Runners, register for the Olympus Marathon

Olympus marathon is the international mountain running event in Greece, carried out on Mount Olympus, known in mythology as the home of the Gods. The route revives a sacred trail followed by ancient Greeks every year in order to honour Zeus. It kicks off at the remains of the sacred city of Dion with athletes reaching up to 2,800 meters.

Participation is at 50.50 euros. Each participant will receive the race technical T-shirt along with his/her bib number on race’s eve. All athletes cross the finish line within the time limit (10 hours) will receive a remembrance medal. All athletes will also have access to a pasta party on the race’s eve, catering during the race, and a meal after the race. Each participant can print out through the event’s website a certificate showing ranking and time, only when the official results will be announced. The event is held from June 26 to June 28, 2015, with the following schedule:

Friday, June 26, 2015
19.00 to 22.00. Athletes registration, Nautical Museum

Saturday, June 27, 2015
10:00 to 23:00 Athletes registration.
19:00 Children’s Races Games (Olympus Kids and Olympus junior)
19:00-22:00 Pasta Party
20:15 Technical briefing

Sunday, June 28, 2015
4.20 to 5.20 bus departure from Litochoro park to the archaeological site of Dion
6.05 Start of the race
10.45 to 16.05 Finishes of the athletes
17.00 to 17.30 Awards
19:00 to 20:30 End 10th OM-Party

 

Registration is open from January 23 through to May 15. Participants need to be aged over 18. To participate, runners should have previous experience in similar kinds of races with at least 2 mountain/trail events of over 20K and 1200+ or 1 of 35km and 2200+ over the last two years. Athletes also need to present organizers with a medical certificate. Applicants without this experience will be rejected and have 50% of their entry fee refunded.

 

If you are a runner with the appropriate funds and qualifications, this might be the marathon for you; a pilgrimage of sorts, to one of the most well-known and sacred places in Greece.