COURSE DESCRIPTION
The race starts at the Archaeological site of Dion town, at 3m altitude above the sea level. At the beginning the athletes run on the asphalt road crossing the settlement of Dion town. Just outside the town, the route moves on a asphalt country-road towards the mountain in a slight ascending incline. At 5K, the track reaches Olympus foothills, (alt.150m). After some road twists, the athletes leave the road at 6K to enter the trail that will be followed for the next 36km.
The trail strats moving in the Orlias Canyon with dense bush vegetation, which soon becomes a forest with broad-leafed trees. The athletes run on a moderate trail with many twists but the field is clear without many rocks. For quite some time, the runners can hear the sound of the stream running in the canyon below forming several distinctive falls. Later, the trail moves away from the canyon and the athletes dive into a wonderful pine tree forest!
After 9K, the route crosses a dirt track twice, then once more and follows it for about 500m and reaches Aid Station "Koromilia Refuge" at 1020m altitude. Further on, it enters the pine forest trail again and climbs up. At this point, the path is wide and clear and after gaining some altitude, it reaches a forested slope at 13K Check Point "Bara". Then the trail emerges to a ridge and the view is wide open and one can distinguish the peaks of the southern part of the mountain. The trail here is not clearly defined but the marking is frequent so that there are no doubts about the right direction.
At 15K the athletes reach the Aid Station "Petrostrouga Refuge" at 1940m altitude. The vegetation at this point includes exclusively the ‘robolo’, a kind of high altitude pine tree. The runners now follow the main trail to the highest part of the mountain. The field is fine without any loose rocks. At 17K the vegetation becomes bushier and then it is gradually eliminated near the alpine zone as the athletes climb above the tree level at 2200m.
After the Check Point "Skourta" at 18K the runners can view the main complex of the mount Olympus highest peaks for the first time. The ‘Throne of Zeus’ is there with its prominent shape dominating beyond the ‘Muses Plateau’. To reach that point, athletes follow the ridge that leads to the ‘Muses Plateau’- the place with a fascinating view at any direction. After an arduous short uphill on the rough field full of sharp loose rocks, the trail finally leads to the ‘Muses Plateau’. This is a high altitude meadow (alt.2500+), which lays at the highest part of the mountain with the ‘Throne of Zeus’ peak (2911m) above it at its western end. Runners now head towards this direction. Soon, they reach Aid Station "Oropedio" (Muses Plataeu) next to the ‘Kakalos’ refuge at the altitude of 2650m.
The trail climbs further up to pass below the ‘Throne of Zeus’ and reaches the highest point of the route (alt.2780m). Then, it follows an endless downhill, which is the second distinctive part of the race. A mild downhill, at first, traverses eastward to a steep slope called ‘Zonaria’, where the main trail reaches a deviation point to the highest peak of the mount Olympus called ‘Mytikas’ (2918 m). Here, the trail is rough so the athletes must be very cautious of this most exposed part of the entire route. After about 2km the trail turns eastward and runners have a clear view of the sea in the distance as they go down through a wide ridge on many trail twists. Running a little further down brings them into the forest again, below the tree line. Then they reach the Check Point "Refuge A" 25K at the altitude 2060m. Countless twists lead to a gradual downhill, through robolo and pine forest till the slope becomes much smoother. The trail enters a dense beech forest with thick tree shade that offers freshness and relief to the athletes’ knees.
About 2km later, the trail reaches a site called ‘Prionia’ and meets the road to Litochoro. Aid Station "Prionia" at 31K is situated here. The athletes enter the last part of the race, following the main trail, which goes through Enipeas Canyon. This river with the same name Enipeas has its sources at Prionia. The trail now is well marked E4 path and very safe although there are some technical parts that require one’s attention. The vegetation here is dense and refreshing. At 34K the trail passes the old Monastery of Agios Dionisios and the Check Point "Monastery" at 34K. Then it crosses the river several times over small wooden bridges that lead across from one bank to the other. At 36K the trail keeps on the south side of the canyon, which gradually becomes steeper, forming a wide gorge with numerous ups and downs but always on fine terrain. The Aid Station "Kastana" is at 37K. Then an extended ascent at 40K takes the runners to 200m higher altitude where the last Check Point of the race "Portes". At this point, the athletes can enjoy a view of Litochoro town for the first time. A steep downhill track with loose, sharp rocks will bring runners lower and at 42K they reach the outsides of the town. This is the end of the trail. The last kilometers are on asphalt road.
After passing the central square there is the Finish line, that's located in the Municipal park of Litochoro town.