Qualification
Either over 100 miles or 24h runs. The 100 has been dropped as a qualifying route. The 24h with at least 180 kilometers and the 100 miles must be completed under 21h. I qualified for the 100 miles in Taubertal.

Foreplay
There comes a point when you just want to be at the starting line. Wipe away all doubts, pain and worries from everyday life. Living the dream of running. Just experience. After several years of preparation. Ready to go! Let's start now!
The torn muscle fiber three weeks before the event didn't make the preparation any easier. Important peak weeks were missing. Corona cases in the family. Maximum tension. However, it was always clear to me, flanked by the professional advice from my physio, that I could start without pain. Will. Yes, that's how it was then. End of September.

Wednesday
The whole event is perfectly organized. Only the arrival (flight, rental car) had to be organized by yourself. Thankfully, Carsten - my supporter - kept track of things here. The drive to the airport on Wednesday, the flight, renting a car in Athens at night, driving to the hotel, checking in, falling asleep...everything went smoothly without any delays or obstacles. Cool.

Thursday
Thursday, a day that you as a runner, or at least that's how I felt, would rather get by. After breakfast we, Carsten and I, walked the two kilometers to another hotel to get our bib number. 158. With a GPS tracker for me and a supporter flag for the car. Carsten can support me at 15 selected points. The run has 75 checkpoints and for the first 80 kilometers it is allowed to be there at KM 40 and 80. The drop bags had to be organized accordingly. 6 gels, 2 bottles of High5 mix and 6 salt sticks at KM 20 and 65 were the idea. Carsten is back 90, 100, 110, 123. At these CPs he can provide me with the respective drinks, carbohydrates and electrolytes. Contacts with him were clear up to KM 170 in Nestani. Then the next day, after getting back into the heat, another drop bag was planned. So four pieces in total. But one after anonther.

There was no briefing this year, everything was listed on the homepage under technical information.

The do's and don'ts of the runner and supporter are regulated in I don't know how many paragraphs. Now all you had to do was walk.

The pace strategy was planned in such a way that I should run out for about 5 minutes on the first 20 km, another 5 minutes on the next 22 km and then again 5 minutes to Corinth - a total of 15 minutes. It should be 60 minutes to the mountain village of Caparelli at KM 150. Enough time for power napping and compensating for the cut off times, e.g. when marching, which is not my fastest domain.

After a family photo with the German delegation - 26 runners are competing for Germany - Carsten and I preferred to go to Athens alone for a portion of spaghetti. In our “Team Germany” shirts, recognizable from afar, we confidently went to a side street for a snack, it worked. Finally, the next day could come.

Race
Departure with the bus at 5.45 a.m. – there was a packed breakfast – semi-optimal, waiting about 15 minutes in the bus… for who? Those are the moments, dark, in running clothes, waiting, anxious waiting. Carsten drives up in his car. The starting signal is in 45 minutes. Somehow it worked. 390 international runners including supporters below the Acropolis. Pitch black. Where is Carsten? He managed to get a parking space, together with a strained posture and a tense expression, we headed towards the starting line. Drones monitor the whole hodgepodge, and the footage should then be visible in the trailer that follows in 2022. 10,9,8,7…
clock is activated. A bit of a bottleneck at the start, slowly, step by step, then trotting, jogging, running. Finally. It starts!

