“Olympus Mythical Trail” (OMT) is a 100km ultra-trail in the famed “Mountain of the Gods”, Mount Olympus. In June 2018, OMT will celebrate its 7th edition. It is the hardest trail race in Greece and the most technical and endurance-demanding of its kind, initiated in 2012. OMT takes athletes on a quest around the slopes and ancient trails of the legendary mountain, a popular destination for travelers and hikers worldwide due to the allure of the Ancient Greek myths.
Since 2012, OMT has taken place annually at the beginning of summer, with a limited number of participants. Only a selected pack of 250 athletes will stand at the starting line of the upcoming edition, under strict qualification criteria. The route is a loop starting and ending at the heavenly site of “Ai-Yiannis” forest-park, on the outskirts of Litochoro, a town situated at the foothills of Mt Olympus and near to the popular and touristy Aegean Sea beaches.
The race makes a full loop around Mount Olympus, following both popular trails and lesser-known paths, passing through densely forested ravines and alpine meadows, and reaching 3000 meters of altitude at its highest point! Athletes have to confront both the extreme daytime heat of summer and the unexpected chill after nightfall in the highest parts of the course. Moreover, they are faced with the mountain’s unstable and unpredictable weather conditions, with frequent rainstorms that increase the level of difficulty. Overall, the 100k route has an ascent of 6400 meters with a 28-hour time limit. OMT is the only Greek race included in the list of Western States Endurance Run qualification races.
In last year’s edition (2017), almost half of the 180 trail runners were forced to drop out of the race, due to the extreme heat! Some 18 nationalities were represented in the race. The winner in the men’s category was Aleksei Tolstenko from Russia (15:36:07), while Mariya Nikolova from Bulgaria (18:55:49) headed the women’s race. The course record has been held by Andrey Gridin (14:36:00) since 2016. For the upcoming 2018 event, the competition is expected to be intense, with many international entries, including the famous French elite athlete Antoine Guillon and other well-known trail runners.
Registration for 2018 opens on March 1st. The 7th Olympus Mythical Trail will be held on Saturday, 30th of June 2018. For more information, please visit the Olympus Mythical Trail website
