Running Events
Greece is the home of the original Marathon. For running events, you can't beat that provenance. It surely compels any runner -- athlete or casual -- to want to participate in a run in Greece. And we are here to help you.
Contact Aegea --- we will arrange your race registration, entry fees, hotel bookings and cultural side trips in one neat package. Take a look below at the available events.
The 2500th Anniverary of the Marathon
2010 marks the 2500th Anniversary of the marathon. In 490 BC a professional runner, Phidippides, supposedly ran 26 miles (46 kilometers) from the Marathon battlefield to Athens to announce the victory of the Greeks over the Persian army, and then he dropped dead. This is all lore, but it makes a dramatic tale for marathon runners.
When the Olympic Games were revived in 1896, a Greek athlete Spyros Louis ran the course in the first competitive Marathon event ever held, and won a gold medal and hero status. Today the Athens Classic Marathon sponsors an annual marathon for runners and power walkers starting in the town of Marathon and finishing at the 1896 Olympic Stadium in Athens. Simultaneous events are held for 10km and 5km runners.
2500th Marathon Anniversary: October 31, 2010
Book Marathon Tour
VISIT OUR DEDICATED RUNNERS SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 2010 ATHENS MARATHON -- www.MarathonGreece.com
The Extreme Spartan
One of the most prestigious ultra-marathons in the world is the Spartathlon, 246 km (153 miles) from the Athens Acropolis to the history-laden town of Sparta. The Greek runner Pheidipides actually ran this distance in 490BC in an unsuccessful attempt to rally reinforcements for the fight against the Persians at Marathon. In 1982 a British runner sought to emulate the route guided by descriptions from the historian Herodotus.
The event is limited to 300 athletes. Strict requirements for entry, including completion of 100 km in 10½ hours. The Spartathlon is usually held in late September.
A Triathlon for All Ages
The Schiniathlon (pronounced skinny-athlon) is named for the Bay of Schinias where the event takes place, not too far from Marathon or Athens. The first race in 2007 attracted 55 athletes and in 2008 190 persons. It is organized by a volunteer group, including the owner of the Schinias Sports Center.
The Schiniathlon is held three times a year with three levels:
Sprint triathlon: 750m swim+20k bike+5k run
Olympic triathlon: 1500m swim+ 40k bike+ 10k run
Long triathlon: 1800m swim + 60k bike + 15k run
There is also a race for children under the age of 16 who swim 50 meters, cycle 2km and run 250 meters to 1 kilometer.
Runners from History
The Nemean Games were originally held as funeral games for a king’s infant son who died of a snakebite at the Nemea River. Seventeen centuries later, in 1996, the games were revived by a Berkeley professor of archaeology.
Participants range from 5 years old to 80 plus, men and women. Athletes in the ancient games competed nude, but today’s modest Nemean runners cover themselves with a chiton (white robe) and only their feet are bare. Yes, the various Nemea Games are run barefoot, except the final one in which the winner is crowed with a wreath of wild celery.
The Nemean Games are held every four years. The next one is in the spring of 2012.