in my sixties and I believe in making way. There's nothing worse than an old man insisting things be done the way he wants. The team is in capable hands and they will take it somewhere I couldn't. I'm proud of what we built: free runner and crew kit, crew shirts that carry the sponsors, trackers for every runner, a team culture that helps anyone on the road to Sparta without fear or favour, and a CIC that can talk to serious sponsors. Most of it started with a handful of us begging for favours. I'll still be at the finishing straight, crewing, probably with a beer mile trophy in my bag.

As Bill Shankly said, the socialism I believe in is everyone working for each other, everyone having a share of the rewards. That's how I've tried to see Spartathlon.

Further reading

• My race reports: Spartathlon 2012, Girly Bullshit (2013), I beat Jon Steele (2014), Endlich (2015), No more heroes (2016), Good enough (2017), Spartathlon 2019, 2022–2024: Years of not training, An open letter to the ISA, ISA response, Sparta for All, 10 years have past
• British Spartathlon Team: Hall of Fame, Team news, July 2015, Team news, September 2015, 2025 sponsors

Quite pleased

On 7th and 8th November I started an ultra with one goal in mind. Keep going as long as possible. My previous attempts in the past five years have all been disasterous. I go off too fast and stop within ten hours. This time I stayed on the track for 18 hours and covered more distance than at any time since 2020.

So what was the story? Well I had no intention of entering.  in fact I had no idea the race was on. 

Graeme Boxell,  an ever present crewing at Spartathlon told me  about it while we were in Greece. 

"Go on Rob, just come along,  it can't be that far from where you live"

He was right it was a few hours from  home on thre trains. Chrissy said it was fine for me  to do  as she plans she had plan for that weekend anyway . The only issue was engineering work on the local lines, but she took me to the Frankfurt airport from which I got a train the Mannheim and then a local traing from there to the local station in Ubstadt-Weiher. 

The race started at 18:00 on the Friday evening and I got there in plenty of time and made my way by foot to the start .  I met Graeme & Pete Johnson at the start.  These guys have a fine predigree of Ultras

Graeme here DUV Ultra Marathon Statistics

Pete here DUV Ultra Marathon Statistics and here DUV Ultra Marathon Statistics Yeah Pete has two enteries for some reason

I met Graeme while crewing multiple times ar Sparatatlon, and I have always enjoyed my interactions with him,  although they tend to brief as he crew the likes of Daysey who is always way ahead of the people I crew.

 

I first met Pete back in 2012 on my first Spartalong attempt in 2012 and then on my first successful GUCR.   Pete is a well known face on  the British Ultra scene and it was a please to meet  after so long

I traveled down in my running kit plus a pair of jeans and a hoody. When the race started, as I had decide to walk the race I didin't both removing the outer clotheing and just walked. Thew course was a simply mile loop that was well lit. 

Walking while everyone else was running is a bit odd and you have to make sure you are out of the way of the fast people.  one such was a new friend, Matthias Gall who I met at the Spartathlon Beer Mile(SPM).  He made laugh there was he was concenrd about the SBM entry requirements.  These ar only to bring five beers,  four for the race and one for me. heh I provide the trophy together with Matt Blacburn and my son...

At tenish I was,  for the first time  looking at my motivation book, which although I take  it to every race I forget to look at it.

This really kept me  going. Also I was using watered down Maurten powder, sharing a third of one packet per 500ml bottle per hour.  Does that make sense? Each pack is 83 grams and I put roughly 30g into a 500ml bottle.  I found that putting the water in first and then adding the powder after works better.  In  the past I put the power in and the add the water.  This results in the powder turning into a congealed  mess at the bottom of the bottle.  I also availed myself of the food on the refreshment table and had a few energy bars.

By threeish the number of people thinned out.  I was sending voice notes to Chrissy overnight just to report on how I was going and listening to them back I sound ok.

At 5:30 I was a tad cold and found Graeme "resting" This is normally where I am after eleven hours so  pleased with myself that I was still going. I had decide to take a cat nap like Graeme.  Surprisingly I notice now that I sat down at 05:33 and got up at 5:49.   Power nap or what?

At 07:20 it was daylight and my vision was a bit off.  I thought I saw a rotating windsock, that turned out to be a flag. I was cold but just flapped my arms about and soon warmed up.  

I kept going having the odd chat with people as they slowed for a walking break. At one  stage Pete walked for several laps and we had a good old mans chat about the start of the world.  

