Kentish Express Ashford & District
Not once but twice – it’s a record run
A superfit housewife has become the first woman to run an ultra marathon in Greece ... twice!
Mimi Anderson, from Smarden, completed the 153-mile Spartathlon last month, which saw more than 300 people run from Athens to Sparta in less than 36 hours.
Out of the 374 starters only 174 finished, with Mrs Anderson, 53, crossing the line in 35 hours and seven minutes.
However, not content with running the gruelling journey once, the mum-of-three then ran back to Athens, taking another 47 hours.
She was the only runner to attempt the double race.
She said: “I’m immensely proud of myself and my amazing crew Becky Healey, Paul George and my husband Tim Anderson.
“I couldn’t have achieved my dream without their support.
“I didn’t get any injuries, just the balls of my feet became extremely sore. I think the lowest point of the run for me was on the return leg to Athens.
“With about 45 miles to go I really struggled with how long it was going to take me – I was never going to give up but I became very quiet not really speaking much to my crew. I think it was my body’s way of conserving energy.”
The 153-mile run is widely regarded as one of the toughest ultra-marathon races in the world. It starts at the Acropolis in Athens, and the finish is marked by kissing the foot of the statue of King Leonidas in Sparta.
The route follows the footsteps of Pheidippides, an ancient Athenian runner sent by the Greeks to Sparta before the battle of Marathon in 490 BC to seek help in the war with the Persians.
Mrs Anderson, a grandmother, completed the run as the third placed female in 2011, but first attempted the double Spartathlon two years ago. Unfortunately though, she had to pull out just miles from the finish line of the first leg after falling ill.
She said: “In September 2013 I attempted to run the Spartathlon and then run back, unfortunately my body had other ideas and I didn’t complete the first leg to Sparta.
“I always said I would go back in 2015 and have another go. This time I completed the double, becoming the first female to do so.”
Mrs Anderson has run all over the world, including across deserts in the Sahara, Libya, Chile, Kalahari and Namibia, over mountains in Colorado, the Alps and the Himalayas and braved the jungles of Peru.
She also set two female world records for running from John O’Groats to Land’s End and for running the length of Ireland.
You can follow her journeys on her blog marvellousmimi.com