Following the cancellation of the 2020 Athens Marathon event, and with respect to the need of the international running community to participate in running events, the Hellenic Athletics Federation and the Athens Marathon Organizing Committee presented last month a new virtual race; the “Athens Marathon. The Authentic – 2020 Virtual Edition”, or as we call it, the 2020 Virtual Athens Marathon, that opened on November 8th and would last until November 22nd. Thousands of runners in Greece and around the world have already registered and participated in our virtual race, fully respecting all guidelines and instructions for the protection of Public Health issued by the Local Authorities.
Given the huge interest shown towards the 2020 Virtual Athens Marathon event by runners all around the world, and taken under consideration the stricter guidelines regarding private running locally as well as internationally, we have decided to extend the registration period up until November 27th, 2020. Furthermore, and given the fact that someone may register until November 27th, participants will have the possibility to upload their result/time in the “Athens Marathon and Half” application up until Sunday November 29th in the evening.
Let us thank all those who have already registered and participated in the 2020 Virtual Athens Marathon, concluding in that way their participation in a different but equally important running event in a difficult period for all.
On the occasion of the 2019 Athens Marathon, the Hellenic Athletics Federation introduced a medal series with unique historic, cultural and artistic value. The first medal of that series, dedicated to the history and evolution of the Marathon movement, was offered to the participants in last year’s Athens Marathon event that was held on November 9th & 10th, 2019.
That first medal, already in the possession of the 2019 Athens Marathon participants, is signed by Alekos Fasianos, the world famous Greek artist, who has managed to depict the Marathon Battle (490BC) on the back side of the medal. One of the eight letters of the word “MARATHON” is highlighted on the medal each year, so that the entire word is formed by the end of this series.
Normally, the medal of the 2020 Athens Marathon would be dedicated to the “Imerodromos”, the soldier that carried the message of victory from the battle field to Athens, and it would have the signature of another world known Greek artist, Kostas Varotsos.
However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 Athens Marathon will not take place. Following a recent decision of the Organizing Committee, a virtual event will be held at its place, from November 8th to 22nd.
Those to participate in the 2020 Virtual Athens Marathon will receive in their race kit a different, also special medal, exclusively produced for this virtual event. On the other hand, the 2nd medal of the above Athens Marathon medal series will be offered to the participants of the 2021 event.
Cancelling the 2020 Athens Marathon event was a very sad decision not only for the Organizers but for the entire running community in Greece and abroad. However, we are optimistic that a new era will dawn soon, the sanitary and health situation will get better, and the world will rise stronger after this difficult period of uncertainty. All together, we will create the circumstances for a healthier and brighter 2021. The running community has a unique dynamic and vividness that, not only, was not restricted, but in the contrary, was enlarged all this time.
To this running community, taking under consideration the fact that a large number of runners was getting ready and trained in view of the annual Athens Marathon event, the Athens Marathon Organizing Committee has decided to offer the change to take part in something new, very different, a new habit of runners in the covid-19 era; a Special Virtual Edition of the Athens Marathon.
The “Athens Marathon. The Authentic – 2020 Virtual Special Edition” or otherwise “Virtual Athens Marathon 2020” will take place from November 8th to 22nd, offering the opportunity to those who wish so, to participate in an alternative event.
Participants may choose between the distances of Marathon, 10km or 5km, and run any course of that distance, on any day from November 8th to 22nd, while they may run the desired distance more than once, improving their time and climbing up to the results ranking.
The Virtual Athens Marathon 2020 entry race kit includes postal to all runners of the special medal of this virtual race, the official adidas running t-shirt of the event, and a personalized Participation Certificate. Furthermore, each participant will receive his/her bib number by email along with the entry confirmation note, in order to print it locally.
It is noted that the entry fee in the Virtual Athens Marathon 2020 includes mailing via courier of the relevant race kit (medal, official adidas running t-shirt, participation certificate) to the runner’s home address and it is 22.00€ for residents of Greece and 32.00€ of abroad (*the difference in the entry fee is due to the different cost for courier postal abroad).
It is with great sadness that we announce today the cancellation of the 2020 Athens Marathon, that was scheduled to take place on 07 & 08 November 2020.
Making the most of any minute of the last three months, the Top Management and Executives of our Federation made any possible effort during their discussions and cooperation with the relevant Greek Health Authorities, in order to make sure that every possibility for this annual Historic Race to go along, was studied. Even by following a very strict manual of rules and regulations, staging only the Marathon Race and not the shorter races, reducing the number of participants and having all participants to go through a COVID-19 test before the Race, at the expenses of our Federation, was not enough. It seems that even such measures would not secure the absolute safety of runners’ health, which is and will be the top priority in our minds. Taking under consideration all the above, we are extremely sorry to announce today that the 2020 Athens Marathon will not be held.
Within the next days, the Athens Marathon Organizing Committee will contact each one of the registered runners via personalized email, informing him/her about the options they have, either deferring their registration into next year’s event (2021Athens Marathon) or receiving full refund of the entry fee already paid.
We are very optimistic that, after this pandemic is over, we will all run together in our races in 2021, a very important year for Greece since it coincides with the anniversary of the 200 Years after the Greek Revolution.
Following the decision recently made by the Health Committee of the Hellenic Secretariat of Sports that prohibits the staging of running outdoor/off-stage events with more than 100 persons involved (participants and staff), the Hellenic Athletics Federation and the City of Athens, in consultation with the Attica Region, announce that the 2020 Athens Half Marathon, scheduled to take place on September 20th, is now cancelled.
It is noted, that the Athens Half Marathon would be held on September 20th, with the written approval and as agreed with the City of Athens and Attica Region, given that the Health Protocol that the Hellenic Athletics Federation has developed and had it approved by the Health Committee of the Hellenic Secretariat of Sports was still considered in place. This Protocol was incorporating strict social distancing regulations and measures protecting the Public Health, and it was approved, prior to its announcement, by all relevant authorities. Furthermore, its concise and full content had achieved international appeal and recognition as a template manual for running events around the world. For all the hard work and efforts made up to this day, we are grateful to the Organizing, Technical and Health Committees of the Athens Half Marathon, and to the staff of the Hellenic Athletics Federation, the City of Athens and Attica Region.
The decision for the cancellation of the 2020 Athens Half Marathon event is truly an unpleasant one, which upsets our runners and volunteers. It is evident that at this late stage, the Hellenic Athletics Federation had already proceeded to significant expenses regarding the staging of the race. However, protection of public health is and will always be our top priority.
We sincerely thank all parties that have contributed so far to an excellent preparation for the event, and especially ERGO Insurance, the Athens Half Marathon Grand Sponsor, as well as the rest of our Sponsors and Supporters. Furthermore, we would also like to thank our State Partners, such as the Hellenic Police, the National First Aid Centre, OASA, and TRAINOSE, the Acropolis and Benaki Museums, the running clubs in Greece and all volunteer and rescue teams.
