Running races in Athens and Attica: a guide

The racing map of Attica: from central Athens to the islands

Attica is not just Athens: administratively it also includes an "Islands" regional unit covering Spetses, Hydra, Salamis, Agistri and Methana (the last one sits geographically in the Peloponnese but is administratively part of Attica). The bib2bib catalog currently lists 58 upcoming or recurring events across this whole region, each confirmed with either an organiser's own link or an official federation calendar.

The month-by-month breakdown shows a clear peak: 28 of the 58 races take place in October and another 21 in November, as soon as summer heat eases off. The remaining 9 are spread from December through to June of the following year.

• Road: 17 races
• Cycling: 18 races (hill climbs, brevets, MTB/cyclocross, gravel)
• Trail: 10 races
• Triathlon / aquathlon: 9 races
• Open-water swimming: 3 races
• SwimRun: 1 race

Road running: from neighbourhood 5Ks to the Athens Marathon

Attica's flagship event is the Athens Marathon, also branded "The Authentic" — according to the race's own website, the 43rd edition runs on 8 November 2026 (marathon and 10km), with the 5km race, a university night run and a children's race the evening before, on 7 November. Spring has its own coastal institution: the International Poseidon Athens Half Marathon, starting in Palaio Faliro.

• Spetses mini Marathon 2026 · Running races — 3–4 October 2026, Spetses — 5 / 10 / 25 km
• 15th Penny Marathon Athens — 4 October 2026, SNFCC, Athens — 1 / 10 km, non-competitive
• 18th Greece Race for the Cure® — 4 October 2026, Pedion tou Areos, Athens — 5 km race · 2 km walk
• 1st Salamina Half Marathon «Ahepa Run» — 4 October 2026, Salamis — 21.096 / 5 / 1 km
• Run Greece 2026 – Piraeus — 4 October 2026, Piraeus — 5 / 10 km
• B2Run Athens 2026 — 7 October 2026, Athens — 5 km
• Athens Company Run — 11 October 2026, Olympic Village, Athens — 5 / 10 km races, 2.5 km sports walk
• Koropi Mnimi Run — 11 October 2026, Koropi — main race 4.2–5 km, plus children's and inclusive races
• Oropos Seaside Race — 11 October 2026, Skala Oropou — 0.5 / 5 / 10 / 21.1 km
• Kallithea Night Run 2026 — 17 October 2026, Kallithea — 2.5 / 5 / 10 km
• Aigaleo Memory Run / Aigaleo Tour 2026 — 25 October 2026, Aigaleo — 1.2 km children · 9.3 km adults
• Nea Smyrni Historical Run — 25 October 2026, Nea Smyrni — 2.5 / 5 / 10 km
• 11th People's Road Race «Panagia Merenta» — 1 November 2026, Markopoulo Attikis — 1 / 9 km
• Athens Marathon ("The Authentic") — 8 November 2026, Athens — 42.2 / 10 / 5 km
• 10th Authentic Phidippides Run — 19 November 2026, Athens–Sparta–Athens — 485.3 / 524.9 km depending on the route
• 12th Run the Lake Vouliagmeni — 20 December 2026, Vouliagmeni waterfront — 1 / 5 / 10 km
• 18th Poseidon Athens Half Marathon — 25 April 2027, Palaio Faliro — 21.1 / 10 / 5 / 1 km, plus a relay

Trail running on Mount Parnitha

Parnitha is Attica's highest mountain — its Karavola summit reaches 1,413 m — and has been a national park since 1961, about 30 km north of central Athens. It hosts three different mountain-running events, all in October, on courses from 4 to 22 km.

• Elafi Parnitha Trail 2026 — 4 October 2026, Ippokrateios Politeia, Parnitha — 8 / 16 / 22 km
• 18th Arma Parnithas Mountain Race — 25 October 2026, Western Parnitha (Fyli) — 11 km / 21 km mountain half marathon
• 40th Anniversary Parnitha Tour — 25 October 2026, Parnitha — 4 km children's race · 16 km mountain run

Trail on Ymittos, Penteli and beyond

Mount Hymettus/Ymittos (Evzonas peak, 1,026 m) sits about 15 km east of central Athens, and Mount Pentelicus/Penteli (Pyrgari peak, 1,109 m) to the northeast, famed for the marble used on the Acropolis. Both mountains have their own mountain-running event, and the catalog lists further trail races in city parks, on Mount Kithaironas and on the region's islands.

• Imittos Epic & Anavasi Trelou — 28 October 2026, Ymittos — 12 / 24.8 km
• Pentelikon Marathon Trail Run 2026 — 13 December 2026, Penteli — 12 km
• Kithaironas Trail — 11 October 2026, Erythres — 11 / 16 / 25 km
• Gidi ton Methanon — 22 November 2026, Methana — 5 / 12 / 28 km
• 11th Veikou Trail — 17 January 2027, Alsos Veikou, Galatsi — 5 / 10 / 20 km
• 12th Lycabettus Run — 21 February 2027, Lycabettus, Athens — 4.5 / 5.5 / 9 / 11 km
• 3rd Spetses Mountain Run — 20 March 2027, Spetses — 10 / 26 km

Cycling in Attica: hill climbs, brevets and MTB racing

Cycling is the single largest category in Attica's catalog (18 events), mostly local club championships. Three clusters stand out: the classic "anavasi" hill climbs on mountain roads (Parnitha, Ymittos, Fyli, Kithaironas, Keratovouni), long-distance brevets starting from Elefsina or Kifisia, and an MTB/cyclocross series in Athens parks.

