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EuroCharity takes part in 2,500th anniversary celebration of world's very first marathon

28th Athens Classic Marathon was a grand success with in excess of 22,000 runners, marking the 2,500th anniversary of the 490 B.C. Battle of Marathon

EuroCharity takes part in 2,500th anniversary celebration of world's very first marathon

28th Athens Classic Marathon was a grand success with in excess of 22,000 runners, marking the 2,500th anniversary of the 490 B.C. Battle of Marathon

Published 11-01-10

Submitted by Global Sustain Limited (Ltd.)

From left to right: Mr. George A. Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece, with Mr. Michael Spanos, Managing Partner, EuroCharity, at the 28th Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday, October 31, 2010

Just over 22,000 runners from around the world - including Prime Minister George A. Papandreou and two EuroCharity executives - took part in the 28th Athens Classic Marathon (ACM) yesterday. The 42 km. run marked the 2,500th anniversary of Pheidippidis' fabled run from Marathon to Athens to impart news of the victory over the Persians.

EuroCharity's Managing Partner and Business Development Manager, Messrs. Michael Spanos and George Tsiakalakis respectively, both participated in the 10-kilometre Road Race on the sidelines of the Athens Classic Marathon, which started from and finished at the Kallimarmaro stadium.

"Greece running its own marathon"
During the ACM, Mr. Spanos met with the Greek Premier, who also ran the 10 km. Road Race. "Greece is running its own marathon," Mr. Papandreou said on Sunday, but expressed certainty that "together, we will finish, and quickly, I hope," in a statement after completing the 10-kilometre split.

Kenyan Raymond Bett won the ACM on Sunday in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 40 seconds, an event record, with fellow countrymen Jonathan Kipkorir in second place with 2:14:05 and Edwin Kιmutai in third place with 2:15:21, leading a record 12,500 participants - over three times the usual number - in the commemorative long-distance race.

Athens Classic Marathon, a climate friendly Marathon
Since 2006, the Organising Committee of the ACM has acknowledged the link between sport and environment and has chosen to actively enhance the environmental legacy of this unique cultural and sporting event.

For the fifth consecutive year, the 28th Athens Classic Marathon has voluntarily offset the emissions caused by the travelling to and from Athens. The offset cost will support a "microbial composting" climate protection project in Cape Town, South Africa.

The project will result to the avoidance of 60,000 tonnes CO2 equivalent per annum and has been classified as pre-CDM VER. The new controlled composting process also contributes to the improvement of the water-holding capacity and fertility of the soils as well as to the availability and quality of the water resources, positively influencing the financial situation of local farmers. The certificate was issued by ClimatePartner with the support of Powerade and Coca-Cola, a Gold member of EuroCharity.

The marathon's climate-neutral strategy focuses on:

  • providing an easy and tangible offsetting tool for the international runners and to provide free transportation for the duration of the event to all participants and volunteers;

  • enhancing public awareness on climate change;

  • minimising the size of PET bottles that are given to the runners, thus producing less emissions during the production phase and minimising the amount of discarded bottled water.

 

An IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Gold Label Road Race, the Athens Classic Marathon's Grand Sponsor is Alpha Bank, a Gold member of EuroCharity.

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Global Sustain Limited (Ltd.)

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Founded in 2006, Global Sustain with offices in Athens, Berlin, Brussels, London, New York and Nicosia, creates awareness and inspires and supports companies and organisations to embody sustainability, through advisory, communications, networking and training, with a focus on the people-planet-profit philosophy. Its members include corporations, non-governmental and non-profit organisations, municipalities and local authorities, educational foundations, media, professional bodies, think tanks and other public or private entities. Global Sustain is a signatory to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a GRI Data Partner and Organisational Stakeholder (OS), an affiliated member of the Academy of Business in Society, Social Value International, Institute of Directors, CEO Clubs and EFQM. www.globalsustain.org / www.globalsustaingroup.com

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