By mid day and eithgeighteen hours on the course I was still strong, but felt I had proved myself for this attempt.  Graeme and Pete said they would be getting a cab to the station so I made a decision to go with them. In the end that was a mistake  s the cab didn't arrive and the train journey was full of cancellations and delays. As Chrissy said, why stop at that time, keep going to 18:00.  My wife is rather irritating at times as she is always right.

I got home  and I had a very nice collection  of blisters.  three on one  foot,  two on the other.  personally I blame  Richard Fish, as I used some Drymax socks he gifted me  and if you look carefully the bastard gave me  two lefts.

I’ve always believed Ultras are not about beating someone else — it’s about being a little stronger, a little steadier, a little more resilient than I was before. Every ultra is a reminder that progress isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s just showing up, logging the miles, and trusting that tomorrow you’ll be stronger for it. This run was one more brick in the wall of endurance I’ve been rebuilding for years after breaking bones in my lower limbs in the last few years. This run was exactly that: proof that consistency builds endurance, and endurance builds character.  

10 years have past

It is ten years since I finished Spartathlon for the one and only time. Since then, I’ve run it once more and crewed six times—the last two with Chrissy. The record for crewing is far better than running, with four finishers and two DNFs, compared to my running record of one finish and four DNFs. In truth, that one finish was at the very limit of my abilities. It took me three previous attempts to achieve it. Since then, I’ve broken bones in each of my legs and put on fifteen kilos. It is very doubtful I will ever qualify again—thus my focus on crewing, which I greatly enjoy.

My mood going in was only dampened by my contract being cancelled. In truth, that was a blessing. I had been at IKEA for far too long, and several of my colleagues were very bad for my mental health—not least my boss, who is somewhat of a sociopath, as illustrated by his defence of bullying co-workers that was pure gaslighting. Add to that his penchant for very odd pornography, which he had shipped to my home address and demanded I deliver to him—it was a relief not to have to deal with him ever again.

But that’s enough of me feeling sorry for myself. This year’s Spartathlon was the best yet for me. The people I meet every year are always welcoming and fun to be with. I see people with multiple finishes, like Ian Thomas, who has achieved ten consecutive finishes—with a tiny pang of jealousy. That said, the front-of-pack runners aren’t those I have much in common with, lovely people though they are.

We got Andy to the end after his DNF last year by force feeding him Baklava.  Well done chap

Andy on the finishing straight

I have enormous sympathy for those who DNF, as I know only too well what that feels like. Anyone who can commit to pushing themselves to the very limit, fail, and come back again—like Terry Tillotson—are people I identify with far more. Terry, if you’re reading this and need a crew for next year, let me know.

Nick Gkikas and his crew did really well, although he also didn’t finish. I’m extremely indebted to Nick and Nikki for helping with the issues involving Marsh Pullan and David Stuart at the end. As Nikki said: “What’s the point of speaking another language if you’re not gonna use it to help other people?” That really is the ethos of the British Spartathlon Team. Tim and Anna also struggled with injuries and were cut.

Nixk, Anna, Tim & Terry.  The real heroes

The race organisation was improved previous years highlighted by extremely well organised gala. For the first time that I can remember the organisers created desginated country tables. This avoided the rush to grab a table and was much appreciate.  I got to meet Mary and RuneLarsson who were multipile winners in the early days of the race.   Especially nice people. 

What else was of interest? Seeing the GPS guys who set up the trackers and monitor the race, Freya Tim and Richard is always interesting. They have some great ideas on how to cut down on the cheating of  runners receiving crew assistance out side of the designated crew checkpoint. I hope that their ideas gets implemented. 

Chatting with Vangelis (Race Director), Doukas (Race Marshal), and Panagiotis (Technical Director) is always enlightening. It’s nice to hear about the challenges from the organisers’ side of the race, and I hope to incorporate some of their feedback into advice for British runners next year—not least to ensure you’re prepared for all weather types, after the storm hit midway through the night

Doukas

The Beer Mile was even more of a success with more than a dozen participants taking part. Thanks to Matt Blackburn and Bob Hearn for their assistance in creating the trophy and allowing time for it. TheTurkish team where very helpful in assiting in clearing up after the race. 

I receive a lot of feedback from the women runners and others on the team for how the British Team can improve in that arena and we will certainly consider all of it in the coming months in time for next year.

