Friday the 29th of September, it's a little after 7:00 am on a cool but clear morning and Spartathlon '2000 is finally underway. The pre-race week had been plagued by a trucker's strike that had threatened to close gasoline stations and cut supply lines but on this morning, fuel tanks are full and supply and support teams are already on their way southwards on the 250 km trek to Sparta.

The Annual Spartathlon Ultra Distance Race started from the roadway at the foot of the ancient Acropolis of Athens. At first there was some confusion as to the actual starting point but just as the ideal spot is found the 5-minute warning is called. The runners jostle for a position on the starting line and a hush falls as the count grows shorter, then at exactly 7:00 am the starting pistol is fired thus marking the start of the 18th Open International Spartathlon. The 200 participants cheer and suddenly the road is empty except for a few barking dogs and handful of bewildered tourists shaking their heads at the craziness of this Athenian morning.

The Spartathlon is actually 246-Km (154-miles) in length, a distance set by British Wing Commander John Foden when he led a team of RAF runners in an expedition to Greece in 1982. The first sector of the route follows the old National Highway from Athens to Corinth and it is here that a push is usually made to ensure an early entry to the Peloponnese and the crossing of the Artemission Mountain Barrier. This year proved to be no exception and Japanese runner Masayuki Ohtaki took the early lead, completing the Marathon distance in 3:24 and passing the 100-Km marker in 8:36. Previous two-times winner Costas Reppos of Greece started out strong but had to pull out after completing 154-Km.

36-year-old Ohtaki raced home in 24 hours, 1 minute and 10 seconds, almost an hour in front of 1999 winner Jens Lukas of Germany who clocked 24:59:54. Third place went to Cees Verhagen of the Netherlands in 25:35:60. The women's section saw Spartathlon returnee Hiroko Okiyama of Japan finish first in 29:16:37, Sweden's Mary Larsson second in 30:56:16 and Helga Backhaus of Germany third in 31:35:24. This was a double victory for Japan underlining their growing presence in Ultra Distance events.

A record field of 200 starters left Athens on Friday and 88 runners representing 14 countries crossed the finishing line at the statue of King Leonidas in Sparta within the 36-hour cut-off period.