The success of last year’s debut event, with 400 participants from all over Greece and people of all ages racing for health and quality of life, was exceeded by far in this year’s 2nd Volos Half Marathon, organized by the Volos Health Runners Club, in cooperation with the Sports Department of the Volos Municipality and the Regional Unit of Magnesia, under the motto “Running is Health”.
That Saturday, April 16th, 2016, turned out to be an amazing day for all involved… With temperatures over 20oC, the record number of 1,200 runners raced in a picturesque route through the Volos coastline. Three runners lead the 2nd Half Marathon route early on, claiming and finally winning the top 3 positions – Giorgos Chatzigiannis finished first, Dimitris Fragkos came second and Kostas Papanastasiou followed third, while Emy Sapiou won the women’s general category, followed by Maria Mpretsa and Dimitra Tsinikou, respectively.
The big surprise came with the 23rd 3km Health Race, where demand for participation was multiple than the 400 entries originally set by the organization! As a result, many runners were licensed to participate even without a participation number, in order to meet the race deadline, while benefits were secured for all. Panagiotis Grammenos and Eleni-Maria Theiou led the men’s and women’s categories respectively, while more than 150 kids joined the 500m race, organized for the first time for children under 12 years old!
A flawless organization up to the last minute, seeing to every need of the race, led to the grand success of the event, clearly making it one of the top events in the country! Volunteers, local authorities, sports clubs and the people in Volos warmly welcomed the event once more and contributed to its success, being joined by many sponsors, such as DIOS Natural Mineral Water, staying in charge of the proper hydration at the Half Marathon refueling stops and finish line for all participants with a… “Thirst for Life”!
Photos: Stathis Karadimitriou, Emmanouela Manousou, Giannis Varalis, Evi Falki, Petros Mpiris.
