April 05, 2015 at Thessaloniki Athletic event (Sports)
Marathon. Born in Marathon of Greece in 490 B.C. by the heroic effort of the soldier Phedippides who ran this distance to announce to the Athenians the victory of the Greeks, falling dead due to the overexertion.
Today in every corner of the world thousands of marathons are being conducted, making thus this sport the one with the most participants in the world and the word “marathon”, the only common one among all spoken dialects worldwide.
The International Marathon “ALEXANDER THE GREAT”, refers to the route Pella-Thessaloniki. Pella is the ancient capital of Macedonia and the birthplace of the Great Commander, whereas Thessaloniki is the modern capital of Macedonia. This International Marathon which symbolizes one of the most recognizable personalities of humanity, Alexander the Great, is not just a major and International sporting event. It is a path in history, a path in ancient Greek culture, a Path full of Greece.
The first International Marathon “ALEXANDER THE GREAT” was held on the 16th of April in 2006, and was the result of a vision of many people who represent athletic and cultural institutions all over Greece. MEAS TRITON of Thessaloniki, licensed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and under the auspices of SEGAS, HOC, the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, and with the cooperation of 52 bodies, institutional supporters, organizes the top sports event of Northern Greece. This event is of social, cultural, environmental, tourist and above all historical significance and it is the perfect representative of our city, of our Macedonia and our country, worldwide.
The International Marathon is member of the International Marathons Association (AIMS) and it is included in the official annual calendar. As a consequence, no other marathon in the world is allowed to use the name of Alexander the Great.
THE VISION
– Through the International marathon “ALEXANDER THE GREAT” and all its parallel events, our goal is to highlight globally a historic route, and the importance of Thessaloniki and Macedonia as a centre of history, culture and sports.
– In addition, we want to offer the citizens, through all the road races of the organization, the opportunity to run or walk for the performance and the joy of participation, aiming to the promotion of a healthy model of life as well as the enhancement of the quality of their life.
– Therefore, it is our commitment to provide excellent services to all the runners, to our volunteers, sponsors and all those people that collaborate with us for the success of this event.
THE OBJECTIVES
Our goals for the International Marathon “ALEXANDER THE GREAT” are:
– To gain prestige abroad, similar to that of the major Marathons of the world.
– We want Greeks to consider it as a “National and Tourist product”, that can be used to display and promote our country and contribute to the financial development of Central Macedonia.
– To be settled in the global market as “The Marathon of History”.
– To increase its entries by 20% per year.
– To increase the interest of Greeks concerning Health Races and a healthy lifestyle.
– To establish itself as the event with the greatest social and economic impact in Northern Greece and one of the top annual events in the country, with multiple importance.