The Athens International Ultramarathon Festival is a

Multiday race Multiday races are ultramarathon running events which are typically either segmented into daily events of a specified distance or time, or staged so that runners can run as far as they want, at their own discretion, over a set course or over a set ...

which takes place at the former

Ellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'' ( el, Ελληνικόν), was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. It was replaced on 28 March 2001 by the new Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Events

The first Athens International Ultramarathon Festival (UF) was organized by Dr Costas Baxevanis in 2005 in

Loutraki Loutraki ( el, Λουτράκι) is a seaside resort on the Gulf of Corinth, in Corinthia, Greece. It is located west of Athens and northeast of Corinth. Loutraki is the seat of the municipality Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi. The town ...

, located approximately 80 km from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. The first event was a 24hr race which took place in the Loutraki Stadium.

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won that first race with 211 K. *In 2006 the event also took place in Loutraki, but this time in a sport camp because of damage due to an earthquake. This second event in 2006 could be characterized as an Ultra Festival because besides the 24hr race, there were 6-hour, 12-hour and a 7-day race. The 24hr race was won by

Valmir Nunes Valmir Nunes (born January 16, 1964) is a Brazilian runner. A former world record holder, he currently holds South American and Brazilian Ultramarathon records. Career Nunes initially found success in the distance race, winning the world champi ...

whereas Vlastimil Dvoracek was the winner of the 7-day race. *In 2007 the event took place in Athens, in the former

Wolfgang Schwerk Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk is an ultra-marathon runner, born 28 July 1955 http://www.vfum.de/index.php?id=875 and now living in Solingen, Germany. He was a trained retail-salesman, baritone opera singer, farmer, carpenter, and poultry breeder bef ...

participated for the first time in the UF and set a World Record in the 48hr split (420K) of the 7-day race which he won with 1012K. *In 2008 Schwerk again won the 7-day race. *2009 was when the 48hr and 72hr races were included for the first time followed by the 1000 mile race in 2010 (actually, no such multiday events had taken place in Europe until that time point) which was won again by Wolfgang Schwerk who has set many World Age Records and National Records throughout his participation in the Ultramarathon Festival. *In the 2010, Ryochi Sekiya won the 24hr race performing 250K. *In 2011, Dr Baxevanis introduced the 1000K race (also for the first time in Europe) which was won by Trond Sjavic. In that event

Mami Kudo is a Japanese ultramarathon runner and women's winner of the 2013 IAU 24 Hour World Championship. Kudo holds the women's world record in the 24-hour run on the track and road, and also the 48-hour run road discipline. In December 2011 Kudo ...

set a World Record in the 48hr race with 368.687K and Sumi Inagaki won the 24hr race running 230.4K *The 7th Athens International Ultramarathon Festival 2012 took place between March 19 and April 4 at the former Ellinikon International Airport. In the 7th Ultramarathon Festival included both the 1000 mile and 1000 km races in addition to the 24hr, 48hr, 72hr, and 7-day events. In the 1000 mile race participated 3 runners (Martina Hausmann, Abichal Sherrington,

Nikitas Nomikos Nikitas ( el, Νικήτας; tr, Güneşköy) is a village in Cyprus, 4 km southwest of Morphou. ''De facto'', it is under the control of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the ...

). Only one finisher – the Greek multiday specialist Nikitas Nomikos ( 15d 22h 41m 36s) who became the first Greek runner ever to have completed the 1000 mile race in Athens International Ultramarathon Festival within the 16-day time limit.

Organizers

In 2005 the Ultramarathon Festival was supported by the Apollon Athletic Club, and thereafter for the next 3 events by the Athens Alpine Club. In 2009, Dr Baxevanis founded the Association of Greek Dayrunners to act as the main and official organizing club for the Ultramarathon Festivals.

Resources

William Sichel at the Athens 1000 mile World Cup 2010Dream and reality of an epic race Martina Haussman
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External links

*Official websit
International Ultramarathon Festival (IUF)Multidays.com news and results
Ultramarathons Multiday races Athletics competitions in Greece Annual sports competitions in Athens Athletics in Athens