Filenews 23 November 2020 - by Andri Daniel
Virtual Marathon. Fashion or by necessity choice due to radical changes in our lives? The director of OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO, explains in an interview with "F", the changes of the new form of marathon, the need to be done in this form until our life returns to normality and marathons regain the glamour of socialization, personal contact and adrenaline for runners. Find out all you need for the virtual marathon that will run from November 21st to December 12th.
- Virtual Limassol Marathon GSO. In no way does Mr Spiros replace the pulse of a normal marathon, this new version. Do you think, however, that it is better than nothing and keeps the institution alive?
Opap Limassol Marathon GSO has evolved into the largest sporting event in Cyprus due to the love and support of the thousands of runners and friends of the institution, who every year flood Molo Limassol, participating either in one of the six routes or in one of the dozens of parallel events. It is a fact that nothing can replace the pulse of a normal marathon. However, I would not put the organization of the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO in the context of "better than nothing" but more in the context of the "positive reaction" to what is difficult we face as a society in recent months. So let's look at the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO as a positive action, which aims at the physical and psychological stimulation of the world!
- What are the motivations for a marathon runner to participate in a virtual marathon?
The motives are simple. Through the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO, thousands of registered runners are given the opportunity to give a message of optimism with their own participation. They are given the opportunity to support charitable causes, while at the same time they have the opportunity to obtain simply and easily the official medal of the race, the official diploma of participation and the official time of the event!
- How does the program for the Limassol Marathon GSO differ and what should participants know or do?
The Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO will be held from 21 November until 12 December. Registrations are open and will remain open until the last day of the event. Runners who had registered for the postponed event of the OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO are entitled to run without any further charge. All they have to do is update their contact information in the www.limassolmarathon.com. For those who wish to run in the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO but had not registered in the previous event, there will be a registration fee of around 10 euros. All the money from the new registrations will be given for the needs of the Karaiskakios Foundation.
During the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO our runners will have to run the kilometers, which correspond to the route they chose. When they complete their kilometers, they should send us a screenshot of their effort via their mobile phone or GPS tracking device (Garmin, Strava etc.). When we receive and approve their effort, then they will in turn receive, as I have already mentioned, the official medal of the race, the time and the official diploma of participation.
In the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO there are five routes: the OPAP Marathon Road (42 KLM), the Muskita Half Marathon Road (21 km), the PETROLINA 10 km Energy Road, the Medochemie 5km Individual Road and the PrimeTel 5 km Corporate Road!
Our runners can run in any place they want, as they want and any time they want!
The charitable nature is differentiated
- Is the charitable character different because of the virtual marathon? How will citizens contribute and what is the objective?
As OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO we support the Karaiskakio Foundation in its fight for a world without leukemia. Our relationship with Karaiskakio began together with our cooperation with OPAP Cyprus 5 years ago. It's a relationship that's getting stronger and that we're happy and proud of. I would like to thank both the Karaiskakio Foundation and OPAP Cyprus for the opportunity they give us to offer to society.
I would also like to stress that, as OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO we give the opportunity to our runners to support, in addition to the Karaiskakio Foundation, any charitable purpose they wish. This is done through the Givengain platform, with which we have been working for 3 years. Through this platform, each runner can create their own campaign in support of any purpose! In 2019 through this platform our runners managed to collect the amount of 35,000 EURO for institutions both in Cyprus and abroad.
- Could virtual marathons be introduced, as is done with conferences, meetings, or even teaching, a new trend that saves time and money?
I'm sure virtual events will now be part of our daily lives. My personal assessment, as a professional who has been active in the field of events and conferences for 30 years, is that we will return to conventional events and meetings as soon as this is deemed safe. Nothing can replace human contact, the excitement of participation and the enjoyment of real interaction.
Registrations
- How long will one be able to register and how will runners participate abroad?
As we have mentioned, the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO will be held from 21 November until 12 December and registrations will remain open until the last day of the event. And it is with great pleasure to see that friends and runners from abroad support this effort. We have about 300 registrations so far from abroad. Let us not forget that the OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO is also a tourist project, which attracts thousands of runners and visitors from abroad every year.
- The routes in a virtual marathon depend on each athlete. Since there will be no blocked roads closed, does it pose any risks?
There is absolutely no danger as one of the advantages of the Virtual OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO is that runners can run wherever they want, whatever time they want and as they want. This means that someone can run either to the park in their neighbourhood, to the stadium where they train, or to the gym corridor! Of course all of us must respect the general safety rules related to running, as well as the rules for safe sport in this difficult time of pandemic.
