Athens Marathon expo and bib pickup at Faliro

Where and when: the expo, the Runners’ Centre and the hours

The Allwyn Marathon Expo, organised by SEGAS, and the Athens Marathon Runners’ Centre are in the same building: the Faliro Indoor Hall & Exhibition Centre in Palaio Faliro, in the Olympic Faliro Coastal Zone. The Greek Expo page also gives the address, Palaia Leoforos Poseidonos & Moraitini (behind Village Cinemas Palaio Faliro); the English page does not. The expo runs from 4 to 7 November 2026 and admission is free for all visitors. The Runners’ Centre operates on the same days and hours as the expo.

Hours per the organiser’s Runners’ Center page and FAQ: Wednesday 4 November 12:00–21:00, Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November 10:00–21:00, Saturday 7 November 10:00–20:00. The official week programme adds one important Saturday detail: the Runners’ Centre service for the Telekom 5K, the 5K Universities Night Run allwyn and the Telekom Kids Race ends at 18:00, while for the allwyn 10K and the Marathon it continues until 20:00. The same programme and the FAQ show that on Saturday the Kids Race starts at 16:00, the Telekom 5K at 17:00 and the Universities Night Run at 20:00. The 18:00 closing therefore comes after the Kids Race and the Telekom 5K have already started: runners in those races have to collect earlier, for example from Wednesday to Friday, when the Centre is open, and Universities Night Run runners have to make it before the 18:00 closing.

An Information Desk at the entrance answers questions about the pickup procedure. No changes to confirmed registrations are made at the Runners’ Centre. For race dates and start times see “Athens Marathon 2026: dates and races” Athens Marathon 2026: dates and races.

Sunday morning: there is no pickup

The Greek Runners’ Centre page states explicitly that bib numbers and race kits are not handed out on Sunday 8 November. The English page carries the same warning but says “Sunday 9 November”: 9 November 2026 is a Monday, so that date is evidently a leftover from 2025. Both pages reach the same conclusion, and the last published pickup slot is Saturday 7 November at 20:00.

The terms add two further limits: bibs and kits are not sent anywhere, by post or any other way, and anything not collected properly during the Runners’ Centre’s operating days and hours may never be sent or handed over afterwards. The Marathon starts at 08:30 on Sunday (the FAQ, the race page and the Greek week programme give 08:30; one line of the English week programme says “8:00: Start of Marathon Race”; per-block start times are indicative until two weeks before the race), so pickup has to be done by Saturday.

Step by step: the bib email, documents and distribution stations

About ten days before the race, every runner who has completed registration receives an email with the exact bib number and starting block. With that email you go straight to the Distribution Station for your race and bib number and collect your bib (which has the timing chip built in). Two things are always required: a copy of the bib-number email and an official identification document (ID card or passport; the terms also list a driving licence as an example).

If the email did not arrive, you can get a confirmation note on the spot at the Registration Confirmation Desk and then go to the distribution station with your other documents. For the 5K Universities Night Run, students show an academic ID or ISIC card and teaching staff an academic certificate. Minors without an ID card or passport need a birth certificate. Registration problems go to the Runners’ Services & Registration Management Desk inside the Centre.

Runners who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of an EU member state can register only at the Full level; the organiser states that the accuracy of a registration is verified at the moment of pickup, against the required documents. Together with your bib you also receive the special clothing bag and the sticker with your bib number (see below).

Someone else collecting, and bib transfer: what is allowed

If you cannot go yourself you can appoint a representative. The representative must bring a photocopy of the runner’s official identification document and a copy of the bib-number email, otherwise the bib will not be released. One representative may collect up to four kits.

Collection by a representative is not a transfer. The terms of participation say the bib is personal and may not be conveyed, transferred or given to another runner under any circumstances. The only official route was a name change on the registration (“Runner Replacement”), requested by the original runner with the new runner’s details and a €5.00 fee, and it was possible until 25 September 2026. After that date, according to the Registrations Management page, such requests are not accepted at the Runners’ Centre either. Deferral of an entry to a future edition is not possible.

