The Greek Veteran Athletic Association of Patras supports the 1st Patras Half Marathon
The Greek Veteran Athletic Association of Patras, always at the forefront of the sports movement, is added to the list of institutional supporters of the 1st Patras International Half Marathon!
A moving gesture that the organization highly values the support of the veterans, the athletes who built the edifice of athletics with their personal life commitment and continuous effort.
GVAA Patras completes 30 years in action, in 1994. A group of retired athletes and friends of classical sports formed the core of the Association. Among them Antonis Kanellopoulos, Dionysios and Nikos Balasis, Thanasis Siozos, Panagiotis Mendzelopoulos, Mavra Papalamprou, Spagadoros, Sotiris Athanasopoulos and more.
The Association organizes local competitions, regional and pan-Hellenic championships with great appeal and success. Its athletes, even participate in pan-European and world championships for veterans. The Association has been awarded, many distinctions being on the top of Veterans’ Athletic Associations.
Patras Port Authority SA supports as strategic partner the 1st Patras International Half Marathon. The athletes are running alongside the seafront of the city, where the facilities of the port are located, being the main Western Gate of the country, commuting passengers and commodities. The Port of Patras dominates the Western Port System of Greece and has always had specific characteristics:
It serves passenger and commercial services in Southern and Central Greece. Its contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of the region and the country over time was and remains significant.
It belongs to Ports of International Interest (Category K1). It is a member of the Trans-European Transport Network and the central network as categorized for the period 2014-2050.
The strategy of Patras Port Organization focuses a) on maintaining and strengthening the leadership position among the ports of Western Greece as the most important Western Gateway of the country,
b) on its dynamic strategies to attract the interest the tourist market by emerging as a tourist port (Mega Yachts, cruise) and c) to expand into new markets (e.g. containers, etc.).
In this context, actions taken are the following:
a) to strengthen an extrovert plan of cooperation between the ports of the Adriatic sea in matters of the port industry
b) to develop new business activities aiming at the upgrading of the competitiveness of the port and its contribution to integrated multimodal maritime transport and
c) to develop initiatives and its active participation in the port industry sector in the new Macro – Adriatic – Ionian Region of the EU.
The support the Port Organization a key player in the development and prosperity of the region to the event of the Patras International Half Marathon, further broadens the vision of establishing and international athletic institution that will attract athletes and spectators from all over Greece and abroad as s “premier legue” running event.
The Organizing Committee of the 1st Patras International Half Marathon announces its collaboration with the innovative tool OLYMPASSMARK powered by MPDO (www.olympassmark.gr) which is now among the Institutional Supporters of the Race.
This is another pioneering project implemented by the Region of Western Greece and concerns the implementation of the OLYMPIAN LAND SPORT CLUBS PASSMARK – OLYMPASSMARK program. It is addressed to amateur Sports Clubs and Sports Organizations and recommends a system of self-evaluation and self-improvement of their organization in order to operate more efficiently, while opening new paths to sustainable development and financing. The goal of OLYMPASSMARK is the development of sports organizations through “excellence” and their connection with businesses and organizations within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility policies and the ESG goals of sponsoring businesses.
The company UpCycle supports the 1st Patras International Half Marathon
The Organizing Committee of “Patras Half Marathon 2023” welcomes the cooperation of UPCYCLE, as a Silver sponsors of the event.
UpCycle is the exclusive representative of Fit & Shape nutritional supplements in Greece. The Fit & Shape company specializes in the production and distribution of high quality, effective and safe nutritional supplements.
Fit & Shape products complement the nutritional needs of athletes who engage in intense physical activity. They are certified of good quality and production standards (HACCP, GMP, ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 22000) and do not contain genetically modified ingredients. Used by football and cycling teams at national and Olympic level the products of the company are sold in Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Ukraine, Germany, Romania, Cyprus, Portugal, Serbia, Bulgaria, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait , Norway and the Canary Islands. In Greece they are mostly used by triathlon athletes and most champions and coaches in cycling and running sports.
