Above: Rune Larsson of Sweden, three times Spartathlon winner, was one of the high profile international runners to compete at the 1992 Dragon’s Back Race™

"In the lead after two stages was strangely enough a mixed team consisting of Helene Diamantides and Martin Stone. A woman in the lead of this macho race! The phenomenon required a closer study so I decided to follow Helene and Martin for a while. As long as we ran the roads in the beginning I found the pace very comfortable. But then we were going up to the top of Cader Idris almost 900m higher than the point we started from. There Helene Diamantides was in her right element. To run up the steep hill was not sensible tactics but she strided so briskly that I had to give my very best just to not be left behind. When we had been to the checkpoint and went down the south west side of the mountain I didn’t have a chance to follow."

You can read Rune's epic account of his experiences by downloading the PDF HERE.