Zagori Mountain Running - Race Schedule 2021

  • by XpatAthens
  • Monday, 19 July 2021
Zagori Mountain Running - Race Schedule 2021
Top Athletes will Visit Epirus

The heart of mountain running beats at the “place beyond the mountain”. Preparations of athletes and organizers are gradually being completed while pulse rates are increasing and the adrenaline is rushing ahead of Zagori Mountain Running, the biggest mountain running race. The 10th anniversary race is approaching and Zagori, with its outstanding natural beauty, is expected to gather again, with utmost safety, professional and amateur runners from Greece and abroad on July 23-25, 2021.

Great athletes honor the event’s 11 years!
The TeRA 80km, which is considered as the milestone-race in the history of mountain ultras, is expected with even more excitement this year due to the participation of Greek athletes such as Fotis Zisimopoulos, Vangelis Noulas, Angelos Ziakas, Thodoris Zisis and Giannis Kourkourikis, while Dimitris Seletis, the 2019 winner with a time of 8:18’:06’’ will attempt to claim the first place again. Moreover, participations from Spain such as the one of Jesed Hernandez, who returns with the desire to claim the first place, and of Miguel Angel Heras, the greatest foreign athlete who has ever visited our country so far, are expected with great interest. Finally, Apostolos Tzoumakas is the outsider of the race.

The schedule

Participants will be able to receive their participation kits from Thursday, July 22 at the Fifth Element store (Dagli 2 & Papazoglou, in Ioannina), between 18:00 and 21:00 or alternatively on Friday, July 23 (12:00 to 22:00) and on Saturday, July 24 (10:00 to 20:00) at Tsepelovo High School. On Friday, July 23, at 19:00 in the afternoon, the race briefing of the athletes will take place at the Tsepelovo High School and at 20:00 there will be a Pasta Party for the athletes of 80km &44km races, with the support of Melissa pasta industry and Dodoni dairy product company.

Races’ action starts on Saturday, July 24, at 04:30 in the morning, at Tsepelovo, with the TeRA 80km mountain running race. The race’s development extends to 80 kilometers and its positive altitude difference exceeds the 5,100 meters. The race has a time limit of 20 hours from the start and has 4 intermediate elimination points. At 06:00 in the morning, Marathon 44+ takes over. A filling 44km circular route, with 2,600m of positive altitude, which challenges athletes to raise their personal goals and experience mountain running from a different angle.

With the coolness and hydration offered by the Natural Mineral Water ZAGORI, children’s favorite running race of 1km distance, ZAGORAKI, will be held on Saturday afternoon at 2 18:00. The children are expected to have fun, run in nature and learn the values of sports. At the end of the race, there will be a draw and prizes will be given from the Natural Mineral Water ZAGORI in the context of environmental responsibility and familiarization with the concept of recycling. The lottery will be attended by all participants and visitors who will recycle any packaging of glass, plastic, and aluminum in the mobile recycling unit with photovoltaic panels that will be located on site.

On Sunday July 25, athletes will get to know the two brand new routes, the Half Marathon 21km and the Entry Race 10km. At 07:45 in the morning the renewed Half Marathon 21km race will start, while the competitive Entry Race 10km will start at 09:10. All routes have Tsepelovo as their starting and finishing point. Due to the current condition of the pandemic, the athletes on all routes will start gradually, in order to avoid overcrowding at the starting point.

How to join us
The event will be conducted based on the strict health protocol that has received the approval of the Health Scientific Committee of the General Secretariat of Sports which is being carried out by the organizing committee. All participants must bring an EU Digital Covid-19 Certificate in order to enter the event’s venue. Alternatively, they must have conducted a rapid test or a PCR test against Covid-19 within 48 hours before the start of their race and provide confirmation of their negative result. With the exception of those who will provide a vaccination certificate or a certificate that proves that they have recovered from Covid-19 within the last 2 to 9 months. Finally, if there are consecutive race days for a participant, it is recommended to do 1 test before the first race.

What Participants Should Know
Based on the current measures and the current period, all participants must bring an EU Digital Covid-19 Certificate in order to enter the event’s venue. Alternatively, they must have conducted a rapid test or a PCR test against Covid-19 within 48 hours before the start of their race and provide confirmation of their negative result. With the exception of those who will provide a vaccination certificate or a certificate that proves that they have recovered from Covid-19 within the last 2 to 9 months. Finally, if there are consecutive race days for a participant, it is recommended to do 1 test before the first race.

The 1km ZAGORAKI Children's Race
Τhe children’s favorite race returns with the coolness and hydration offered by the Natural Mineral Water ZAGORI. ZAGORAKI, the children’s 1 km distance running race, will take place this year at the village of Tsepelovo, in the afternoon of Saturday, July 24, 2021. Its goal is the contact of children with running in nature, through an entertaining activity that highlights the values ​​of sports. For the 1km children’s race, children 3 to 12 years old can participate. Each child will be awarded with a commemorative medal and a collectible technical t-shirt.

Children’s participation is FREE.