The Hellenic Open University was founded in 1992 in Patras and is the only online/distance learning university in Greece. The Hellenic Open University was established to fill a gap for telematic and distance education in the higher education system of the Hellenic Republic in response to the growing demand for continuing education and lifelong learning.
It is an honor to welcome the support and collaboration of the Hellenic Open University as an institutional supporter of the 1st Patras HalfMarathon.
The Running Team of HOU has already been mobilized, the hashtag #fastertogether has been around for some time! The Hellenic Open University, based on the participation program of its students, will take place with a big team of participants substantially supporting the goal to create an international istitution empowering the running movement in the area and further out. The Hellenic Open University offers a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, life long training programmes. The Schools of the University are : School of Humanities:
The School of Humanities (S.A.E.) is one of the four schools having actually The School currently has 16 Members of TRS (Teaching and Research Staff), (6 Professors, 7 Associate Professors, 3 Assistant Professors). It offers a total of twenty-one study programs (three undergraduate study programs and nineteen postgraduate study programs). School of Social Sciences:
The School of Social Sciences is one of the four Schools of the HOU established by the founding law N.2552/97, formed into an entity in 2005. The School of Social Sciences has as its main objective the provision of knowledge and skills in the social sciences, with particular emphasis on management and economics.
School of Positive Sciences and Technology: The School currently has 15 D.E.P. At S.H.E.T. subjects of Positive Sciences (Physical Sciences, Mathematics), Informatics and Engineering Sciences (Environmental Engineering and Environmental Planning, Management and Construction of Technical Projects, etc.) are taught. Studies in Film Writing, Practice and Research.
If only we could award a gold metal for the commitment and support and sports’ spirit then we
have a winner Hellenic Open University thank you !!!
Coffee Island Gold sponsor of the 1st Patras International Half Marathon.
Coffee Island announced its support to the organization of the 1st Patras Half Marathon, empowering the sporting event with its sponsoring participation.
The history of Coffee Island starts in 1999 from Patras and in its third decade of operation is the No. 1 coffee chain in Greece and the “Best Coffee Chain in Southern Europe 2022” (Allegra European Awards).
The network of 487 stores is spreading over 50 prefectures and 114 cities in Greece, but also in 55 locations abroad (Cyprus, London, Switzerland, Romania, Toronto, Egypt & Dubai) while coffee roaster products are also available in organized retail.
Dedicated to a thriving future, it continues to support and create Sustainable Development actions of social awareness, building bridges between Society, Environment together with coffee growers, coffee mill owners and consumers. In this context, it undertakes actions to support the wider region of Achaia, such as a program of donations to organizations and vulnerable social groups, the support of the University of Patras and student activities, sponsorships and collaborations with local suppliers.
It also supports direct cooperation (Direct Trade) with producers or cooperatives in coffee producing countries. It has its own coffee processing and storage facilities in Patras, where 1,400 tons of coffee are processed and roasted per year. It employs 225 workers, cooperates with 513 entrepreneurs through a franchise system, while over 3,500 trained baristas and distributors work in its network. It contributes fiscally to the national economy, returns value to Greek society and boosts opportunities to 817 cooperating Greek companies-suppliers.
Sideris” nuts and coffee factory, a leading native company in Patras, supports the 1st Patras International Half Marathon.
A family owned business with a long history of four decades from one generation to the other “Sideris” nuts and coffees first siege in the early 80s was at the commercial center of the city at 93 Corinthou Street.
Initially, they exclusively engaged in wholesales throughout the stores in Patras and the surrounding areas.
In no time the freshly roasted coffee smell, the top quality nuts pure gastronomic delight spread the word and the reputation of keeping up a traditional craft, thus business expanding to retail sales from the same store. The need to keep up with customers needs was the reason to open a second store at 30 Riga Ferreou str.. Aiming to upgrade in terms of quality and productivity, the company invested in buildings and infrastucture.
