Olympus Marathon
The Olympus Marathon is a mountain trail race series held near Dion, Greece, with its main event weekend at the end of June. The featured race is the 44km Olympus Marathon, ascending 3350m, and the Olympus Ultra extends to 71km with 5550m of climbing. Shorter races offer alternatives to a single demanding mountain event: the Olympus Vertical covers 4.25km with approximately 1000m of elevation gain, Melindra Trail is a 5km route for novices and younger participants, and Eagle's Ridge provides a mid-length mountain course. The races utilize the slopes and higher elevations of Mount Olympus, differing from a typical town-based course. The Vertical race begins at Prionia, at an altitude of roughly 1050m, and concludes on the Mouson Plateau at about 2650m, making its short distance exceptionally steep. The primary finish line is in Litohoro at 300m. Organizers provide live weather updates from Litohoro, Prionia, and the high plateau due to potential rapid condition changes with altitude. The 44km race attracted over 300 participants in its most recent running, and the longer events are part of the UTMB Index Races system, drawing competitive mountain runners seeking significant results alongside local and visiting trail runners attracted by Mount Olympus.
