ATTENTION: THIS ARTICLE REFERS TO ATHENS AUTHENTIC MARATHON (NOVEMBER 2015)
SEGAS, the Hellenic Athletics Federation and Organizer of the “ATHENS MARATHON. THE AUTHENITC” is pleased to announce that registrations for the 10km & 5km Road Races will open on April 1st, and invites everyone interested to participate to submit his/her registration in time, as due to the great popularity of these two races the maximum participation limit is expected to be met within a few hours if not in less!.
On this occasion, we would like to thank the runners that are showing their interest in the races of the ATHENS MARATHON and to underline the fact that SEGAS is handling the huge demand for participation (three, not to say four, times bigger than what the safety limits in each race allow) with high responsibility and setting as primary criteria the protection, safety and satisfaction of the runners.
Unfortunately, we are not able to satisfy this enormous demand for participation in the 5km and 10km Road Races.
The safety requirements, the incumbent provision of high level services to the runners, the regularity of the city center as well as the access and infrastructure limitations of the Panathinaikon Stadium, have led us to the identification of 9,000 entries as the maximum registration limit for each one of these races.
We have rejected any thought to increase this limit against safety and quality. SEGAS does not work and plan based on market’s mentality. That is why we have kept the registration fee at the same level for eight years in row, at the lowest possible level in comparison with other races of the same level, and the same stands for the standards of the services we offer. As it is known, this year’s increase of the registration fee is only 2 and 3 Euro in the 5km and 10km Road Race respectively, and was only decided so that we support with our own resources and not public funds which are not available any more, the national goal of having the international seat of the Marathon movement in our country.
We have rejected any thought to change the way registrations are allocated, toppling our sense of opening to the public, as we have established it the last years. SEGAS cannot ignore its social role and we never thought, even for one minute, to change the balance of 80/20 we have been following the last years, between group and individual registrations.
Based on the all the above, SEGAS is announcing that:
1. Group registrations in the 5km & 10km Road Races coming from running clubs, charity organization, sport and other unions, gyms, embassies, ministries, public organizations, travel agencies, hotels, hospitals, public and private companies, sponsors and any other kind of authority will be limited – instead of the more than 10,000 entries which is the actual request for such entries – to 7,000 entries per race and we ask for the understanding of all relevant organizations and firms.
2. All group registrations from organizations and companies (except for Charity Organizations) will not be confirmed unless they are combined with a relevant contribution and donation on behalf of these organizations and companies to social and charity purposes of their choice.
3. SEGAS will not allow to any organization or company, except for Charity organizations, to increase the cost of the registration fee for the runners even for a few cents, and will not encourage any organization or company to offer free of charge registrations, as this would lead to increased non-shows during the race, not allowing by that way those who are really interested to, to participate in the event.
4. The 5km Road Race for Schools group registrations will be held in the early afternoon of the Athens Marathon Sunday (08 November), so that more free places for individual and group registrations in the 5km Road Race are created.
SEGAS, for any financial or other kind of benefit, never settled and will never do, with less quality races and services to the runners and will never change the long-lasting proportion of 80/20 between group and individual registrations.
On the contrary, we will enforce to the maximum, the “social footprint” of the Authentic Marathon, which in 2014 came up to 500,000 Euro for several social purposes and causes and which this year is expected to be more than 1000,000 Euro.
With sincere gratitude and respect to all runners and absolute sense of responsibility towards this major sport, social and cultural event, which is dedicated to the memory of the Balkan Champion and Pacifist Grigoris Lambrakis, SEGAS is committed that will do anything possible, which the framework of all the above criteria and principles, to create the circumstances and infrastructure so that further increase of registrations is possible for all races of the Athens Marathon, the Authentic Marathon.
