(Extreme) mission accomplished
Posted by Greece - 27/11/2009
After running thousands of kilometers, taking tens thousands of steps and shedding tens of liters of sweat, it was mission accomplished for the 23 members of the Greek Extreme Team.
Early in the morning of Sunday, November 8, our first group of keen runners lined up along the starting line at the sacred site of the Marathon battle (a historic battle between the Greeks and the Persians which took place in 490 BC.).
At approximately the same time, a second group of runners lined up on the street adjacent to the historical Panathinaikon Stadium (site of the first Modern Olympic Games that took place in 1896).
It was Athens Classic Marathon Day in Greece. It was time for our team members to put their words (and endless days of training) into action.
The first group ran the whole distance -all 42,195 meters that is the official distance of the marathon. Among them, our brave coach Periklis Papapanagis. In only his second marathon (and without any form of training!) he proved his worth, crossing the finishing line at 5hours 44minutes and 55seconds!
The second group ran the 10 kilometers race. It was in this group that the players of the Greek Homeless Team of Milan 2009 turned up to run an official race for their first time of their lives! Yiannis Kotsos, Christos Raptis, Thanasis Tsavalis, Mihalis Vrohidis and Yiannis Asimakopoulos braved torrential rain and lined up at the starting line, happy and eager as ever to make the most of what is a wonderful experience (that is, running in an official race), and, more importantly, to contribute to the 2009 Greek Extreme Team’s Fundraising effort for the Homeless World Cup Foundation. Along their side they had head coach Sergios Milis and team manager Chris Alefantis.
There was a third group of runners as well. Louisa Karageorgiou (team project coordinator) was among this group of five extreme team members that ran the 5k race.
It was a wonderful effort by all, since every single runner of the Greek extreme team managed to cross the finishing line. And, as it was the first ever race for the members of the Greek Homeless Team, they, of course, all recorded their Personal Best times!
More significantly, through their efforts, they helped to raise awareness on the Homeless World Cup and the issue of Homelessness, in general. In addition, it was through their efforts that this year’s fundraising target for the Homeless World Cup Foundation was, once again, easily surpassed. We had set a target of 1000 GBP, and by November 26, 1,121.00 GBP had already been raised, with more donation pledges expected to flow in through our website (www.justgiving.com/extremeteamgreece)
The Pasta Party
Two days before the race, the Greek Extreme Team held its own pasta party, as well, in a wonderful restaurant in downtown Athens (Salero, on 51 Valtetsiou Street, Exarhia). We expected some 70 people, but almost 120 turned up to celebrate our team spirit and make their own contribution to our cause. Among them, two great Scots (Graeme and… Graeme) and five Polish guys, who were in Athens for the Classic Marathon. Luckily there was pasta for everyone! At the night’s draw, Yiannis Kotsos (a Milan 2009 team member) was perplexed with his winning. He won a cricket ball! Like most Greeks, he has no idea how this wonderful game is played. He kept the ball, though. The rest of the prizes were far more conventional (for Greek standards) prizes. T-shirts of the three major football clubs (Panathinaikos, AEK and Olympiakos), tickets to Europa Cup games etc. were on offer.
The night’s proceeds surpassed all expectations. Over 1000 euros were raised and 928 GBP went straight to our Homeless World Cup Foundation fundraising pot!
“I feel very happy and privileged to be part of such a great team. I would like to thank all of our friends for their wonderful support. I promise that next year I will break the 5hours 40minutes barrier in the marathon”, declared Periklis Papapanagis, echoing the sentiments of all 23 members of the Team.
Here is the full list of the 2009 Greek Extreme Team members’ performances:
Marathon Race
Gabi Naegele 3hours 38minutes 33seconds Vaios Mesdanitis 3:39:12 Nikos Valatsos 3:53:38 Vasilis Papastergiou 3:59:04 Aristotelis Papageorgiou 4:12:01 Giorgos Moshos 4:25:30 Periklis Papapanagis 5:44:52
10k race
Yiannis Tsilis 44:04 Kostas Kourtelis 48:18 Christos Alefantis 54:04 Thanasis Tsavalis 54:50 Sergios Milis 54:55 Yiannis Kotsos 1:01:25 Christos Raptis 1:05:10 Yiannis Asimakopoulos 1:06:34 Vasilis Gerogiannis 1:08:41 Mihalis Vrohidis 1:10:38
5k race
Panagiotis Agathos 31:56 Kostas Zisimopoulos 31:58 Yiota Kontodima 40:06 Antonis Vavagiannis 49:19 Louiza Karageorgiou 50:42 Isis Mousa 50:42
It is worth noting that the Greek Extreme Team came together for the first time in 2007. In early June of that year, the four inaugural members took part in the Alonnisos Marathon (www.justgiving.com/chrisalefantis). Three years on, the Team has expanded to 23 members and it is due to grow even bigger in 2010. Planning for next year’s events is well under way and we are always eager to listen to new ideas and welcome new friends.
Our website www.justgiving.com/extremeteamgreece is still in full operation expecting your kind donations!
Athens Conference
Next up, for the “Goal sti ftohia” (“Kick off Poverty”) campaign is a one-day conference on the issues of Homelessness and Social Exclusion. The conference is organized by GALERA magazine in association with the City of Athens Institute for the Homeless and the Greek Network for the Right to Accommodation and Housing. It will be held on Saturday, December 12, at the Pneumatikon Kentron (Cultural Centre) of the City of Athens (50 Akadimias Street, Athens). National and local government representatives as well as representatives of NGOs and other organizations dealing with Homelessness and social exclusion will be discussing the issues, bringing forth all related problems as well as proposing ways to put an end to the tragic phenomenon of people without proper housing.
For more information, please contact: Chris Alefantis +30 210 3843983 chrisa@galera www.galera.gr
