35th Marathon Olympus

The Olympus Mountaineering Marathon is the first race of its kind in Greece in which the athletes run 41 km following the classic ascent route (Gortsia-Skourta-Muses Plateau-Prinia-Enipeas-Litochoro). The race was established and loved by the entire mountaineering world of our country.
In 1986 a group of mountaineers-climbers of our club, with a restless spirit and led by Dimitrios Bataras, then president of the EOS, conceived the original idea of creating a new form of mountaineering. A marathon race in the mountain area and even in the “home of the 12 gods”, the mythical Olympus.
It is a combination of classic cross-country running and mountaineering, adapted to the special conditions of mountain racing.
Its successful conduct for many years is mainly due to the great participation of athletes from almost all the mountaineering clubs of the country as well as long-distance runners, while it has attracted the interest of many athletes from abroad.
The thought of the initiators of the race then and now of the EOS Thessaloniki is not just to make this marathon an athletic contest among the others, but to invite the general public to participate in a great celebration and to share with the lovers of mountaineering the love for the mountain, the respect for nature and the idea of common effort and fair play.
The Olympus Mountaineering Marathon is held in September every year and is the only one in Greece that is organized by a Mountaineering Association without financial benefit. It is served exclusively by volunteers.