One final word of thanks to this years BST sponsors, three of whom were at the race

Our sponsors (Butcombe Brewing, Oyster Wealth Management, Avani Solutions, TrackTrail, Camino Ultra/Looming.Tech, and Wingman Designs) fund our kit, website & more  Links here: https://britishspartathlonteam.org/2025/07/20/2025-welcome-bst-sponsors/

See you all next year. 

🏛️ Sparta for All: Why I’m Fighting for a More Inclusive Finish Line

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of tyranny is for good men to do nothing."

That quote has always stuck with me—in life, and in running.

I’ve had the privilege of standing at the start line in Athens five times, the Acropolis rising behind me as darkness was lifted over the city. And I’ve had the pain, joy, and honour of finishing the Spartathlon—feeling my body break, rebuild, and finally hallucinate at the feet of King Leonidas. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

But here’s what I can’t forget either:
As I looked around at my fellow runners—at aid stations, on the course, and at the finish line—I didn’t see many people who looked that different from me. And I asked myself a difficult question: Why not?

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The Hard Truth

Ultra running is hard. Spartathlon is harder. No one earns that finish line by accident. But access to that challenge isn’t equal. For too long, the sport has quietly kept its doors half shut, not deliberately—to those without the money, the network, the cultural encouragement, or the role models who show you what’s possible.

Since I started ultra running I’ve seen talent, grit, and potential in runners from all walks of life.  So why aren’t they at that start in Herodion Theatre at base of the Acropolis? Honestly, since my first attempt in 2012 and attendance every year, but one since, as either a runner or crew I have not seen many non white middle men from Britian on that start line.

That’s why I want to launch “Sparta for All”—a campaign to open the gates.

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This Isn't About Lowering the Bar

Let me be crystal clear:
This isn’t about handouts. It’s not about quotas. It’s about removing invisible barriers that have nothing to do with someone’s ability to run 153 miles in the Greek heat. I am proud to say as one of the founders of the most recent incarnation of British Spartathlon Team, its ethos and aims has always been about 

• Sharing knowledge that’s often locked inside exclusive circles.

• Providing mentorship from runners who’ve been there.

• Providing sponsored kt for the runners and crew

What is missing and what the initial aim of “Sparta for All” will be

This campaign will:

• Contact the many British based Ultra running organisation that have a specific aim of promoting diversity like  

https://activeinclusionnetwork.com/

https://www.rundemcrew.com/ 

https://www.blacktrailrunners.run/ 

and indeed any other any one can suggest

• Find out what the barriers from their perspective are, coz the last think I want this to be is a white saviour narrative.

• Aim to do what we can to remove those barriers

Why It Matters

The Spartathlon taught me things no medal ever could. It taught me that pain is temporary, but purpose is lasting. That finishing isn’t just about strength—it’s about belief, community, and the willingness to suffer with meaning.

I want more people to experience that. I want more runners to know that they belong at the start line, even if they’ve never seen someone like them at the finish.

Because the fight against tyranny—whether in history, in politics, or in sport—isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s in the quiet choices we make. Like choosing to do something when we see that others are being left out.

This is me doing something.

Will you stand with me?
Sparta for All. Every Mile, Every Voice.

International Spartathlon Association response

 Further to my open letter to the ISA here I received the below response from a board member Panagiotis Bonelis

"Hi Rob,

The increase in participation fees for athletes from outside Greece this year happened simply because the cost of hotels in the Glyfada area of Attica has risen excessively.

However, if you break down the costs below, you’ll see that the pricing is fully justified.

The participation fee for all athletes is 450 euros.

So, the additional 800 euros charged to non-Greek athletes is broken down as follows:

133 euros per day x 6 days, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, transportation, insurance coverage, and accommodation in Athens and Sparta.

You might ask: Why don’t you give international athletes the option to choose their own accommodation?

Simply because:

We want to preserve the ‘magic’ of having all teams and nationalities gathered in specific hotels for the SPARTATHLON. Don't forget that SPARTATHLON promotes friendship and cooperation among athletes. We are not an impersonal event.

They won’t find anything cheaper with the same level of hospitality and benefits.

See here prices for the exact period of 25-30 September only for Glyfada

2 Things have in mind 

1) We want to preserve the ‘magic’ of having all teams and nationalities gathered in specific hotels for the SPARTATHLON. Don't forget that SPARTATHLON promotes friendship and cooperation among athletes. We are not an impersonal event.

2) We are not a company and we are all volunteers.

We do not have any profit form what we do for SPARTATHLON.