Changing your starting block on your own is prohibited and leads to removal from the results; a change is possible only with the organiser’s approval, after the start lists are announced and until 25 October, for a €5.00 fee. For the route itself see “Athens Marathon course: km by km” Athens Marathon course: km by km.

What is in the kit: T-shirt, jacket, backpack and OASA card by level

The contents depend on your registration level and race. The organiser’s services table has three columns (Advanced, Full Marathon, Full 10K/5K) and shows that all three include a bib with built-in timing chip, an Adidas technical T-shirt, a clothing bag, transport to the Marathon start (Marathon only), ERGO accident insurance, live tracking in the official app, a participation certificate through the website (if you appear in the official results) and free admission to the Acropolis Museum and the Mpenaki Museum. The page does not explain how the museum entries are redeemed, so ask the Information Desk. The free Kids Race and the Special Olympics Hellas race sit in a Basic level that is not in the table; for them the pages we read publish no kit contents.

In detail, per the Runners’ Centre page. Advanced level, Marathon: technical T-shirt and a disposable thermal waterproof jacket with hood. Advanced level, 10K and 5K: technical T-shirt. Full level, Marathon: technical T-shirt, backpack, OASA public-transport card, disposable waterproof jacket, microfibre sports towel, official AMA runner’s cap, AMA key-chain and priority access to the Full level for the 2027 Marathon. Full level, 10K and 5K: technical T-shirt, backpack, OASA card and towel. These items are collected from the matching stations and only on showing your bib number.

On the same registration page the 2026 places for the Marathon, 10K, 5K and Universities 5K show as “Sold out”; the Kids Race and the Special Olympics Hellas race show as FREE, with no “Sold out” mark. The 2027 Full-level priority applies only to this year’s Full-level Marathon runners.

The medal and the clothing bag: what happens where

The finisher’s medal is not part of the Faliro kit. Per the terms and the Marathon race page, the commemorative medal is given only to registered runners who finish successfully in time, and runners receive it after the finish inside the Panathenaic Stadium, before heading to the exit. The participation certificate goes only to those included in the official results.

The clothing bag is collected together with the bib and a sticker bearing your bib number, which you attach where it is clearly visible so volunteers can return it. The organiser accepts no other bags or backpacks. For the Marathon, the bag is handed in at the designated area inside the Allwyn Marathon Expo and only there: there is no bag collection service at the start on race day. The published drop-off hours (FAQ and Marathon race page) are Wednesday 12:00–22:00, Thursday and Friday 10:00–22:00, Saturday 10:00–21:00, one hour later than the Runners’ Centre and Expo close; because the difference is not explained, the safest plan is to hand the bag in when you collect your bib.

The bag must be well closed (Greek FAQ) and must not contain travel documents, money, valuables or medicines; SEGAS and the Organizing Committee accept no responsibility for lost valuables. Drop-off is by range of bib numbers, with signs showing each range. After the finish, bags are returned on showing your bib number at a specially designated area at Zappeion (the English race page says “within the Alea of Zappeion”), from the same truck they were handed in to, according to the Greek race page. Bags not collected are kept for 15 days at the SEGAS Marathon Office and then discarded with their contents.

Getting there: buses and tram (Agia Skepi or Delta Falirou)

The organiser’s Expo page lists these connections. By bus: A1 (Piraeus – Voula), B1 (Piraeus – Glyfada), 217 (Piraeus – Dafni) and 860 (P. Faliro – Gen. Kratiko Nikaias – Schisto Keratsinioy / Voula), all with an “Agia Skepi” stop. By tram: line 6 (Syntagma – Pikrodafni), changing at “Edem” or “Pikrodafni” for line 7 (Asklipieio Voulas – Agia Triada), which, according to that page, stops at Agia Skepi. By trolley: line 10 (Tzitzifies / Chalandri) to the Tzitzifies stop, then, as the page words it, “Line 3” (the Greek version says just “3”) or buses A1, B1.