stage 1
Downhill, a few kilometers, then the same uphill, through Athens, the streets are closed and the traffic is controlled by police officers. None. It is getting warmer. I run in a 6 section towards Elefsina, 20 KM. Just not too fast, just not too slow. Up and down, now through the first town towards Megara, 42 KM. Past refineries, uphill towards the coast road. My leg hurts all of a sudden. Too stupid. That doesn't fit at all, but that was a bit my fear. A little hobbled along the sea. Actually beautiful. The sparkling water. Clear blue sky. No draft. It is getting warmer. Today is supposed to be the warmest day of the year. Hmm...There are refreshment points every 3-5KM, your time will be noted. Carsten is ready at 42 KM, ice cubes, drinks, a short breather, and more. In the heat, along the coast, at KM 65 the gels have disappeared from the drop bag. Great. I still have no circulatory problems. Followers are different. One or the other runner is already lying screaming in the ditch, throwing up or caused by cramps. Am I correct and is a runner peeing standing up right now? hallucinations? Now? What an awesome run. I'm in a rut with honory members. A 0.5 liter bottle in my hand, one in my vest, my hands and fingers swell. I get a salt crust on my skin. The CPs ran out of ice. It's getting warmer, my thoughts are reduced to the essentials - Scott-running. That must be Corinth over there, right? I run in the shade of trees as much as possible, at least some protection from the relentless sun. Finally the bridge of Corinth. Ralf stands there and takes photos, I shout at him my fighting spirit and also a certain amount of frustration - I'm not as fast as I imagined. The good news: the combination of salt tablets, carbohydrates and liquid at least didn't give me any dizziness or gastrointestinal issues. The first big CP after 81 KM, Corinth. Carsten says something to me, I don't understand a word. Where am I? Sitting on pallets, ice water down my neck, 11 min buffer time, aha, ok, got it.

stage 2
where to go next Long there, ok, walking slowly, then trotting, I can already tell that the strength of my thighs is at its limit. And now comes my first mistake: Ancient Korinth must be just around the corner? The 12 kilometers stretch, the CPs record my time. I arrive in ancient times with 8min buffer time. The heat is still prominent and unnerving. It goes on towards KM 102, then Carsten will give me the headlamp. Again along endless olive groves. A mixture of trotting, jogging, running, marching. It's getting colder, the sun is going down. The headlamp, charged, at exactly the right time. Continue to Nemea, the next major CP at KM 123.
Darkness, upwards, steadily and felt longer. I can't see the bottles anymore, at all, the weight. And the clock, always this time, kilometer after kilometer, that wears you down at some point. So away with it. The watch in the pocket and the bottle thrown away. Now it's easier to move forward. Steadily uphill, but easier, I can't remember the 110 CP at the moment. At some point then Nemea, Carsten, Ralf, a lounger, I need a 3-minute break and lie down. Buffer time 11min. I can't manage to get myself a reasonable break of 15 minutes of power napping. Next, briefly a lukewarm soup.

stage 3
Out of the village center into the darkness. Many free-roaming dogs accompany you, nothing has happened yet. you leave me alone Halftime, without buffers with burning thighs. However, still in good spirits. Let's see what else happens. Scott-run, the mantra grabs me, easy-run. I've been walking alone for hours.
Carsten says something about "we'll see each other again after 17 km". Sure, definitely, that was less KM, wasn't it? I put one foot in front of the other at a trot, the crescent moon gives hardly any light, and my headlamp is slowly getting thinner as far as the light cone is concerned. Darkness. Pitch black. Alone. Not once the question: why? No, that's how it is, that's how the run is, that's how the endless distance feels. Alone but not desperate. A few beams of light from other runners' headlamps outline the way forward, curvy, wavy. No man's land - where am I? Always along the road, around the next bend I slowly but surely expect the downward trend towards Lykria. My legs move without me being able to influence it. It must be around 135 KM: it's finally going downhill. Here I can run out another buffer. After about 5 KM the next campsite. 13 minutes buffer, disappointment. When should I lie down? The batteries are empty. Another 5 KM it goes downhill, I get hope. A chain of lights can be seen on the horizon. I don't know yet that it's the highway through the Sangas. I continue to run downhill, a few runners around me, life is coming back, also in the legs.

