First Pinoy to join Spartathlon finishes world’s ‘toughest ultramarathon’
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Rolando “Junjun” Espina Jr., the first Filipino to join the Spartathlon, the world’s “toughest ultramarathon,” wears a laurel wreath on his head as he celebrates at the statue of Leonidas after completing the grueling 264.8-kilometer route from Athens to Sparta. (photo by Kenneth Lucio)
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The first Filipino to join the Spartathlon completed the grueling 246.8-kilometer race dubbed the world’s “toughest ultramarathon” on Saturday, bagging a permanent slot for the Philippine flag at finish line, the statue of Leonidas in the Greek city of Sparta.
Rolando Espina Jr., a 42-year old nurse from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental who lives and works in Ireland, is a veteran marathon runner and triathlete.
The official results posted on the Spartathlon website showed Espina finishing in 89th place, with a time of 33:17:33, from an original pack of 392 runners for this year’s event. He crossed the finish line around 9:30 p.m. Philippine time Saturday.
Espina was trailed and assisted by a team of fellow Filipino nurses from Ireland.
The Spartathlon, which officially started in 1983, stemmed from an attempt of a team of former British Special Air Service soldiers to trace the route taken by Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.
Runners not only have to clock in at 75 checkpoints along the route, they have to meet the cut-off time set for each of the checkpoints.
Prior to the Spartathlon, Espina had finished around 80 marathons and ultramarathons as well as at least five Ironman events over the past several years. (InterAksyon.com) |