The Expo’s own website (marathonexpo.gr, Access page, read 29 September 2026) gives different information for the tram: for line 7 it names the Delta Falirou stop, getting off right at the pedestrian bridge and following it to its end, not Agia Skepi. It agrees on buses A1, B1 and 217 (Agia Skepi stop), adds bus 130 (Piraeus / Nea Smyrni, “Athinaion” stop) and bus 550 (Kifisia / Syngrou Avenue, “Foros” stop), and does not list 860. For trolley 10 it says to change to buses A1, B1 or to tram line 7, not to “Line 3”. The two official pages therefore differ on the tram stop, so check with OASA/STASY before you go.

By car, the page describes two approaches: from the National Road, taking the Glyfada/SEF exit, and from Syngrou Avenue, taking the exit to Glyfada and following signs to Olympic Properties. The organiser’s English Expo page gives no parking information; the Greek page says at the end of the Syngrou route that you park there, and gives no capacity or conditions. The Expo’s own website (marathonexpo.gr) states that convenient parking is available for visitors, without capacity, fee or race-weekend arrangements. The lines above are as the organiser publishes them; we have not checked them against OASA or STASY, and race-weekend traffic measures will be announced by the competent authorities. For spectator travel and transport to the start see the visitor guide Athens Marathon: a visitor and spectator guide.

For non-runners: free Expo entry and the week’s side programme

Expo admission is free for all visitors. According to the official page you will find products and services for runners with offers from sports brands, brochures for races in Greece and abroad, sport-tourism packages from travel agencies and hotels, Athens Marathon souvenirs, technology and fitness equipment, and free endurance tests by specialised sports doctors.

The official week programme (the Greek and English pages do not agree on everything) lists: Wednesday 12:00 official opening of the Expo and 12:30–13:30 a press conference (the Greek page: a SEGAS press conference) presenting the athletes of the Hellenic Marathon Championships (the English page adds “elite athletes”); the page does not say whether the press conference is open to the public; Saturday 12:30–13:15 the opening ceremony at the Marathon Tomb, with the transfer of the flame, and 13:50–14:10 the lighting of the Marathon Flame cauldron (the Greek page says “altar of the Marathon Flame”), both in Marathon town; Saturday 15:00–22:00 and Sunday 08:00–18:00 the Sponsors Village opposite the Panathenaic Stadium. The page mentions no ticket for these events.

For Friday 18:30–22:00 the two pages differ: the Greek page describes a conference with an official dinner (“Authentic Talks & Official Dinner”) and notes that the venue has not been confirmed yet; the English page says only “Authentic talks” and lists it among the Faliro items. Neither says whether the public can attend, and no topics or speakers are given, so we do not present it as a free event for non-runners.

What to re-check before you go

Hours, the Sunday rule and documents come from pages with no announcement date, read on 29 September 2026. Look at the Runners’ Center page on athensauthenticmarathon.gr again shortly before race week, especially the clothing-bag hours (22:00 versus 21:00), the tram stop (Agia Skepi versus Delta Falirou), the Friday 18:30–22:00 item (venue unconfirmed) and the bib-number and block email sent about ten days before the race. Start times per block are not covered here.

Two slips on the English official pages should not confuse you: the English Runners’ Center page says “Sunday 9 November” instead of 8 (the Greek page correctly says 8), and in the English version of the FAQ one answer still shows 2025 dates (Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November 2025) next to the correct 2026 ones (7–8 November); the Greek version of the FAQ has the correct dates. The correct dates are Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November 2026. For choosing between the Athens races see “Athens Marathon vs Half vs Poseidon: which to run” Athens Marathon vs Half vs Poseidon: which to run.