Since 2006, the head office has relocated at 83 Corinthou str. in a privately owned three-storey building. At the same time, new cooling chambers and state-of-the-art ovens ensure upgraded quality and productivity of 1000 kgr/day. ISO 22000 certification is the culmination of the company’s effort in the field of food safety management.
Since November 2018, “Sideris” company has further expanded all over Patras with more stores,a new one opened at 301 Korinthou & Pantanassis str. A huge variety of nuts, coffees and spices can fullfill even the most demanding quest of customers at the three “Sideris” stores in Patras.
All in one the history, the top quality products, its familly oriented management and dedication to keep up tradition are the key ingredients of the status of the company a staunch supporter of the 1st Patras Half Marathon.
Alexis Gotsis stands among the most awarded athletes originating from Achaia, a true champion in long distance races (Esperos, Pelopas), ambassador of the 1st Patras International Half Marathon. He was the Panhellenic long-distance champion achieving great performances and 18 Panhellenic medals! Having a remarkabke career with outstanding performances he is still active “on the ramparts”, since the age of 26, when he stopped competing proffesionally.
His overall performance classifies him as ne of the greatest talents in classical sports in the 80’s in Greece sweeping at those times the Panhellenic championships. He was a metalist in the Balkan championship and achieved 11th place in the ’86 world championship with the fourth best performance that year in all of Europe.
He has collected 18 medals in Panhellenic championships, from Children to Men,category over a period of 13 years!
As many experts in the field of racing have mentioned, Gotsis could, under different circumstances, achieve records in the middle distances races (1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m), and of course compete n the Olympic Games, a goal not to be accomplished due to injury. Gotsis was born to run having an excellent physique to build up a topclass performance. His overall racing in the 80’s is still to be remembered together with his incomparable style! His presence alongside the runners in the Patras Half Marathon is a motivation as well as an honor.
Maria Polyzou stands by the side of the athletes who will compete in the 1st Patras International Half Marathon, she supports them morally and practically, as ambassador of the race!
Maria Polyzou was born and raised in Patras and is the first Greek woman to compete in a road marathon, in the Olympic Games, in Atlanta in 1996 and one of the most important marathon runners internationally. She was champion for twenty consecutive years and holder of the Greek record, in the marathon road, a record that is still maintained today 2:33:40. She hasaccomplished the best Greek performance in the original Marathon-Athens route with a time of 2:39:10 since the 1997 World Championships, where she also she ranked 12th
She won the First Balkan Gold Medal in a Road Marathon, setting a Balkan Record while running in Istanbul in 1990. She broke 14 Panhellenic Records, at various distances. In July 2010 she achieved the Phidippian feat. On the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, she ran the distance from Athens to Sparta, has a short break to rest for only an hour, and ran again all the way back.
She is an Ambassador of the Marathon Road, Ambassador of ELYZA for abused children, Ambassador of Europa Donna Greece and supports social awarenes against violence. She is a member of the Women’s Committee of AIMS (World Road Marathon Federation) for the development of the running movement in the world. She was the Director of the Marathon Road Museum. She is a graduate student of the TEFAA of the Kapodistrian University of Athens, a long-distance athletics coach and the author of the books “Soul and Body” and “Don’t Give Up”, while she inspired the children’s book writer Magda Kostopoulou-Beriou to write the fairy tale “A giant they called M.P.”
It’s all about social awareness that motivates all runners.
The Assocciation of Marathon Runners of Achaia FEIDIPPIDES has a long history on social awareness movement, being the Association that strongly supported the local economy of Patras, with the help of the Road Federation (EOSLMA-Y) organizing charity relay races.
the 1st Patras International Half Marathon welcomes Feidippides runners and their support to spread out the message to all runners. “FEIDIPPIDES” will participate in all distances with group registrations