THE grueling Spartathlon Race will feature runner Rolando “Junjun” Espina Jr. when it starts late September in Athens, Greece, marking the first time a Filipino is invited at the international event in its 33-year history.
Considered as the “god of all endurance races,” the 250-km marathon will see a total of 390 participants, one of whom is 42-year-old Espina vying to finish the race in under two days set from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 this year.
“I’m looking forward to the race. I’ll do my best and I’m so honored to be representing the Philippines,” said Espina in a press conference at Zark’s Burger in SM North EDSA.
The Bacolod City native is all set for the arduous 36-hour race after clocking in qualifying times at the 2014 and 2015 UK Eskraghman Ironman Distance Triathlon in Northern Ireland.
The Spartathlon, the toughest ultra-marathon road race in the world, tests its runners in extreme conditions plus the pressure each has to face of making it in time in all of its 75 checkpoints.
Espina is just hopeful he can cross the finish line, given the fact that only 40% of participants complete the course.
“If I finish this, it’ll be the best feeling. This is the hardest event ever that I will participate in, so I’ll run it smartly and hope na matapos ko,” said Espina who came back to Manila early Tuesday morning from the UK.
“To be honest, 246.8 kms is unchartered territory for me, actually the farthest that I’ve ran was 161 kms, so that’s just 84 more kms to go,” said Espina, currently a nurse back in Northern Ireland.
He will be backed in his bid in Greece by his Philippine Team crew composed of Platon Zarzoso, Amado Damot and Fermin Bantilan, who are are also Filipino nurses in Ireland.
“The main thing for me is you have to believe that you can finish it and then the next thing is to just run your race, it’s not always about finishing on top,” added Espina
Espina is in the country to attend a fun-run organized by family and friends for his benefit, entitled “The Road to Sparta” this Sunday in his home town of Bacolod.