Pete Webb, co-founder of the original Skyros Half Marathon, reflects on this year’s Skyros Sports Festival
Greece in June has a magic all of its own – warm, spacious, bright, and still just outside the height of the summer season.
This year, Pete returned to Skyros for an extended holiday and found himself drawn back into a story he helped begin: the original Skyros Half Marathon, which he co-founded during his time managing Atsitsa Bay.
Now reborn as the Skyros Sports Festival, the event brings together running, swimming, local enthusiasm, community spirit and the unmistakable idiosyncrasy of Skyros island life.
Over to Pete…
They say Greece’s best kept secret is the month of June. Out on Skyros for an extended holiday, I stumbled upon a secret within a secret.
Born out of the Skyros Half Marathon that started 30 years ago next summer, this distinctly local, joyous and unapologetically idiosyncratic event has handed the baton over to a series of running and swimming challenges over a weekend. Now the Skyros Sports Festival.
On the Saturday, with a strong nod to the marathon, there is a children’s 2k dash, a modest 5k jog and a more challenging 10k run – all starting and finishing with a sweaty flourish in the main platia. The organisation and focus on participants’ welfare is a mile ahead of the very first outing, when the water station sponges were foam-backed green scourers still in their cellophane wrappers!
On the Sunday, the event moves to Molos – the beach which looks up at Skyros village. A very doable short run along the sand and back had my hamstrings stirring to bring themselves out of retirement and enter next year. As an added incentive, everyone who finishes gets a brief, breathless interview on the mic and a medal!
This is followed by a far more challenging aquathlon. A 750m swim around buoys, with a flotilla of rescue vessels, leads to a 5k run around the mercifully flat Molos village. These are mixed events and had three young women triumphantly grace the podium.
The organisation was meticulous, with extremely enthusiastic volunteers. The mayor of Skyros was in attendance, overseeing the local council’s efforts. The atmosphere-raising speeches and instructional lectures – albeit some longer than the events themselves – all helped to create a wonderful upbeat spirit.
Only in its second year, I would love to see the event grow. So, if you are tempted to join in with visions of a podium finish – competitors are all ages, sizes and nationalities – do it next year, before the competition increases!
Next year’s event timing – like the Skyros ferry, Aegean flight and the expected wait for your fresh fish order – is yet to be determined. Most likely the second weekend in June.
Check skyros.gr for details and Instagram: @skyros_sports_festival. Entry fee this year was 15 euros. Or be an onlooker for free.
Peter Webb
Co-founder, Skyros Half Marathon
For anyone thinking about a Skyros holiday in June, the Sports Festival is a lovely reminder that the island has a rich rhythm of its own beyond our courses and centres. A week at the Skyros Centre could be combined with part of the festival – giving you time for creativity, learning, yoga, good food and community with Skyros Holidays, alongside the wider life of the island.
Our June programme at the Skyros Centre offers small-group courses, time to explore the village, and the chance to experience Skyros in one of its most beautiful months.