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

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)

Great story !

Enjoyed every single chapter, narration and detail like If I lived through the story. Perfect choice of words and vocabulary. Stars 5 out of 5 and would recommend it even to everyone.

Great book to listen to on the run! 😅

Loved this book! Very insightful, and encouraging! Just a great book to listen to on the run!😅

Interwoven runs with history

Not my favorite story about running but still a good one. I like the interwoven story of the original marathon. If you read Natural Born Heroes, the format is very similar.

The story is not as motivating as his previous works, but I was entertained!

Grateful for Practical Poetic Arete

It has been said that fools may learn from personal experience. Yet, the wise learn from the experiences of others. This audiobook engages you with a vivid adventure in a champion’s path with Greek history, virtue, passion, philosophy, the divine, family, food, grit, and excellence. Another generous gift from beloved, Karno. I would recommend this book to anyone active in personal growth and development.

Captivating

This book kept my attention the entire time. The reading was on point and captivating. Excellent personal story that captures history needing to. e told.

Fantastic Read!

The personal story along with the history of Greece both very powerful. I learned a lot!

Monumental History

The author is very humble about his achievements and is very inspiring. If this book or similar don't compel you to challenge yourself and achieve greater than I don't think anything can. This book is more than Dean's story, it's about the fight for democracy and Greece and everything we take for granted now and was almost lost. If you are reading reviews and you think you are interested, buy it, and don't look back.

Great combination of personal journey, running motivation and historical insight!

I thought it was a fantastic combination of a lot of different things. I found it fairly easy to follow, and it kept my interest. I think I would've enjoyed it better, had I been able to relate to the Greek (or any) first or second generation immigrant family. Pretty powerful in any case.

Books like these, keep me running.

A book of inspiration, history, and culture

After listening to Ultramarathon Man, I was yearning for more from Dean Karnazes. After searching for his name in Audible, I found The Road to Sparta, which I thought would both add motivation to nurture my emerging running hobby and reinforce my well-seasoned love of history. It delivered. While Dean took his time getting to the race itself, I came to appreciate the reasons why, which were to share insights into both ancient and modern Greek culture, with the latter being described through detailed personal interactions with people both known and unknown. This helped me appreciate the race story even more. The history lessons interlaced through the narrative were obtained through his collaboration with scholars and experts on the subject and I found myself learning many interesting things about the Battle of Marathon that I didn’t know. With that said, I yearned for a bit more detail about the landmarks Dean and his ancient counterpart observed. I didn’t get a vivid picture of the sights and sounds of the established race path itself and what existed today that could be tied to ancient times. If you are looking for a book about how to train or run, this isn’t the book for you. But if you’re looking to be inspired by incredible accomplishments, learn about the true history of marathons, or just want an entertaining “binge-worthy” story, then you won’t be disappointed. Narration is well-done without distraction.

Enjoyed both the historical and personal aspects

Listened to it on my runs and found it motivational as well as the history to be enlightening.