The City Sightseeing Marathon Challenge has opened the participation period for its second edition, which will be held in Athens for the Authentic Marathon on November 11th. Starting today, those runners who want to live an unforgettable weekend in the Greek capital and run the Authentic Marathon, can participate through the website http://themarathonchallenge.com. Those interested have until 10th October to send a brief explanation of why they would like to run the Athens Marathon and upload a certificate with the best time they have achieved in a marathon. Among all the messages received, three prizes will be awarded: Best Story, Best Time (Female) and Best Time (Male).
In the first edition, which was held in February 2018 for the Seville Marathon, the three winners enjoyed a fantastic weekend with all expenses paid for, including flights, accommodation, tourist attractions, meals, and bib number to participate in the event. Gerard Dypiango, from Los Angeles (United States), who won Best Story; Diana Kurrer, from Munich (Germany), as the fastest female participant; and Francisco Jose Fernandez, from Badajoz, as the fastest male participant, were the first marathoners to fulfill their dream. Now, three other runners have the opportunity to travel Athens and run in city’s marathon.
Enrique Ybarra, President and CEO of City Sightseeing, said: “We are very satisfied about our first edition in Seville, especially delighted to have experienced with Gerard, Diana and Francisco that special weekend that allowed them to know a city and, at the same time, to face the challenge of running a marathon. In this second edition, we wanted to take three runners from any part of the world to the Athens Marathon, where everything started".
The Athens Marathon is unique in the world as the marathon finds its origins there. Along the mythical 42,197 meters, the route covers the distance that the legend places as the origin of all the marathons in the world: from the battlefield of the city of Marathon to Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens. It was run for the first time in 1896 to mark the first Olympic Games of the Modern Age, using the route the soldier Philipides ran in 490 A.C. to disseminate the news of the Greek victory over the Persians. Since then, the test has become so popular that there are hundreds of similar races around the world, but none like the Authentic Marathon in Athens.
The prize of The City Sightseeing Marathon Challenge in Athens also includes flights to the Greek capital, accommodations, a tour of the city on the City Sightseeing Athens double-decker bus, meals, transfers, and bib numbers to run the 36th Annual Athens Marathon for each of the three winners.
