246 km run: Hungarians won both the men’s and women’s categories! – video

28 Hungarians took part in the world’s most difficult running contest. Tamás Bódis won among men while Zsuzsa Maráz received the gold in the women’s category.

According to csupasport.hu, the results of the Hungarian runners exceeded even the best dreams and expectations. 

31-year-old Tamás Bódis got into the international top of Spartathlon contestants in just a couple of months. He was 4th in 2018, but

he won the Ultrabalaton this spring

with a huge advantage. He did not start very well on Friday morning in the Spartathlon, and when he arrived at the 11th control point, he was barely in the top 10. At CP18, he was the 4th, and at the following one, the 3rd.

He ran closer and closer to the Japanese Tacuja, and by the time they arrived at CP 41, his advantage already exceeded 7 minutes, which grew to 32 minutes 1.5 hours later. 

Zoltán Csécsei prepared for the contest by having

three trainings daily,

and it seems that hard work paid off. When Bódis passed the Japanese runner, Csécsei was already third, and in the end, he won the silver medal. He crossed the finish line 45 minutes later than Bódis did, while the Czech Radek Brunner came in third.

Zsuzsanna Maráz performed similarly in the 246 km run. She started a bit slower and ran with the others having a 28-minute handicap compared to the Czech Churanova, who dictated a very quick tempo at the beginning of the competition. But as the hours passed, Ms Maráz outran others one by one, and by the 35th control point, she was second behind the Russian Irina Masanova. In the rush of the competition, she even had the strength to outrun her Russian adversary. Thus, she won the contest.