The Athens Marathon, which will take place on Sunday, November 11th for the 36th time, is now one of the most important sports, cultural and social events that are hosted in the Greek capital.
The event’s participation has grown from 4,000 entries in 2005 to more than 50,000 in 2017, while on Sunday over 55,000 runners of all ages will take part in all races.
This year for the first time in history, the maximum number of entries for the Marathon Road (42.195m), was completed one and a half months before the event, with 18,500 runners submitting their registrations.
“The Athens Attica & Argosaronic Hotels Association, fully supports the Authentic Marathon, with the ultimate aim to establish November as Marathon Month, in order to maximize the positive effects of this event will have on the Greek capital as a destination,” its Secretary General Mr. Evgenios Vassilikos explains to Tornos News.
To this end, the Association has launched the athensauthentic.com, a non-profit synergy platform to promote the event as well as the Association’s member hotels.
So far, 35 marathon hotels have joined the platform along with marathon stores in cooperation with the Athens Shopping Association.
The platform is also hosted on the homepage of the Hellenic Sports Federation (SEGAS), a key fact in the update of athletes as well as global media.
The platform and its offers are also promoted through the Athens International Airport discount card ATHENS SPOTLIGHTED.
Furthermore, through strategic cooperation with Marketing Greece, foreign journalists/marathon runners from Switzerland, France, England have also been invited and hosted in the Greek capital and a related campaign has been launched abroad through discovergreece.com.
The Marathon is also promoted in foreign cities through the international company City Sightseeing.
The first action took place in Seville last August and the second will be held this year in Athens.
“Marathon hotels” offer special reception and services to the runners featuring events, actions, promotions, discounts and gifts.
“Our aim is the establishment of November as a month of Marathon, the creation of a festive city atmosphere, the extension of the visitors’ stay in Athens and the promotion of the public’s interest in the authentic Marathon and its history,” stresses Mr. Evgenios Vassilikos.
He also points out that many efforts and actions are still needed to promote the international awareness regarding the Authentic Marathon of Athens. As participants tend to come together with at least a second person or a companion, the Marathon has the potential to become the most important event for Athens tourism, filling the city with visitors throughout November.
“It is certain that over the past 7 years, the Marathon has risen to another level. It is worthwhile to take advantage of this fact and try to establish it as a unique event internationally,” Vassilikos adds.
Athens Walking Tours will also support the Association’s actions with special offers.
SEGAS has also planned this year a special action called “Runners Forest” to help restore the Marathon route, which from the twelfth to the sixteenth kilometer was destroyed by the deadly fires of Attica in July.
New trees will be planted and on the day of the Marathon, each runner will receive a green scarf to be worn along the part of the race that has been hit by the fire, thus creating a symbolic “green river” and sending a positive message to the millions of viewers who will watch the 36th Authentic Athens Marathon, both in Greece and abroad.
