German runner Florian Reus wins ultra-marathon

German ultra-marathon runner Florian Reus on Saturday won the 33rd Spartathlon race, one of the toughest as well as the most historical ultra-distance running races in the world.

Arriving at the statue of Leonidas among nearly 400 runners, Reus fnished the 246 km race in 23 hours, 17 minutes and 31 seconds. Reus finished second in 2013 and 2014, reported Xinhua.

Less than 40 minutes later, British ultra-marathon runner Dan Lawson finished second in 23:53:32. Danish runner Kim Hansen came third in 25:54:37.

Among female runners, 36-year-old Katalin Nagy from America finished first in 25:07:12. Nagy finished second in 2014.

Alyson Venti, also from the US, arrived second at the statue of Leonidas in 26:50:51 among about 50 female runners. Hungarian ultra-marathon runner Szilvia Lubrics, three times female champion for this race, came third in 29:18:44.

The 33rd Spartathlon from Athens to Sparta kicked off in front of the Acropolis hill in the Greek capital of Athens on Friday morning.

This year 385 runners from more than 40 countries and regions are competed, following the footsteps of ancient Greek soldier Pheidippides in the 246 km distance race to the southern Peloponnese peninsula city of Sparta.

In 490 BC, ahead of the battle of Marathon against the Persian forces, according to historians, the Athenian soldier who inspired the Classic Marathon was sent to Sparta to request support, making the journey on foot non stop within two days.