athens-running-tours

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⚡️There is absolutely NOTHING like starting your day charging through centuries of history and culture alongside a true marathon veteran!

🙏Alexandra, a HUGE thank you today’s run was an absolute thrill!

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❤️There is something profoundly special about parents introducing their children to the history and culture of a place through running and sport

🏃‍♂️it’s not just a physical activity, it’s a shared journey through time and heritage

🙏I feel so incredibly lucky to cross paths and share these moments with such amazing people

🙏Thank you for this wonderful morning I m truly grateful

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⚡️Let’s see if the Genesis 2 is as good as the first one and if it lives up to the expectations

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⚡️Brilliant from the start to finish!

There is something so specially about hitting the pavement before the city wakes up, watching the sunrise together and sharing stories doing what we love the most

🙏Big thanks to Dan for the amazing energy!

🏃‍♂️what a fantastic way to start your day

🔥 I have the privilege of having participated 5 times in the iconic ultra-distance race, the Olympus Ultra.

⛰️ 71 kilometers. 5,500 meters of positive altitude gain. A race that unfolds on some of the most technical, brutal, and historic trails of the Mythical Mountain.

👉 The most breathtaking and psychologically relentless point comes after the 40th kilometer. Having already covered more than half of the race’s total elevation, you suddenly find yourself low, at 1,330 meters. You look up, and you know what lies ahead… A lunar landscape, with rocks scorching under the alpine sun and snow patches testifying to a harsh winter; a continuous, never-ending 6-kilometer climb (Xerolaki) that shoots you up first to the Christakis Refuge (2,550m) and then to the alpine ridge of Skolio (2,910m).

⚡ From the stifling, humid heat of the lower forested trails, to the freezing breeze and blinding radiation of the Alpine zone. Up there, every runner fights a dual battle: first against the clock, and then against human nature itself.

🏃‍♂️ When you step onto Olympus, you don’t just run on a mountain. You run on an ancient seabed, which glaciers and tectonic plates violently lifted up to 3,000 meters. These hard, sharp, and steep limestone rocks are unforgiving; they test gear to the tearing point and shatter your quadriceps with every single step.

⛰️ The experience, as always, remains indelible, and the aftertaste truly unique


🥾 A Pitstop in History:
1786: Jacques Balmat steps onto the highest peak of the Alps, Mont Blanc. The dawn of technical mountaineering is a fact.
1855: The Second French Empire turns its gaze toward Olympus. Archaeologist Léon Heuzey studies its geography and designs the first detailed map of the mountain (1:275,000 scale). Since then, the mountain became a magnet for European mountaineers, naturalists, and adventure seekers.
1913: The secret unlocks. Two Swiss philhellenes, Frédéric Boissonnas and Daniel Baud-Bovy, guided by the legendary hunter and logger from Litochoro, Christos Kakkalos, achieve the “impossible”: they reach the summit of the Mythical Mountain.

⛰️ ⛰️ Where the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires once clashed with Cronus and the Titans, an endless sea stretched out 200 million years ago.

⛰️🏃‍♂️ Today, on this upright, sculpted seabed, every ultra runner comes like a small pebble of history to measure themselves against the elements and their own self!

👏 Congratulations to everyone who dared and won, but also to those who lost a battle but not the war.

🔥 In ultra trail running, no matter who you are, no matter how hard or how many years you have trained, nobody guarantees that you will reach the finish line.

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👉Many endurance athletes have become obsessed with their VO2 max metric.

👉When it goes up, they celebrate; when it drops, they get discouraged.

👉The truth is, VO2 max is simply an indicator of aerobic power, not overall endurance out on the field.

👉VO2 max is influenced by both age and genetics. In fact, it’s frequently observed that athletes who have been training for years see their VO2 max decline while their actual performance continues to improve.

🧗‍♀️A striking example is the greatest mountaineer of all time, Reinhold Messner—the first person to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen. His laboratory-tested maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) was measured at just 49 ml/kg/min.

🏃By comparison, an elite endurance athlete, such as a marathon runner or cyclist, can easily exceed 85 ml/kg/min.

❓So, let’s ask ourselves: could an elite marathoner or cyclist achieve what Messner did? Absolutely NOT. They would lack the altitude adaptation, running economy on technical terrain, and muscular endurance required for such environments.

👉Properly and methodically building an aerobic base, combined with targeted functional training for energy and mechanical economy—as well as injury prevention—is the only path to success and longevity.

👉There are no shortcuts. Stop wasting your energy on numbers and metrics you might not fully understand; endurance require patience and mileage at the right intensity

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🔥This is what keep us fueled and hitting the trails every single day

🙏A huge thanks to the amazing 2.57 marathoner Lauren for this incredible trail run!

⚡️There is honestly nothing better than guiding advanced runners who have the stamina for the tough technical routes and genuinely love discovering the history and wild beauty hidden in the Attica mountains

👏Lauren you crushed it

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⛰️ Greek mountains hold secrets and magical worlds waiting to be explored... 🏔️✨

🦕 Sixty million years ago, where the steep cliffs of Meteora now stand, prehistoric creatures used to swim. A vast seabed once covered all of Thessaly, leaving behind the unique conglomerate rock we touch today

The history of movement:

• 🧗‍♀️ Via Ferrata (The Iron Path): Born in the Dolomites during WWI, when the need to move troops and heavy gear to isolated peaks made the impassable... accessible

• 🧗🏾‍♀️ Via Cordata (The Rope Path): The ultimate movement technique for exposed terrain, where safety and trust in the rope are everything.

🏃Freedom in the mountains is earned through training. 🏃‍♂️💨

💪When physical fitness meets technical skill, the mountain stops being an obstacle and becomes the ultimate field of action!

⚡️ 104 kilometers and 5,600 meters of positive elevation gain.

🗻 Three days of running through dense Fir forests, technical trails, and exposed ridgelines.

⛪️ We traversed breathtaking paths and sites of deep heritage, such as the historic Varnakova Monastery (founded in 1077), Krokyleio the birthplace of General Makriyannis and the legendary village of Pentagioi. The forests of Cephalonian Fir, ancient planes, and oaks were just a few of the natural wonders we were fortunate enough to witness.

🌲 In the forests of Dorida, where the fir trees block out the sun and nature commands respect through its silence, the trails tested our limits. But when you have someone by your side, you can find joy in even the most grueling ascent.

⏳ We battled against time, pain, the cold, and our own inner shadows.

🌁 We were moved, gaining experiences and imagery that will stay with us for a lifetime.

👉 When exhaustion sets in, mountain expertise is the key that transforms doubt into a triumphant finish.

👉 Whether it is 5 kilometers or 100, the Athens Endurance Academy by Athens Running Tours possesses the knowledge and experience to guide every athlete who dares to live their own adventure and reach their own finish line.