We are a group of ROMANTIC PEOPLE who loves SPARTATHLON"

I have known Panagiotis Bonelis since my first adventures in Spartathlon and I know what a good egg he and indeed all the volunteers are. As some people know I don't do social media, but to say I'm disappointed with the lurid accusations about the ISA  that have been banded is some what of an understatement. As Ultra runners we should be better than that. 

An open letter to the International Spartathlon Association

It is with a heavy heart that I feel compelled to write this blog. I am writing this in a purely personal capacity and not under the aegis of any organization. I want to highlight how long I have been involved in  Spartathlon and how that contributes for my request to allow the international runners to apply for the SIMPLE PARTICIPATION package. 

I have been involved with Spartathlon since 2011. I had just completed my first big ultra, the  Ultrabalaton , which was at the time, a 212km race circumnavigating Lake Balaton  in the west of Hungary. My fellow runner, Mark Wooley told me I had qualified for Spartathlon. I was amazed. I had heard of this race back in the 1980s, but I had never thought that I would be able to qualify for it, let alone run it. 

Mark put me touch with a bunch of runners from the UK who were similarly interested.  I felt quite privileged to be in such illustrious company. Back in those days social media was not so poisonous, and I soon corresponded with the likes of Allan Rumbles, James Adams, James Elson and the great Mark Cockbain. 

I entered the 2012 edition of Spartathlon at a cost of €400. In those days it didn't over subscribe like now.  In fact, Stuart Shipley, who created that years British shirts, told me that in Noughties you could apply for Spartathlon in late summer as there were so many places available. 

I arrived in Gyfada and did my best, but DNF'd at only 70km.  I didn't even get to Hellas Can, but I made lifelong friends.  Lawerence Chownsmith who pulled at a similar point to name one.

By 2013 I met Nick Papageorge who had been on the original expedition in 1983 with John Foden, but we both failed

In 2014 I featured in a film with Nick, Mark and a nurse called Angela.  There was some numpty called Dean in it as well, I wonder what ever happened to him.

In 2015 I finally finished.  It was also the first year I did the kits for the British Spartathlon team. The previous year Mark Wooley had got an energy company to sponsor the kit, but we were told off for having a sponsor’s name on the kits.  I got around this by not only providing two runners tops in white, but also red crew tops on which we printed the sponsors logos.  Ever since then the British Spartathlon Team have had sponsored kits free of charge to runners and crews. I am pleased to see that other nations copied our idea.

In 2017 we did a memorial top for John Foden and encourage every other national team to do the same.

In 2022 we went legit and founded the BST Community Interest Company, of which I am still a Director. 

One of the guiding principles of the BST is the spirit of inclusiveness that we took from the ethos of Spartathlon.  It even says on the BST website that to join the BST you only need to send a picture of you holding a British Passport, you don't even need to have one. We have had Americans, Italians and South Africans in the team. 

The British crews will help anyone on the road to Sparta with no fear or favour. I love the inclusiveness and everyone helping each other without the need for recognition or reward. 

Many of the British Team and indeed other international runners have booked their own accommodation for themselves and their crews. This is a bit sad as they miss out on the camaraderie  of all the runners and crews in the same accommodation. But due to the rising costs shown below it is understandable   It also saves the International Spartathlon Association the administration and costs of arranging  that accommodation.

This is the history of the "EXTRA" package cost (mandatory for ALL runners) since 2012:

2012   400 € 

2013    400 € 

2014     450 €

2015     500 €

2016     520 €

2017     520 €

2018     600 €

2019     600 €

2020     600 €

2021     600 €

2022     700 €

2023     800 €

2024     950 €

2025     1250 €.  

Thus, I am disappointed that the International Spartathlon Association have introduced higher pricing for non-Greek runners. I fear this will discourage participation in what is, in my humble opinion the best race in the world. To enter from abroad an international runners must pay the mandatory EXTRA package at a cost of €1250  It's a lot, and by far the biggest increase in Spartathlon’ s history.  That seems to be against the ethos of the race that Greek runners can apply for the SIMPLE PARTICIPATION package for €450 and the international runners have to pay an additional €800 for the EXTRA package

I respectfully appeal to the International Spartathlon Association to allow international runners to also be  able to apply for the SIMPLE PARTICIPATION package.

You are not as fit or as recovered as you think.

