Yiannis Kouros

Yiannis Kouros

Yiannis Kouros in 2008
Personal information
Born	February 13, 1956 Tripoli, Greece
Website	http://www.yianniskouros.gr/index.php/en/
Sport
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	24-hour run, 48-hour run, 6-day race
Medal record Men’s Ultramarathon (partial list) Adelaide24-hour run 1997 Basel 24-hour run 1998 IAU 24 Hour World Championship 2001 Soochow University 24-hour run 2002 24-hour run San Giovanni Lupatoto 1999 24-hour run San Giovanni Lupatoto 2000 Surgères 48 Hour Race 1995 Surgères 48 Hour Race 1996 Surgères 48 Hour Race 1997 Surgères 48 Hour Race 2000 Surgères 48 Hour Race 2002 Surgères 48 Hour Race 2003 Surgères 48 Hour Race 2004 Australian Six Day Race - Colac 1984 Australian Six Day Race - Colac 2000 Cliff Young Australian 6-day race 2005 Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1985 Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1987 Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1989 Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1990 Athens to Sparta Run 1983 Spartathlon Athens to Sparta Run Spartathlon Athens to Sparta Run Spartathlon Athens to Sparta Run

Yiannis Kouros (Greek: Γιάννης Κούρος; born February 13, 1956 in Tripoli, Greece) is a Greek ultramarathon runner based in Melbourne. He is sometimes called the "Running God" or "Pheidippides Successor". He holds many men's outdoor road world records from 100 to 1,000 miles and many road and track records from 12 hours to 6 days.^[1][2] In 1991, he starred as Pheidippides in the movie The Story of the Marathon: A Hero's Journey, which chronicles the history of marathon running. Kouros came to prominence when he won the Spartathlon in 1984 in record time^[3] and the Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon in 1985 in a record time of 5 days, 5 hours, 7 minutes and 6 seconds. He beat the previous record held by Cliff Young.^[4]

Kouros says that his secret is that "when other people get tired, they stop. I DON'T. I take over my body with my mind. I tell it that it's not tired and it listens."

Kouros has also written over 1,000 poems (several of which appear in his book Symblegmata (Clusters)) and the book The Six-Day Run of the Century.

World records

According to the International Association of Ultrarunners, as of February 2013.

Distance

100 miles	Road	11h 46min 37s	13.665 km/h
1000 km	Track	5d 16h 17min 00s	7.338 km/h
1000 km	Road	5d 20h 13min 1940s	7.131 km/h
1000 miles	Road	10d 10h 30min 36s	6.424 km/h

Time races

12 h	Road	162.543 km	13.545 km/h
24 h	Road	290.221 km	12.093 km/h
24 h	Track	303.506 km	12.646 km/h
48 h	Road	433.095 km	9.023 km/h
48 h	Track	473.797 km	9.875 km/h
6 days	Road	1028.370 km	7.142 km/h
6 days	Track	1038.851 km	7.214 km/h

See also

• Multiday races
• Ultramarathon

References

1. "World Best Performances" (PDF). International Association of Ultrarunners. October 2012.
2. "IAU World (age) best performances" (PDF). 29 January 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
3. "Japan's Ryoichi Sekiya wins Spartathlon race". USA Today. AP. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
4. Potter, David (18 April 1985) Melbourne's Greeks welcome their Marathon man; The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 February 2010.

External links

• Yiannis Kouros official page
• Yiannis Kouros official page