The Road to Sparta

Reliving the Ancient Battle and Epic Run That Inspired the World's Greatest Footrace

By: Dean Karnazes

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The Road to Sparta is the story of the 153-mile run from Athens to Sparta that inspired the marathon and saved democracy, as told - and experienced - by ultramarathoner and New York Times best-selling author Dean Karnazes.

In 490 BCE Pheidippides ran for 36 hours straight from Athens to Sparta to seek help in defending Athens from a Persian invasion in the Battle of Marathon. In doing so he saved the development of Western civilization and inspired the birth of the marathon as we know it. Even now, some 2,500 years later, that run stands enduringly as one of greatest physical accomplishments in the history of mankind.

Karnazes personally honors Pheidippides and his own Greek heritage by recreating this ancient journey in modern times. Karnazes even abstains from contemporary endurance nutrition like sports drinks and energy gels and eats only what was available in 490 BCE, such as figs, olives, and cured meats. Through vivid details and internal dialogs, The Road to Sparta offers a rare glimpse into the mind-set and motivation of an extreme athlete during his most difficult and personal challenge to date.

©2016 Dean Karnazes (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This is a remarkable and inspiring memoir that will have casual and serious runners cheering." ( Publishers Weekly)

Repetitive, no depth

I'd already read Ultramarathon Man and enjoyed it enough to think I might enjoy this too. Well, I think if you've already read the earlier book at all recently you won't get much out of this.

Yes it focuses on Karnazes's greek ancestry and a little on the historical origins of the marathon. But never really as in depth as I would have hoped (which is odd, since he seems to have researched it and consulted an historian). His greek family connections are even less inspiring, especially if you'd read the earlier novel, since now he writes like it's the conclusion of a long expected narrative about why he became a runner when it doesn't sound like he'd ever put much thought into it prior to writing this book.

I might have been able to get past all that if there were more details about his running or his training, but unfortunately there's not much there either. The few things he does mention (the diet he was on for the run he does in Greece) he mentions over and over again to the point where you don't really learn what it is and also somehow are sick of hearing about it. He does tell stories from his run, but again there just isn't much there. He always seems uncomfortable with the fame he's acquired so each person he meets he just goes into how awkward it was or how humble he is that anyone would care. Fellow runners rarely get more than brief mentions, he's always out there running on his own, doing his own thing. He does spend a bit of time trying to be philosophical about it and guess at why he runs, but he doesn't come to any enlightening answers here. Also, he mentions some weird out of body experience he has while running (and fall asleep while running) like they are big deals, when both of those occurred in his much earlier book so I'm not quite sure why he's surprised they happened again. If they even happened at all. Some stories just seem made up, and not even to make a more compelling story. I think Dean's just not a very deep guy. And that's fine, but he spends too much time dancing around trying to be humble and modest about everything, so it's hard to appreciate the athlete side of the story either.

The Real Story of the Marathon

If you could sum up The Road to Sparta in three words, what would they be?

The Real Marathon!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Road to Sparta?

You would think that his completion of the race would be the highlight, but it wasn't. The story told while he was running this arduous race was the highlight. His ability to use the journey as the touchstone to the ancient beginnings of the race were fascinating.

Which scene was your favorite?

If you are going to force me to pick one....I would say his meeting with Pan on the uphill mountain climb.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I shied away from other books by the author because although I am a runner, the super human feats of the top runners are sometimes hard to relate to. As an ultra-marathoner the author fits into that category for me. But this was a book that was part history, part travelouge and part internal journey for the author that was interesting. The other part that was somehow surprising to me was that the origins of the marathon were not what I had come to know. I have run more than a few and the historical insight was fascinating.

Any additional comments?

This book fit nicely in my endurance sports category. I read these books, but I can be a little picky about them. I shy away from fan-boy lit, I need something the author can share with me that I can use in my training or add to my knowledge about a sport that am involved in. This book delivered on both counts.

It's All About ME

Don’t think this is a history of the Battle of Marathon because it’s not. It’s a self-indulgent yarn about the author running races, and how proud he is being Greek. I suppose Karnezes could still pull it off if he were a talented word smith, but he is not. Pass it by.

Great Book!

Great stories about the most famous of ultrarunners. Some almost feel too sensational to be true, but you have to take him at his word. I would certainly recommend this book to any runner.

Good but a little boring

Good but a little boring at times and that's coming from an avid runner. Great facts but drags on a little too much.

I liked it

I like listening to books about running while I run, and this was good. I often struggle with my training, creeping doubts and whether I'm made of the right stuff. I liked how he incorporated stories about his running and the history, and included some aphorisms that I'll remember when it starts getting tough out there.

A fun, easy, educational, and entertaining read

There is so much more to Phidipedes journey than what is commonly talked about on the Internet. Dean makes the historic run a very enjoyable story from start to finish.

Great story and journey to Sparta

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recommend this book because it is a great historical account of the origins of the Athenian runners and how their role changed the history of European and Western civilization. Hat's off to Dean for presenting his research within the context of his own historical run to Sparta.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Road to Sparta?

It was amazing how much detail Dean recalled the sights and smells along the trail through Greece to Sparta. Now I have to go and visit this mysterious land.

What does Robert Fass bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Robert's reading of this book was very professional and gave voice to the many characters of this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Dean's recalling his pep talks with Coach Wooden and hearing Dean's own inspirational quotes including "Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up".

Great book for runners!

I really enjoyed this book. As a first-time Marathoner 2 years ago I was almost brought to tears with the second to last chapter about why people want to run a marathon it spoke so true to me! His story and the story of Pheidippides was quite interesting and brought about a lot of facts that were obscured when I grew up about this amazing Greek runner who performed for honor and country.

Slow

Slow, rambling boring book. Hard to listen too. There are better running books out there.