From Athens to Sparta—37 Years of Spartathlon Current studies analyzed the participation and performance trends of historical races such as the oldest ultra-marathon (Comrades) or the oldest 100 km ultra-marathon (100 km Biel). One of the toughest and historical ultra-marathons in the world is the Spartatlon (246 km long ultra-marathon of Athens to Sparta). The present study aimed to analyze the trends in terms of participation and performance of this race.Various linear models were used as follows: The first model was a two-way Anova (decade × gender) with separate models for all participants and only for the five best participants in each race;The second model was a Two-Way Anova (age group × gender).The third model was a two-way Anova (nationality × gender).Between 1982 and 2019, 3,504 ultra-marathon runners (3'097 men and 407 women) have officially finished the Spartatlon at least once. Athletes from Japan were the majority with 737 participants, followed by runners from Germany (n = 393), Greece (n = 326) and France (n = 274).The nations with the highest number of athletes among the five best service providers were Japan (n = 71) followed by Germany (n = 59) and the United Kingdom (n = 31).Runners from the USA were the fastest and runners from Great Britain were the fastest in women.Runners improved their performance over the decades. The annual five fastest women and men improved their performance over time.Male runners scored their best performance earlier in life (20-29 and 30-39 years) as a female runner (30-39 and 40-49 years).Runners in the age group of 30 to 39 years, with the exception of Greece, were the fastest of all nationalities.
Successful finishers in the Spartatlon have improved performance in the last four decades, and male runners have achieved their best performance than a feminine runner. The whole evaluation is under https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4914