ATHENS – The Messinian land with its special place in the Greek Revolution of 1821, through historical battles, great heroes and fighters, is reborn 200 years later, through Run Messinia. The historic event will take place October 2-11 in eight municipalities of Messinia, Laconia, and Arcadia and will include a total of 10 marathons, within 10 consecutive days.

We run 421km for freedom

The event will showcase all the areas associated with the Greek Revolution in Messinia both culturally and touristically. Run for Freedom will start on Saturday, October 2, from Areopoli of the East Mani Municipality, pass through Stoupa of the West Mani Municipality and end in Kardamyli. On Sunday, October 3, starting from Kardamyli, the run will pass through Verga of the Kalamata Municipality and end in the city of Kalamata. On Monday, October 4, the athletes starting from Kalamata will cross Nedousa and finish in Alagonia. On Tuesday, October 5, the runners starting from Alagonia will pass through Dyrachio and Neochori of the Megalopoli Municipality and complete their effort in Poliani of the Kalamata Municipality. From Poliani, on Wednesday, October 6, participants will cross Skala and end up in Paloukorahi of the Oichalia Municipality.

On Thursday, October 7, the route will highlight historical places of the Oichalia Municipality, as the athletes starting from Paloukorahi will cross Katsarou, Solaki, Meropi, Loutro, Diavolitsi, Ano Psari, Dorio and end up at the statue of Kolokotronis in Ramovouni. On Friday, October 8, starting from Ramovouni, the runners will pass through Zerbisia of the Messini Municipality, Kalogeresi, Saint Nikitas Sellas and Tripyla of the Trifylia Municipality, in order to reach Maniaki of the Pylos-Nestor Municipality. On Saturday, October 9, the participants will start from Maniaki, pass through Agios Andreas of the Messini Municipality and Kato Minagia and finish in Koroni. On Sunday, October 10, the route will move exclusively within the Pylos-Nestor Municipality from Koroni, to Methoni and then to Pylos. The 10th and final route of Run for Freedom to be held on Monday, October 11, starting from Pylos, will provide runners with the opportunity of passing through Niokastro, observing Sphacteria and Paleokastro, while crossing Kremmidia and Schinolakka.

The routes’ details are available online: https://www.runmessinia.com/en/routes/. All routes start at 8:15 AM.

Run Messinia honors the 200 years since the start of the Greek Revolution. Photo by Elias Lefas

With a genuine Greek soul, the ultra-marathon runners who will participate in this historic race are in alphabetical order:

·          Marios Giannakou, Al Marmoom Desert Ultramarathon Finisher (270km).

·          Ioannis Dimopoulos, Spartathlon Ultra Race Finisher (246km), Running Coach, Spartan Runners Club.

·          Dean (Konstantine) Karnazes, The Ultra Marathon Runner, 50 Marathons – 50 States in USA – 50 Days, one of the 100 most influential people in the world, according to TIME magazine.

·          Vasiliki Karpouza, Ultra Marathon Runner.

·          Vasilis Koumanakos, Marathon des Sables Finisher (Sahara 250km), Health Runners Club of Messinia (SDYM).

·          George Lazaridis, Wheelchair Tennis Champion and Member of the Greek National Team.

·          Christos Mavrikios, Spartathlon Ultra Race Finisher (246km).

·          Georgia Mitsiou, Badwater Ultramarathon Finisher (217km), Spartathlon Ultra Race Finisher (246km).

·          Athanasios Michas, Ultra Marathon Runner.

·          Angela Terzi, Spartathlon Ultra Race Finisher (246km).

·           Apostolos Tzoumakas, Ultra Marathon Runner.

·          Dimitris Troupis, Pyrenees Stage Run Finisher (240km).

·          Runners from the Health Runners Club of Messinia (SDYM).

·           Runners from the Spartan Runners Club.

Vikos Natural Mineral Water is the event’s official water.

The valuable support of the Municipalities to Greek history

The partnered Municipalities supporting Run Messinia and contributing to the event’s smooth implementation are the following, in Greek alphabetical order: East Mani Municipality, West Mani Municipality, Megalopoli Municipality, Messini Municipality, Oichalia Municipality, Pylos-Nestor Municipality, Trifylia Municipality.

Run Messinia will leave a legacy for the future, as it highlights and promotes through its social media, the historical places, the battles and all the monuments, through which runners will pass.

The event will be held under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization. The difficult task of the event’s planning and implementation has been undertaken by the top sports marketing agency in Greece, the last three years, ActiveMedia Group through its Sports Production department, while the award-winning Angelos Zymaras will be the event’s official photographer.

Hashtags: #runmessinia #runforfreedom

Website: www.runmessinia.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RunMessinia 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/runmessinia 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunMessinia  

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr_FZLkBHWaaXMsQIx2rFQ