stage 4
At some point the mountain village of Kaparelli has to come. Dogs left and right. And again and again this broom car, a black car, which drives from CP to CP and politely takes the runners who are late out of the race if the cut-off times are not observed. 6min to the cut off time. It's getting tight, I'll keep going as far as I can get. There may be potential for optimization afterwards. I'm still in the race, it's going on. high up To the mountain base before going over the pass. The absolutely hardest part - the switchbacks below the mountain base - between the mountain village of Kaperelli and the mountain base. A car hardly manages to get up the seemingly endless serpentines in first gear. I goose-step, one step at a time. Running, jogging or trotting is no longer an option. It gets steeper and steeper. 6sec to closing time. Mountain Base, I'm still in the race, cool, yes, it's going on, without a break, it's been 11pm now. I scramble up, one foot at a time. Flashing red lights show runners the way up. I concentrate on the next 50cm. Look neither up nor down. That reminds me a little of crossing the Alps. At the top, on all fours, then the peak. Closing time: 8 minutes. Yes, it's progressing. A soup. Then it goes on. i can do it However, I did not expect the scree slope. One wrong step and you slip. That's what happened to me immediately, painfully, a stone flies on my toe, hmmm... I almost can't get up, my dim light illuminates the centimeters. Another misconception. I've been running with a headlamp for 10 hours now without getting a headache or anything. She was still too weak. I know the runner, he has already made it to the finish?! I attach myself to it, step by step down. Later I noticed that some runners arrived at the next CP covered in blood. Thank God that didn't happen to me. Yet again without a buffer. "You are just in". Ok, thanks, then let's go on, divide forces. The morning sun is slowly coming through in the valley. Nice, the next CP just before Nestani. "You need to run". Sure, easier said than done. Then forward again at a walking pace, short hills seem eternal. Finally, Nestani, 170 KM. CP closed, the race is over, 5min late. It's a shame, I wanted to, I could, I had to... it was over. Carsten welcomes me with open and understanding arms. 25h - nonstop - it was over. No pain, no blisters, all in the same shoe (On Cloud Ultra). I hand in the start number, GPS and tracker, sign that I'm done. Yes, I am now too. I can still do it...just not...today...

Sparti
We're going to Sparta. Sit down at the finish line. Flags everywhere, the Leonidas statue prominent at the end of the main street. The goal of the Spartathlon. We sit down in a bar, a beer (Sparta). I can hardly move, rusty. But redeemed. My dream, the vision to run 246 KM under 36 hours. 60% will not make this run this year. I got as far as KM172. Also in Nestani still in good spirits. However, with a few optimization options: I can do it, I know it. The beer tastes good. A runner is announced in the home stretch. Everyone stands up, the supporter and the runner run the last few meters together. I'm in tears. This is "the" dream, right in front of my eyes.

outlook
It's clear to me: I'll be back, I'll be at the start and I'll put my heart into this awesome route. The second beer tastes good too, we drive to the hotel, another hour, country road, I don't know how I'm supposed to sit in the car. Doesn't matter. In the evening with ouzo, I can finally sleep now.

Was it fun? Feck no, it was just too extreme, too difficult. This is not a walk, everything is really demanded of you, it is exhausting. However, every step had a meaning for me. And all in all it was about 200,000 steps in the 25 hours and 172 km. Every step fulfilled me. With an intense life energy. I wanted the run, this run, to push my limits and be self-determined. It fulfilled me, that's more like it. And that gave me great pleasure. I was allowed to get to know myself better, was at peace with myself. And it was worth it. All the preparatory runs, all the thoughts and worries. Was it an ego trip? Some might see it that way. For me it was a stage of a (life) journey that is not over yet, if at all ;)

Specialty "Supporter"
You walk alone, of course, and that for many hours, but you always know that someone is there. There is someone who catches you when you get stuck. Who thinks of you and takes care of you during all these hours. At night, without proper orientation. Support may only be present at 15 of 75 CPs, and that is the case twice in the first 80KM, after that you see each other every 10KM. And that's just as well. You're just not alone. That's a damn good feeling. That's why for me a supporter - and there can only be Carsten here - is life insurance. Support, a good word, be there, just be there. That helps, that's good and that's why I'm infinitely grateful that Carsten was there! Ultimately, it must be clear that he was also on the road non-stop for around 25 hours (apart from small breaks). In my opinion, this requires a high degree of endurance, performance and dedication and cannot be rated highly enough. Thank you very much dear Carsten!!