Spartathlon 2008 - 09.26.2008 Photo Gallery by lbliss at pbase.com

Spartathlon 2008 - 09.26.2008

Here is a picture account of the Spartathlon. My hopes for a good race (i.e. finish) were shattered when 5 days before the race (in Athens!) I sprained my ankle so badly I couldn't weight-bear for 2 days. With my phenomenal crew's support, I went into "ultra healing" mode and did everything I could to keep up my chances for getting to the start line. The rest, ice and brace were keys to success. We made it to the start line! I had no expectations as I had not run on the ankle. I expected only to do my best and to quit if I thought I was going to hurt myself more. There is always next year, right?

I did my best, gave it my all. Felt great through the Mountain section. The loose skree on the mountain downhill however really flared my ankle. It was shortly after that that I hitched a ride to my crew at checkpoint 60. I gave it my all. So did they. I was so disappointed to have made it so far but to not be able to finish. The decision was right though despite the emotions.

In the end, we had a fabulous trip to Greece and the Spartathlon! My excellent crew deserves all the kudos. Dang they were great! Thank you so very much to Tim Englund, Allison Moore, and Glenn Tachiyama.

This is an excellent international race. It is very difficult. The people who work and run it know that, so there is a bond among people. I very much enjoyed the people. It was great to run with American women Stephanie Ehret and Stacey Bunton, who placed 2nd female. It was also great to see the guys who keep going back for more - Scott Jurek (another first place), Mark Godale, John Price, Valmir Nunes and his wife Kelly, Markus Thallman, Piotr and this year his brother too. I made new friends, including Peter Foxall and Martin from Britain, Marios from Greece, Marika (3rd woman) from Germany, Bazals from Hungary, Mark Williams (winner of the Barkley)... and many many more. I'm sorry I cannot mention them all.

Here's a link to John Price's pictures: http://runvb2vb.com/2008Spartathlon/

And a link to the ultimate photographer's photos (Glenn this is!): https://pbase.com/gtach/spartathlon08

packing	Seattle airport	Glenn arrives in the Athens airport	Allison!
Lisa, Glenn & Allison arrive at John's Hotel in Glyfada	Tim	Scott Jurek posters in Glyfada	Allison gets jiggy with it
easy training run			Glenn slows to check out the fun Eurobaby park
rest stop	don't do it!	Allison tests her Drymax socks	bummer! bad ankle sprain
right over the surgically anchored ligament. bummer!	Hospital in Athens	socialized health care. take a number. it works. whole visit 3 euro.	air cast
pigeons	how I spent my Greece vacation	think positive	Tim
DSCN0478.jpg	Parthenon, temple of Greek Goddess Athena	pregnant dog	ballet?
	AdventureCORPS rocks!	DSCN0480.jpg	DSCN0484.jpg
DSCN0486.jpg	DSCN0487.jpg	DSCN0485.jpg	trying to make it work
DSCN0489.jpg	DSCN0490.jpg	the "no's" including no high heels	pretending to run down the cobblestone road, the start of the Spartathlon
		ankle nemesis
lunch	bakery	Megara, home of Euclid the inventor of geometry	photo shoot
DSCN0496.jpg	Team Bliss	DSCN0497.jpg	course - hills, sea
course - vineyards	Ancient Corinth		Ancient Corinth
DSCN0482.jpg	Sangas
after resigning to the brace, Glenn does shoe surgery to make it fit		bravo!	checking in for the race on Thursday
	Piotr Kurylo ran with his brother Pawel from Poland to Athens for the race. (Piotr did this last year too then came in 2nd!)	Lisa and Piotr	trying to explain something I guess.
the study	my foot plantar pressures		note the right-left differences
Spartathlon competitors read the Badwater brochures	Piotr's and Pawel's carts used to run from Poland to Greece (3000km) for the Spartathlon	IMG_1279.jpg	IMG_1280.jpg
IMG_1281.jpg	pre-race meeting
view from hotel deck, where I spent a lot of my time recovering.			pre-race dinner
the brace	DSCN0504.jpg	Drymax - world's best ultrarunning socks!	competitors walk to the start at the acropolis in the dark
start line		Stephanie Ehret!	Glenn, Tim, Allison - best crew!
2007 Badwater champ Valmir Nunes from Brazil	Markus Thalmann from Austria (will come in 2nd place this year)	start
		Scott Jurek, Mark Godale
	#357	runners
Mark		beautiful course
Jurek	masked runner	Glenn shooting runners
Nunes		Piotr, I think.	Mark
		Allison and Peter Bakwin cheer the runners	puppies!
	puppy maul		more runners
	I was running based on perceived effort (which is what I always do) and feeling very good.		I kept having to fish little rocks out of my brace
wrong way!	Marika Heinlein in black (3rd female)
	Stephanie Ehret	Stephanie Ehret	Stacey Bunton
	crowds line the streets	Corinth Canal	Helas Can checkpoint (81 km), the first point where crew can meet you.
ancient wall			ancient wall
ancient Corinth			ruins
	Steph's through Ancient Corinth	the driver	sunset
Jeff, Stacey's boyfriend, in orange t-shirt	aid	aid	waiting
the kids in the villages are the BEST!	Glenn fits right in!	girls	Malandreni aid station
	kids run with the runners down the hill and into the aid station	can you be any cuter?
resting	aid
pose runner	Ancient Corinth	Glenn refuses the photo op	gets mad?
punches the Paparazzi? :)	feet immediately post race (well 195 km of the race). Not ONE blister or even hotspot!	the chafing on the front of the left ankle is from the brace	King Leonidas statue at the finish line
	celebration	post-race cigar celebration in Ancient Corinth
Glenn's shooting secret	ribbon	IMG_1286.jpg
	IMG_1295.jpg	IMG_1296.jpg	dog
	feeding the dogs	wag more, bark less. Allison plays with the happy dog that is eating out leftover food.	can you believe it?!
the parking garage employee put on the spare for us (we had no wrench). Lucky for us! Again!	All dressed up and ready to go to the awards	Mark with Glenn's camera	Allison , Glenn
Mark, Valmir	Lisa, Stacey (2nd place woman)	We were lucky that Mark Williams and his wife join us at dinner. Mark has completed the Barkley - the WHOLE thing! Neat guy.	Peter Foxall ran a great race in 34:36!
Greek Marios Fournaris (20 Spart starts, 14 finishes) brought me a gift for making it to 200 km & invited me back next year.	Kelly (Mark's crew)	we bought similar rings on the Plaka	Glenn
Valmir, Scott		Mark, Valmir, Scott, Kelly (Valmir's wife)
hmm, not sure what this is a picture of. Looks like we're dancing.	3rd place woman Marika Heinlein from Germany	isn't she adorable!	American champs (Scott overall in 22:20 hrs and Stacey 2nd female in 31:25 hours)!
	Justin (Scott's crew) partakes of the celebration wine.	So does Ingo from Germany
love the look!	can it hold a whole bottle?
bottoms up			psychedelic
leaving Athens aiport	heading home	my furry kids!	i missed you!
feet 5 days after the race. The ankle swelling is significantly down.	bruising is better	not sure why there is bruising on the inside of the ankle, but that's healing too

comment |

lbliss		23-Oct-2008 06:58
Thank you, Armin for your very kind message. I will pass it along to Tim. Yes, the more I travel, the smaller the world gets! Congratulations to you on your Spartathlon run. I will see you next year for sure. Best wishes for a happy and healthy year. -Lisa

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