WITNESS: A 36-hour non-stop run through Greece

Balazs Koranyi, a Reuters correspondent in Budapest for five years, took up ultramarathon running in 2004 after retiring from a middle-distance running career that took him to two Olympic Games. In the following story, he describes his run in the Athens to Sparta Spartathlon: to prepare for it, he ran more than a dozen times over the marathon distance this year, including all-night sorties and 100 km runs through mountains.

By Balazs Koranyi

ATHENS (Reuters) - I sat down, or more accurately fell down, and buried my head in my hands. Cold winds blew through my shirt. Would my body survive the punishment I was dealing it? Why was I doing this?

Just over halfway through the 246-km Spartathlon, a 36-hour non-stop footrace from Athens to Sparta that traces the route of an ancient messenger, my body was already hurting beyond belief.

It was around 3 am on a Saturday in September. A relentless climb toward a 1,200-meter-high mountain pass had left me dizzy. I ached. I had been running for 20 hours, my only sleep was to be occasionally wandering off the road when I dozed off.

A day earlier, nearly 300 of the world's strongest and most stubborn runners had left from the Acropolis. People tend to run the race at their own pace: now, 160 km into the race, I was crying for my mommy.

I have always admired the Spartathlon and its runners. It is an extreme sport that humbles its athletes but if you succeed, victory lifts you to seventh heaven.

I had until 7 pm on Saturday to reach Sparta and touch the statue of ancient king Leonidas.

The Spartathlon, in its 26th running this year, traces the run of Pheidippides, a messenger sent to Sparta in 490 B.C. to seek help against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek historian Herodotus described his run, saying Pheidippides arrived in Sparta the day after his departure: the 36 hour cut-off in the modern race reflects his feat.

FOOD

But sitting semi-conscious on the mountain, I didn't care much about history. I needed fuel.

Ultramarathon running is as much about eating as running -- my body would consume around 24,000 calories before reaching Sparta. That's 10 times a normal adult daily intake and double what Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps eats on a tough day.

It was time for my secret weapons: goose-liver pate, cheese, yoghurt with honey, peaches, Coca-Cola and a cup of coffee.

I don't know why these foods work, but they do: ultramarathon running's rule of thumb is keep eating and keep moving.

With the food consumed, I felt the energy slowly return and began the last leg of the climb.