• Brevet "Kiato" — 11 October 2026, Elefsina — 200 km
• 12th Anavasi Fylis AS Alfa — 17 October 2026, Fyli
• 9th MTB Doxa Cup, AO Doxa (XCC) — 18 October 2026, Marousi
• WOB Anavasi Parnithas 2026, AO Thiseas — 18 October 2026, Acharnes
• 2nd Anavasi Kithairona (In the Footsteps of Oedipus), PS Mandras — 25 October 2026, Villia
• 39th Anavasi Ymittou Polychroneia, PS Kronos — 28 October 2026, Kaisariani
• Anavasi Mandra Kantili, PS Kronos — 1 November 2026, Megara
• Brevet "Clausura 600: Aitolia" — 7 November 2026, Elefsina — 600 km
• World-of-Cross 2026-2027 #1, AO Thiseas (XCC) — 7 November 2026, Antonis Tritsis Park
• Chronoanavasi Keratovouniou (Open and scored), PS Kronos — 8 November 2026, Keratea
• The Gravel of Marathon — UCI World Gravel Series — 15 November 2026, Marathonas
• MTB Bikeexpert Cup, SYFA final (XCE and XCC) — 14–15 November 2026, Gerakas
• Brevet "Clausura 400: Parnasos" — 21 November 2026, Kifisia — 400 km
• Cyclocross Tzolia Race & MTB XCC Tzolia Junior, PS Mandras — 29 November 2026, Mandra
• World-of-Cross 2026-2027 #2, AO Thiseas (XCC) — 6 December 2026, Alsos Ilision

Triathlon, aquathlon and open-water swimming

Attica's south coast, from Voula to Sounio, hosts most of the region's multi-sport races. The whynot Legacy Sounio event alone offers six different categories on the same day, from a kids' aquathlon to a full Olympic-distance triathlon relay.

• Spetses mini Marathon 2026 · Open-water races — 3 October 2026, Spetses — 1.5 / 3 km
• Hellenic Olympic-Distance Triathlon Championship 2026 — 4 October 2026, Schinias (Marathon municipality) — 1.5 km swim · 40 km bike · 10 km run
• XTERRA Greece O.W.S. Challenge 2026 · Kids Cross Aquathlon — 10 October 2026, Voula
• XTERRA Greece O.W.S. Challenge 2026 — 11 October 2026, Voula — 0.2 / 1 / 2.5 / 5 / 10 km swim
• TRIMORE M.T. SwimRun Hydra 2026 — 31 October 2026, Hydra — 7.5 / 12.8 / 23.4 / 38.7 km
• whynot Legacy Sounio 2026 (6 categories: Adults Aquathlon, Junior Aquathlon, Sprint & Olympic triathlon, individual or relay) — 15 November 2026, Sounio
• XTERRA Greece Vouliagmeni 2027 — 23–25 April 2027, Vouliagmeni — off-road triathlon festival
• 9th OCEANMAN Vouliagmeni Greece 2027 — 18–20 June 2027, Vouliagmeni — 10 / 5 / 2 km, with Oceankids and Oceanteams categories

The region's islands: Spetses, Hydra, Salamis, Agistri, Methana

Five island destinations belong administratively to Attica's Islands regional unit and each hosts its own race in the catalog. Spetses and Hydra are both known for banning motor vehicles: per Wikipedia, on Spetses "no private automobiles are allowed within the town limits," while on Hydra all wheeled vehicles are banned, even bicycles — transport runs on horses, mules and water taxis. Both islands are served by regular ferries and hydrofoils from Piraeus.

Salamis sits only about 16 km from central Athens and is linked by a frequent Perama–Paloukia ferry line, while Agistri is reached by boat in around an hour from Piraeus, or in minutes from nearby Aegina. Methana is geographically in the Peloponnese — on a peninsula connected to the mainland by road near Galatas — but administratively belongs to the same Attica regional unit.

• Spetses: Spetses mini Marathon (running + swimming, October), Spetses Mountain Run (March)
• Hydra: TRIMORE SwimRun Hydra (October)
• Salamis: Salamina Half Marathon "Ahepa Run" (October)
• Methana: Gidi ton Methanon (November)

When to race and how to get there: seasonality and transport

Athens has a Csa climate under the Köppen-Geiger classification, with an average high of around 25°C in October, 20°C in November and 15°C in December — exactly the months when most races are scheduled. December is the wettest month (around 64 mm) and August the driest (around 3.8 mm), per weather-and-climate.com data.

bib2bib does not systematically track public transport for every race — each organiser's own site is the final word. One exception where transit is explicitly documented: the International Poseidon Half Marathon in Palaio Faliro, whose official site gives detailed directions — nearest metro stop "Syggrou-Fix" (a few minutes by local bus B2 or 550), tram stop "Trokantero" connecting to Syntagma and to Voula/Glyfada, and bus stops "Oulen" (routes 217, A1, B1, B2) and "Apovivasi" (route 550) right outside Marina Flisvos. For every other race, check the organiser's own official page directly before planning how to get there.