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Athletes running across the Old Harbour (Palio Limani).

Spetses mini Marathon is an international annual sporting event comprising a 5 km and a 25 km run. A 10 km race has been added to the program for 2014.

The mini marathon is held every October since 2011. The running races are the main events in a three-day series of sports such as the swimming races of 2.5km & 5km as well as the children’s 1,000m. run and swim race.

More than 2,000 men and women participate in the running events, while over 3,000 athletes in total take part in all sports.

General information

Spetses mini Marathon was first held in 2011. Greek or foreign athletes, professionals or not can race, as long as they are at least 18 years old and pay the registration fee in order to race.

The event takes places on the island of Spetses, at 54 nautical miles from the Greek capital of Athens. Athletes can be transported to Spetses: By land, via the Athens-Corinth National Road, towards the port of Costa, then using the ferr-boat to get to the island. The trip lasts approximately 2.5 hours. By sea, from the port of Piraeus, with the flying dolphins. The trip lasts approximately 2.5 to 3 hours.

Spetses mini Marathon is organized by the company “Communication Lab” company. It is held under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), the municipality of Spetses and has the support and assistance of the Municipality of Spetses and other local bodies.

Course

The 5km Run extends to the northeast part of Spetses. The route goes through the center of the island, Dapia, and the Old Harbor. It is the round of the town. The 25km Run is a course round the island.

History of the event

2011: Spetses mini Marathon first took place on the 16th of October 2011 with 700 participants. More than 100 volunteers from Spetses helped the organization. In the 26km. course (it was shortened to 25km. in 2013) Yiannis Papadopoulos was first completing the race in 01:31:12. Winner of the 5km. race was Costas Nakopoulos, crossing the finish line after 00:16:02.

2012: Swimming and children’s races where added to the program for the first time. During 12-14 October 2012, over 3,300 athletes took part in several races (5km. and 26km. running, 1st Cross Spetses Channel Swimming Competition and the children's 1km.). The swimming competition, featuring two distances of 2.5km. and 5km., drew more than 300 swimmers to be regarded as the largest swimming marathon in Greece. The winner of the 26km. tour of Spetses with a time of 01:13:33 was Giannis Papadopoulos (2nd year in a row), while the 5km. was won by Costas Nakopoulos for the second time. He made it in 00:14:53. In the 26km. race, 484 runners of the starting 500 finished with an official time, while 860 runners put of 1,050 finished the 5km. with an official time. The Cross Spetses Channel double swimming competition included two distances, one of 2.5km. and one of 5km. In the 2.5km. (Costa‐Spetses), the winner was Kyriaki Liosi, with a time of 37 minutes, while Dimitris Stamatiou was the first to finish in the 5km. (Spetses‐Costa‐Spetses) with a time of 1:15. 331 out of 340 swimmers taking part finished with an official time. 410 children took part in a 1km. race. 380 finished with an official time.

2013: The third Spetses mini Marathon was held from 11 to 13 October 2013 and numbered more than 3,200 participants in all competitions (Footrace 5km & 25km, Cross Spetses Channel Swimming Competition of 2,500 and 5,000 m., Children’s running Race of 1,000 m., Children’s Swimming Competition). Five (5) Paralympic athletes (Alexandros Taxildaris, Makis Kalaras, Thodoris Samonas, Panagiotis Triantafyllou, Chejon Fernandez) took part in the race for the first time. The winner of the 25km. round of Spetses was Dimitris Theodorakakos, with a time of 01:28:00. In women Magda Gazea came first. In the 5km. race Costas Nakopoulos finished first for 3rd consecutive year, while in women Roi Danali-Apostolopoulou ranked first. For the 2,500m. distance of Kosta-Spetses, Dimitris Stamatiou was the winner in men’s swimming competition. Alexandra Manetta won the women’s course, while at 5,000m. (Spetses-Kosta-Spetses) the first to finish was Giannis Drymonakos in men and Marianna Lyberta in women. The World Champion in swimming Spyros Giannotis also took part as a guest. The 2nd Swimming Competition “Cross Spetses Channel” numbered more than 600 athletes classifying the competition as the biggest High Sea swimming competition in Europe. More than 500 children participated in the 1km. footrace, while a children’s swimming competition took place for the first time with the participation of about 30 children at the age of 6-12. This year a separate award was granted to the athletes that achieved the best combined results in running and swimming, participating in both competitions.

Notable features

Charity

From 2013 Spetses mini Marathon encourages the “Run for a Cause” program, which offers participants the chance to support an institution or a charity of their choice. The institutions supported in 2013 were the non-profit N.G.O. “Together for Children (Mazi gia to Paidi)” and the non-profit foundation “Desmos”. Moreover, that year the Organizing Committee introduced the Spetses mini Marathon Sustainability Initiative focusing on raising awareness for the environment as well as undertaking ecological actions during the Spetses mini Marathon.

Statistics

Year	Winner	Time
	25 km. Course (Men)
2013	Theodorakakos Dimitris	01:28:00
2012	Papadopoulos Yiannis	01:13:33
2011	Papadopoulos Yiannis	01:31:12

Year	Winner	Time
	5 km. Course (Men)
2013	Nakopoulos Costas	00:14:33
2012	Nakopoulos Costas	00:14:53
2011	Nakopoulos Costas	00:16:02

Sources

• Dr. Marina Lyda Coutarelli, "The Spetses mini Marathon Phenomenon", Visitgreece.gr The Blog, Athens 2014.
• Marissa Churchill, Pastry Chef and Author, "Exploring the Peloponnese", Huffingtonpost.com The Blog, U.S.A. 2014.