13/12

I flew out on the Friday before the race and wrote to myself on the flight to Barcelona that 

"The   race   is   tomorrow   and   I am  flying   now.   I   have   put   off writing anything for a while,   although I am not sure  why. Training dropped off three weeks ago instend of the intended one week taper. Unfortunately , I got his by my first cold in years. in the week before a race I tend to just do walking   and yoga. Chrissy and Nadia looked after me well, with plenty of  care, sympathy and comfort  foods. I recommend Nadia's Chicken soup. The previous week I was in Dortmund for a team meeting and  was so mentally tired I just rested. I think  that I am well rested and just need to focus on the race. The strategy is to maintain 8km per hour, tactically is to take a Maurten gel and a bottle of Maurten carb drink per   hour.  The direction   changes once every three hours which well break things up nicely."

Sounds great doesn't it? I even got one of the emergency exit seats with plenty of leg room

As Tyson used to say, "Everyone has a plan until they are hit in the mouth"

 

The flight and the taxi to hotel went well, then it all start to fall apart.  There was a Whatsapp group of mainly British runners and I foolishly assumed we were all in the same hotel.  Therefore I assumed we could have a pre race meal.  Nah....if you want that you need to organise better. Daysey was wandering about and Gill Thomas had gone to the poolbar which was closed. In the end Ian & Gill Thomas and myself spent a while wandering around a Spainish shopping centre before going to a Subway. GPS don't really work indoors and the digital guide were all offline.  Have you tried asking where Subway is in Spain.  They all think you are looking for the undergound trains.  I blame American cultural imperialism.  I aint never had a Subway before, so that at least was an experience.  Personally I would have prefered Tapas or a paella, but I am always happy to go with the crowd. Well unless they are Nazis and there is a lot of them about now. 

The next morning we all had breakfast and then got a taxi to the racetrack at around tenish.  The tables were first come first served. After getting my number I looked around and saw the Great Danny Hawkins.  I first met Danny in 2021 where he stormed to a sub 27hour finish at Spartathlon. Also there was Wendy Whertey who I last saw at the last Spartathlon. They were both supporting Mark Felton on his first 24hour. So we had a good little set up for the British team.  Then the Irish turned up, Anto and Anne and a couple of other runners.  A couple of other familar faces arrived,  Jon and Shirley Steele,  I have seen them in absolutely ages.

I was thinking this will go well.  The weather was ok, no wind or rain forescats.  I had my kit organised in my suitcase, so well organised that Danny commented on my bags of kit for each of the four six hours, plus bags for cold weather. I also had my food organised and Gill volunteered to preparing my  water bottles out.  

There was the usual annoying annoucer babbling away all the time.  You can give some  people microphne and they really won't shut the fuck up. 

The race started and I settled into my slow and steady pace.  I got told off for being to close to the inside and slowing the speedy runners down.  I moved out to land two and three and was not really in the way.  then of course some of the walkers were annoying me...it is what it is and one just has to go around them. 

I  had a few nice chats with the fellow UK and Irish runners  and the first turn around at three hours arrived with me noticing. the sun started setting and the temparture started dropping.  I added layers, but it didn't seem to help.  I had a super warm top in my kit as will as bin liners, but  I just didn't get them out and put them on. Lesson 1 use the warm clothes that you bring! 

At six hours I was starting to feel a niggle at the top of my right foot. At this point I had planned to change clothes, but I simply forgot.  Lesson 2 Change clothes on schedule!

At eight hours the niggle became a pain and I struggled to run.  I forced myself to sprint half a lap an jog the rest.  I was hoping the pain would go away. some time I find my body gives up telling me there is something wrong and pain single just disappers. No such luck this time.

I treated it with volteren, again this didn't work.  I was thinking the shoes was too tight and the laces where causing the issue, but perhaps it was the change in the foot structure after breaking my ankle last year. Either way I had a fresh pair of shoes in my suitcase.  Lesson 3 if you don't change shoes you won't know if that helps.

I moaned at Danny about the foot and he responsed with "it is a good job you are a tough old bastard then" I just didn't feel it though.^No idea where that inner core of toughness has gone. I seem to be  softer than a marshmellow at the moment.

By ten hours I was really done.  I kept trying to go so at least I would get a twelve hour time. but no metter I just couldn't get going.  It was really annoying and I just sat around shivering like the fat old man that I am. 

I took a trip to the airport with Daysey who like Ian had a great race and managed to get my flight switched so got home early. 

I have resolved to focus on 50km races and fast to shift the 10-15kg to get down to a proper race weight