Syros Gears Up for 1st City Trail Race

Photo credit: G. Stefanou Air Photos

Syros is gearing up for the first edition of its city trail race, an important athletic event for the Greek island for professional and amateur runners.

In its very first year, the event is jointly organized by Chronosystems and LifeRacing with the support of Syros Runners and the Syros-Ermoupoli municipality.

The 1st Syros City Trail will take place on September 12 and is aimed at promoting the historical and cultural heritage of Ermoupoli via major attractions along the running routes, including the town hall at Miaouli Square, the Markos Vamvakaris Museum and the numerous Orthodox and Catholic churches.

1st Syros City Trail – routes

Participants can choose from a 10k route for experienced athletes, a 4k route for new runners or a 1k route for children.

10k route: The length of the longer route is 10km with an elevation of 320m. 95 percent of the terrain consists of stone paved alleys and steps and 5 percent of asphalt. The sheer number of steps — 3724 — has caused quite a sensation, and well-known athletes have accepted the challenge!

4k route: The length of the shorter route is 4km with an elevation of 110m. 98 percent of the terrain consists of stone paved alleys and steps and 2 percent of asphalt. The shorter route has 1,699 steps in total!

1k route (kiddie race): The length of the children’s route is 1km with an elevation of 16m. 98 percent of the terrain consists of stone paved alleys and steps and 2 percent of asphalt.

After the race, prizes will be awarded to the first three men and first three women for each route, as well as to the first man and woman from Syros in the 10k race. Everyone who crosses the finish line will receive a commemorative medal and T-shirt. All athletes will also take part in a draw with an opportunity to win gifts from the race’s sponsors.

As an extra treat after the race, the Municipality of Syros–Ermoupoli will be organizing an event with food and dancing on Miaouli Square.

Other amenities for participants include a 30 percent discount for boat tickets with Blue Star Ferries (Piraeus – Syros – Piraeus) and accommodation in hotels in the area, starting from 10 euros per person, per night.

During the race, there will be 4 hydration stations that will provide each athlete with water, isotonic drinks, bananas, raisins and biscuits, as well as local specialities like home-made kanelada, pasteli sesame bars, Syros-made loukoumia and halva-pies. Volunteers with first aid knowledge and a first aid kit will man the hydration stations.

Race itinerary

Friday 11th September 2015, Technical Presentation
19:00 Gathering at Miaouli Square
19:30 Departure for the Kyveli Institute
20:00 – 20:20 Tour of the Institute
20:20 – 21:00 Technical Presentation for Syros City Trail, the first city trail running race in Syros, at the Kyveli Institute (4 Leonidou St, Agios Nikolas, Ermoupoli)

Saturday 12th September 2015, Race Day
12:00 – 17:30 Registration Office working hours (Miaouli Square)
12:00 – 14:00 FREE Pasta Party at the “Achladi” restaurant in the eponymous region of Achladi in the south of the island.
16:30 Event commencement
17:30 Start time for 1k kid’s race
17:30 – 17:50 Personal belongings to be handed over for safekeeping
18:00 Start time for 10k and 4k races
20:20 Race end
20:40 Award ceremony for race winners and honored guests
21:00 Buffet treat from the Municipality of Syros–Ermoupoli
22:00 Event conclusion
23:00 After Party in nearby bar

Participation instructions
Participants are required to fill in the form found on www.syroscitytrail.gr and follow the instructions, which will be sent to them in subsequent e-mails.

In order to secure their participation in the 1st Syros City Trail race, participants will need to select one of the two courses (10k or 4k) and deposit the amount of 10 or 5 ruros respectively in the following bank account (Alpha Bank):

144 00 2002 010529 / ΙΒΑΝ : GR26 0140 1440 1440 0200 2010 529 Beneficiary: Chronosystems ΙΚΕ

The name of the participant must be included. Participation for the 1k kiddie race is FREE.

For more information (in Greek), press here.

GTP is the event’s mega media sponsor.